Ideas to spark good interest

[YukoandHiro]

I've posted before about my little girl and food. She's never been keen - eats enough now at 20 months in terms of volume to stop me really worrying but her range is really limited.
All carbs are fine. Some fish and meats go in. I can smuggle veggies into mashed potato and rice but fruit ends up being Ella's pouches as she refuses to even pick up any pieces of whole fruits. (She used to eat banana but even that's been refused for the month).
I'm looking for tips to get her more interested in food in general and willing to try things... or even pick them up and sniff/lick them!
I'm thinking:
-books that include food and meals (she loves books)

• buy a play kitchen with play food
• get her involved in shopping trips (we usually do ocado).
• get her to help cooking somehow (safely)

Any other thoughts? I really don't want food to be an issue for her as she has severe egg and dairy allergy so her introduction to food at six months was a horrible time for all of us. If it's relevant I still bf 2-3 times in 24 hours and she has oat milk as a substitute on cereal as in cooking, and alpro yoghurt (which she also loves).

I think getting her to help with food prep is an excellent idea and include a really wide range of foods. Pack unusual and interesting things for a picnic, let her play with it and explore in a non meal scenario. I wouldn’t bother with books and toys. Our brains understand that one is a representation of the other but kids that age don’t really. It’s just a picture in a book or a toy, totally unrelated to things you eat.

But cooking together is really good. My older one absolutely refused to eat certain foods when she was that age. She first started to try them while helping me cook. She’s 6 now and they’re some of her favourite foods.

Do you have space where you could grow your own veg? Even lettuce on a window sill might help spark some interest. You could get her to sow the seed herself, help with watering etc.