So, I'm not sure this can even be classed as a 'problem' but it is certainly driving me mad!
DD is 5, 6 in Dec and for the last 6 months will not eat a full meal. This is fine (ish), DH and I will never make her finish everything on her plate but insist she eats a good amount of everything. She is not fussy in the slightest, loves things that most 5 year olds won't touch like olives, asaparagus, quark, spinach salads etc so we're lucky in that regard.
The issue lies with not eating what she's asked for. Requests can be really specific like 'a chicken roll, with spinach and chard but not rocket and a little bit of mayonnaise' to 'I would really like chicken casserole for dinner tonight' but then will NOT eat them! I know she likes these things and she's really keen but then it just sits there for an inordinate amount of time pushing it around looking miserable. This morning was a request for egg and soldiers, and we talked about her eating what she's asked for but once again she just ignored the egg, eventually declaring that she 'didn't know eggs tasted like that' (she bloody well does. It's a staple at grandmas).
She wasn't eating her school lunches or dinners last year and so we got her involved in choosing what she ate and that worked well for a while. At home we like to involve her in meal planning, preparing the meal, shopping for it etc as she enjoys it but the outcome is always the same. She'll insist she likes the food, that she wants it etc but just won't eat it! This doesn't just apply to home cooked 'healthy' meals but also to Happy Meals, Ice creams at the beach and baking cakes and cookies. Left alone she would eat just a slice of toast, a banana and a handful of vegetable pasta all day.
How can I get her to eat, without completely removing her control? It's hard enough to be 5 without even having a say over what you eat but the waste alone is making me see red.