2.5 year old refusing to eat

[iddybiddymum]

My daughter has recently started nursery, and we are renovating a whole house so it is quite an unsettling time for her, but she refuses food. Unless it's toast or chips ( which I won't give to her) she won't eat. She's gone off foods she used to love, gone off fruit, gone off egg , most things. I don't actually know how she survives. She'll have tiny bits and that's it.
Any tips?

Use exciting names for foods e.g. we call chicken in sauce 'sticky chicken' or soup 'surprise soup' or green beans 'squeaky beans' (can you hear them?) and ham up the name ...
My children are more likely to eat a food that’s colourful, cut into fun shapes or with a dip. They eat things that they wouldn’t normally eat if it’s on a skewer! We also had a cheese fondue at New Year and they were dipping things that they’d normally turn their nose up at.
Playing with food doesn't have to be a bad thing. We used to pretend we're dinosaurs eating trees when we eat broccoli – adds a bit of fun to the meal! Or try arranging vegetables into silly faces, writing her name in blueberries or peas etc...
Also take her shopping and let her choose out the fruit and veg. One success I've had is with broccoli. My son wouldn't touch it with a barge pole until I got him to pick the one he wanted at the supermarket. Then we came home and he washed it and broke it into pieces and popped it into a saucepan. He made a lot of mess and water went everywhere, but he also had great fun and has eaten broccoli ever since.
Sometimes, all my DC needed to eat a certain food was a little bit of dressing or for example, sweet potatoes with some ketchup. Don’t limit the use of condiments; eventually, she might opt for the items without them.
Serve small portions. She might be overwhelmed by a large portion of a food that’s unfamiliar or not her favourite. Also you’ll waste less food.
If you know another child who’s an adventurous eater, invite them round for tea – watching them eat different food might just encourage yours to join in. If you can’t at the current time, get teddy to join in – one for teddy – one for her.
Introduce a new food very gradually alongside a food she already eats, and don’t rush from one food or texture to the next. I used fish cakes to gradually get my DS to eat fish. First I started with about 90% potato and only 10% fish! I gradually increased the proportion of fish to potato and I don't think he noticed.
I also got him eating eggs by starting with savoury pancakes and gradually turning them into omelettes! I also did fried rice with only a tiny bit of egg in at first and slowly increased the egg. He now is fine with scrambled egg on toast and omelettes, and I've started doing quiches, but he still won't touch boiled, poached or fried.

@Fivemoreminutes1

Use exciting names for foods e.g. we call chicken in sauce 'sticky chicken' or soup 'surprise soup' or green beans 'squeaky beans' (can you hear them?) and ham up the name ... My children are more likely to eat a food that’s colourful, cut into fun shapes or with a dip. They eat things that they wouldn’t normally eat if it’s on a skewer! We also had a cheese fondue at New Year and they were dipping things that they’d normally turn their nose up at. Playing with food doesn't have to be a bad thing. We used to pretend we're dinosaurs eating trees when we eat broccoli – adds a bit of fun to the meal! Or try arranging vegetables into silly faces, writing her name in blueberries or peas etc... Also take her shopping and let her choose out the fruit and veg. One success I've had is with broccoli. My son wouldn't touch it with a barge pole until I got him to pick the one he wanted at the supermarket. Then we came home and he washed it and broke it into pieces and popped it into a saucepan. He made a lot of mess and water went everywhere, but he also had great fun and has eaten broccoli ever since. Sometimes, all my DC needed to eat a certain food was a little bit of dressing or for example, sweet potatoes with some ketchup. Don’t limit the use of condiments; eventually, she might opt for the items without them. Serve small portions. She might be overwhelmed by a large portion of a food that’s unfamiliar or not her favourite. Also you’ll waste less food. If you know another child who’s an adventurous eater, invite them round for tea – watching them eat different food might just encourage yours to join in. If you can’t at the current time, get teddy to join in – one for teddy – one for her. Introduce a new food very gradually alongside a food she already eats, and don’t rush from one food or texture to the next. I used fish cakes to gradually get my DS to eat fish. First I started with about 90% potato and only 10% fish! I gradually increased the proportion of fish to potato and I don't think he noticed. I also got him eating eggs by starting with savoury pancakes and gradually turning them into omelettes! I also did fried rice with only a tiny bit of egg in at first and slowly increased the egg. He now is fine with scrambled egg on toast and omelettes, and I've started doing quiches, but he still won't touch boiled, poached or fried.

Thank you for the advice 🙂