help me expand dd's v limited diet

[bagpussmice]

both dd's 2.5 and 4.5 have fairly limited diet because they won't try anything new... I'm not into hiding veg, they will happily eat sweetcorn, broccoli, peas and dd1 eats plenty of fruit, but neither will try anything new.
I'm worried that when they are 12 they wil still only eat baked potatoes with tuna or scrambled eggs and beans etc.. etc.. am sure they eat fairly healthily, (both vegetarian) but just wish they would eat more variety...
anyone?

[bramblina]

I don't really understand...if you're not into hiding veg and they won't try anything new, what could you do?
Maybe make a fruit salad with eveything they like and one extra fruit at a time that they've never tried, something tasty and exciting, fresh pieapple, mango, passion fruit, star fruit?
When making the toppings for the baked pots, mix the beans with cous cous, or cheese, or similar?
Make home made pizzas with them, turn it in to a project, they can mix the bases themselves, shape them, make up the sauce and come up with wierd and wonderful toppings.
Make it all fun for them and they may want to get involved, and they'll be so proud that they made it themselves, and hopefully love eating it. HTH

[Tommy]

know how you feel bagpussmice - in fact, your house sounds like mine except with different choices!
I hope that mine will both grow put of it and, dare I say it, DS1 (4.4) occasionally will try something new but that's only happened in the last couple of weeks.
What I try to do (although,tbh, I wouldn't take my advice on feeding fussy children )is just to churn out the same old stuff and every other day or so I add something new and casually ask if they are going to try it. Normally they don't - it just depends on the mood. Have to say that DS2 (2.9) (who used to eat everything but he is learning from the master of fussiness) is slightly better at trying new things but mostly if they are called "cake" or "biscuit"
Bloody heard work isn't it but all my friends with older children tell me theirs went through similar things as well.
Hang in there

[Raggydoll]

why don't you want to hide veggies?

[Twiglett]

so they eat

fish, eggs and beans .. protein
fruit, broccoli, sweetcorn, peas .. veg and fruit

what about carbs and calcium .. if they eat potatoes / bread and drink milk / eat yogurts / cheese I'd stop worrying

but I'd also encourage them to cook and also give them what you're having rather than seperate food

may I ask why they're vegetarians? is that a family choice? not that it matters just interested

[Twiglett]

I tell mine .. who aren't particularly fussy .. that they have to try a food stuff 30 times until they know for sure whether they like it or not (that's true actually .. across your lifetime)

I don't care how much they try but as long as they nibble a bit .. if they say they don't like it then that's fine they don't have to eat it .. but they do have to try it again next time I give it to them

I tell them how else will they know what their favourite food is?

mainly works with DS who's 5
.. DD is 2 and eats anything (including liver, mussels, lychees and black olives)

[Tommy]

think my DS1 must be weird then... (actually I know he is) - he takes a tiny nibble and seays "Mmmmm - lovely" so I say "Are you going to eat some more then?" he says "No thank you - I've had enough now....."

[laundrylover]

Sounds just like dd1s diet except that being vegetarian she doesn't eat fish.
I try not to worry as at least she doesn't just eat one thing, like toffee yoghurt like the kids on House of Tiny Tearaways! She loves olives for instance but has gone off Quorn...
Soups are a great way to introduce new tastes and I put frozen chopped spinach in pesto pasta - does that count as hiding veg??

[Skribble]

One piece of advise I have had is to keep offering different foods as they may have to have it on there plate as many as 20+ times before even considering it. Keep presenting little bites of new foods on there plates along side the more familiar stuff.

[bagpussmice]

sorry, yes she does eat fish but apart from that is vegetarian - sorry if i upset any "true" veggies out there. The dd's are vegetarian because myself and dh are, it's just easier (well, it would be if they were'nt so fussy!).

Will keep trying with new foods.... they may have to eat different stuff soon as we are going to Gambia and not sure there will be many jacket potatoes and fish fingers out there!

[jellyjelly]

there is a good article in you are what you eat this month about fussy eaters, opened my eyes a bit. I even got my ds who is 3.5 to eat soaghetti bolognaise which he has never eaten and pasta. i was so happy.