Toddler food issues driving me mad!

[pamplemousse]

Sorry for another of the same old fussy toddler thing but none of my friends toddlers do this...
My dd who is 19 mo will not eat what we eat. Last night for example I roasted some beetroot and carrots and salmon and made potato wedges. She would put the beetroot chunks in her mouth and chew them up like she liked the flavour then just spit the whole lot out, same with the wedges. She wouldn't touch the other bits.
If the salmon was pureed with spinach and made by mr and mrs plum baby she would have wolfed it down - same with the veges.
How can I get her to eat food that isn't pureed... she's nearly 2 for goodness sake! My friends children eat adventurous things such as sandwiches , she just picks them apart and discards most of it and nibbles the bread. She honestly prefers to eat dry bread.
Shall I just keep the blender out? I like to think she eats veg and this is the only way to get it down her. She'd happily eat baby food and crisps and fruit bars all day but firstly they are expensive and secondly it would be nice to all eat together.

I'd just keep on presenting her with the same food as everyone else (offering no alternatives or snacks in between), and she'll eat it eventually!

My DD (4) ate steak for the first time yesterday, having rejected it on the last 400 attempts. I have always removed her untouched plate without comment; yesterday, she ate every mouthful.

They will all get there in the end! (Especially if they know there's no choice...)

Blend the stuff more thinly and call it soup! Then try introducing sarnies with the soup - she might be keener if she can dip them. That meal you cooked up last night isn't especially toddler friendly (though it sounds lovely) - unless you have a v non-fussy one. They often prefer softer food eg shep/fish pie/fishcakes/sausages and mash. When she gets nearer two you'll probably find her diversifying a bit more.

I was wondering if perhaps she prefers bland food? how is she with mashed potato?

If she'll eat mashed potato you can introduce all sorts of things into potato cakes.

Sorry not to be of more help, but the soft texture/blandness is all I can think of. Its a really tough one as you've got the contradiction of baby food/crips and fruit bars.

I was wondering if perhaps she prefers bland food? how is she with mashed potato?

If she'll eat mashed potato you can introduce all sorts of things into potato cakes.

Sorry not to be of more help, but the soft texture/blandness is all I can think of. Its a really tough one as you've got the contradiction of baby food/crips and fruit bars.

K.. I thought it wasn't too unfriendly - easy shunks to pick up and eat, they were sfot not too crispy too
Foxy - thats what baffles me the crisp/bar thing is fine but other stuff is not appealing to her... starnge child... might give potato cakes a go. But surely bits of veg is pretty bland?! Grrr!

I'm with foxythesnowfox, make some nice mashed potato. Texture wise its a halfway house between puree and proper food. My boys love it with grated cheese and some chopped spinach mixed in.

If the mash goes down well then next time you can mix the salmon in with it,or go for some variation on shepherds pie.

Or what about something on the pasta line? That's soft and doesn't require much effort to chew.

It would seem with toddlers all will/won't eat food rules are suspended so long as it comes in a nice noisy wrapper

I found couscous a life saver with ds. I'd never had any before ds but he loves it. Especially with pesto of all things

Thank ladies will try the mash idea. Pasta is out to, she sucks the sauce off and spits out the pasta.
Dozeynoo you are right if it has silvery crackly packaging she wants it, she's awful at toddler groups she goes round scavenging from others! Will give cous cous a go too, thanks woodenchair

how about the tiny soup pasta shells? I'd keep going with everything, especially the pasta (I'd be in BIG trouble if mine didn't eat pasta ).

I think the absolute key thing is for you not to get stressed about it. Food is one thing which causes the most anxiety among us parents. Stay relaxed, keep offering, and take away if she doesn't eat it. I wouldn't offer any biscuits or crisps if she hasn't eaten anything decent - hard that it is because you want them to have something rather than nothing.

Food is such a tough issue, but I have to say I am completely baffled by this one. Good luck, I'm sure it will come good.

I might be stating the obvious here as you seem to know your stuff, so apologies if I am, but would suggest that if you make potato cakes, you can add anything to them, any left over veg or fish. If she likes crispy texture dip them in flour, egg, breadcrumbs, fry them off in olive oil and bake them. Double dip them for extra crunch. If she doesn't like crunch, dip them in flour before frying them lightly and baking them.

They are the blandest food I can make, and all mine love them. No accounting for taste, I suppose!

Thanks foxy will do that I have made them before and she did eat a little although I was overly ambitious and put salmon in them straight away! That now sounds like I include salmon in all my dinners, but its just a coincedence! Thanks for your help though, I think we seem to think similarly about food which comforts me somewhat as she baffles me completely and I thought I was going mad that she will eat some complex things yet not an apple for example!