To not want to live off spaghetti bolognese?!

[Bancha]

I am trying to do the weekly meal plan and I don’t want to eat the same meals yet again! Toddler is 2.5 years and is quite fussy with food. On nursery days we get a pass because she has tea there and something small when we get home depending on how hungry she is. But that leaves four days a week to find something she will eat for tea with us.

I think I’ve followed all the advice on here - we eat the same as her, sometimes adding bits to ours that she won’t touch. When she doesn’t eat we don’t comment on it. Try not to put any pressure on her or seem like we want her to eat. If she doesn’t eat she can have toast or cereal so she’s not hungry but not another meal or snacks. But she will only reliably eat spaghetti bolognese, sometimes pasta with tomato sauce (extra veg blended in), pasta with pesto, and pizza. God forbid I try to add peas.

Of course, madam eats nearly everything at nursery.

Am I alone in this? Is this my life now? I’m so sick of bolognese!

Personally, I would never bribe my DC to eat. I want them to eat when hungry and stop when full. None of this 3 more bites etc nonsense. I would still give fruit and yogurt. As long as it's healthy food, it doesn't matter to me if they've eaten their dinner. It's all just food. And I have one who will eat anything and one fussy one. I've learnt with bringing up DC most stuff people like to be smug about their good parenting was just the way the DC was. I thought I was a great parent having a DC who ate anything...until I had fussy DD! 😂

I used to do this with my DS he would have a little bit of yogurt with spicy food. My DD wouldn't touch spicy food even with a whole tub of yogurt on it!

Maybe it would help to reframe her not eating dinner as simply that, rather than "going to bed hungry" - which conjures up images of a stick thin Oliver Twist type child crying in their bed from hunger. A well fed toddler missing one meal because they aren't hungry (and this is the reason) is no big deal at all.

Just to say you're not alone my 2.5 year old is exactly the same!
I heard it stems from 'cave baby' times where they were programmed to eat select foods so they knew they were definitely safe and every toddler goes through the same process.
I've also noticed that mine just tends to eat better when he's sat around other children eating the same rather than adults.
Like others have said try offer her the 'safe' food ie yogurt and fruit at the same time as the meal rather than after - seems to help us (sometimes 😂)

Honestly when I was young (in my day!!) you got what you were given, sometimes it was what you asked for. Sometimes it was what could be afforded. Eat it or go to bed!

This is when I think it's ok for you to not eat the same thing. You have what you want and give her what she wants. Batch cook it and buy that pasta that takes 4 mins to cook. Then if she shows interest in whatever you have, she can try it!

I am a total foodie and my small DDs weren't.

I'd make up a large amount of pasta on Sunday along with my yummy meals for the week. They could have what I was having or a bowl of plain pasta. No sauce just reheated pasta. As long as I didn't have to eat fucking pasta all good.

Just coming back to this post to say thank you for the advice I received. We’ve had an amazing turn around this week with dinner times being much more enjoyable and DD trying and eating new foods nearly every day. She hasn’t been sent to bed hungry, and we haven’t eaten spaghetti bolognese this week either! So, thanks again, everyone. You’ve really made a massive difference.

Don't offer toast or cereal. I'd make lots of pasta sauces with different veggies (both disguised and not disguised) and freeze them. Give with brown pasta (or brown rice or quinoa to try and get her to eat more than just pasta). Also make some homemade pizzas and freeze them. I'd offer nothing else if not eaten.