Picky Eater

[rainsmom]

My 9yo dd, my only, is a picky eater - She will eat any vegetable on the planet, raw preferred but wont eat much else. Her diet consists of pasta, veggies, fruit, quesadillas,burritos, grilled cheese sandwiches and eggs- I do manage to get salmon and chicken in her on occasion and the urging of her naturopath - as she was getting gravely ill when she wasnt eating it.

I have to make her a separate meal - which i never should have started doing - but its a reality now. It makes it hell if we go out to dinner, and her list of foods that she will eat is dwindling on a daily basis. She wont eat anything with spices,esp ones that she can see, and then complains about how plain tasting it is. She wont eat any kind of tomato sauce, hates peanut butter, salsa, any kind of soup, pizza with too much sauce. . . . the list goes on

When i was a child i was equally as picky, and my parents would literally force feed me. So i have issues with forcing my daughter to eat - as i should - even if its good for her. She will TRY things. So thats a plus. She wont eat any other proteins besides salmon, fish and homemade refried beans that i make in the crockpot, and eggs. No fake meats, hotdogs, garden burgers - which is fine.

Im looking for advice on how to get my daughter to eat more foods, how do i backtrack to making only one meal for the family, and any other suggestions to overcome this one and only hurdle with my daughter - food. Going out to dinner has become a nightmare, as even when she orders something she DOES like, like pasta with butter, if it doesnt taste like it does at home - she wont eat it.

help!

[schellie]

Your dd sounds EXACTLY like mine. Especially the foods she will not eat. Was looking for some advice as well.

[rainsmom]

I have enforced the "you have to eat what we are having for dinner" and kept the foods reasonable, things she should like - like quiche. She did eat, not alot, but its a start. Im a really great cook too - Maybe there is a cookbook for picky eaters or a website . . . . I guess im lucky in that she will eat almost any veggie . . . raw preferred

[onthemove]

Perhaps shopping, looking through cookbooks, and helping choose and prepare the food would encourage her to try and like more foods.
My dd's go through this when they don't like the dinners I cook night after night so I hand the responsibility over to them and they enjoy it.