Picky Eaters

As a newborn, my daughter was one of those fortunate enough to have a mother who had enough milk for an army of kids. There was so much milk that you might as well have called me Elsie. But my daughter was never able to keep up with the milk produced. She drank what she wanted (which was not a lot)  and that was it. What was I supposed to do with the rest?. I've always wondered if being a picky eater starts as early as this. As she got a little older, my daughter grew to be quite choosy about what she was willing to put in her mouth. As a two year old, she loved olives. This fascination with olives lasted about a year. With a few more years under her belt, she was happy to eat some fruits and vegetables (apples, grapes, oranges, corn, carrots, and peas). Meat was not something she particularly liked. Of course, like any youngster, french fries were welcomed on her plate. So was pizza. We tried to get her to at least taste other items, but this was no easy task. There was very little willingness to deviate from what she knew. Not surprisingly, friends and tutors had much more success in this area. She was even willing to try a delicious sauteed beef dish made by her Korean friend's mother. In her pre-teen years, she learned to appreciate the taste of some chicken dishes. Like her father, she liked breaded chicken almost exclusively. Being limited in my cooking skills has resulted in my breading just about everything. My daughter can easily tell if the breaded dish was not chicken and she will not eat it if it isn't chicken. So there is no fooling her in this respect. My friends have shared their own "tricks" to get their own picky eaters to try different dishes. Adding to cheese almost anything supposedly does wonders. I have tried that and, in my case, it really doesn't work. A cheese sandwich is now one of her favorites. But cheesed up broccoli--forget it. She will, however, eat steamed broccoli. I have managed to get her to love pasta as long as I make it into a "pizza". I boil the pasta per the instructions on the box. The cooked pasta is spread into a greased pan. I prefer to use that teeny tiny pan that goes in the toaster oven. Then I spread some tomato sauce and top that with grated or sliced mozarella cheese. I bake that until the cheese is slightly brown and yummy looking. My daughter is in heaven when I serve this dish. At this point, she thinks I might as well by Julia Child. I don't really have too many other "tricks" to get our beloved picky eaters to expand their repertoire, but if you do, please let me know about them.