Picky Eater??? Any New Snack or Meal Ideas for My Four Year Old?

I slice bell peppers so that they look like a ring (complete circle). My girls wear them on their arm like a bracelet and eat it that way. They LOVE bell peppers and request their "bell pepper bracelets." They also like when I grate carrots really fine with the cheese grater and then mix it with raisins/craisins.
I must say my girls LOVE all fruits and vegetables though and we really don't have a hard time with them eating things, but I still like to make it fun for them and present it in interesting ways.
You could disguise spinach in mashed potatoes by just mashing it all up together and baking it in the oven with a little cheese over top.
I have found that my girls prefer their vegetables raw instead of cooked (maybe consistency??) You could try to offer her (raw) carrots sliced up, etc.

I give DD something she will eat, something she might and something she probably won't but I want her to try.

I would also encourage your DD to try new things with you. Go to the store. Maybe get a kiddie recipe book and do something together. My SD had one that had chips you made out of tortillas, sesame and poppy seeds and Parmesan cheese. SOOO good!

I would also talk to her about good food and how she will be strong and healthy if she eats x. My DD knows she can't eat gummy snacks til she's had a good lunch. She'll ask me, "Are raisins healthy?" We'll come up with things that I think are acceptable and if she eats them and doesn't have to be nagged, then she can have a treat. I would not give DD cookies til she's had something good.

Also, remember to model the behavior you want. If you want her to eat salads, you eat salads. If you want her to drink milk, you drink milk.

Have you tried making pizzas together? Each person can individualize their own pizza. You can put mushrooms, peppers and other veg on them, too.

With the spaghetti, will she try spaghetti squash? Or can you add small chunks of other veg with the sauce?

When you say "soup" what kind? Will she eat veggie soup? Or stew?

We serve steamed broccoli with cheese on top. Would she eat a veg with cheese?

We tell DD she has to taste her food and if she really doesn't like it, she can say, "No, thank you" but she doesn't get treats if she doesn't eat well and she is not allowed to simply throw a fit or go "ew! Yuck!"

Just remember it may take up to 15 tries for any of us, kids and adults, to get used to a new flavor and texture. Don't force the issue, but just keep trying.

Hide veggies in their foods. Steamed and mashed cauliflower is easy to hide in mac & cheese and mashed potatoes.

Make it 'fun' and cut up things in a 'snack tray' which is nothing more than a muffin tin. Give her yogurt in one of the cups as her dip.

Keep trying the things your child refuses, it's the only way they will ever even try them. Have a "one bite" of everything rule at meals. My guy will be 3 in April and our pediatrician also said to not cater to him but fix what we are eating for him as well, with at least one thing I know he likes, but definitely no snacks of foods he likes afterwards when he hasn't eaten well. He has been coming around and eating salad and other veggies without a fuss, yay! (I tried dips of all sorts but he was eating only the dip so we did away with dips and ketchup for now.) And, he has always disliked tuna salad because of the texture, but today I was eating some and he wanted a taste, he ate it all! : )

I am raising my nephew and he is picky. I do things like cook cauliflower and mash up in mashed potatoes. Sneak cooked carrots in meatloaf, etc. I believe there are cookbooks out there to tell you things to make and do this. If you are close to Ollies they have them. I also have the rule that he has to try at least one bite of stuff and the bite has to be big enough he can taste it. If he doesn't like it, then he doesn't have to eat. I've gotten him to try blueberries, etc. How about gogurt or drinkable yogurt, etc, string cheese, etc.
Good luck.
A.

We often buy the fruit and veggie trays w/ dip and my kids love them. (My kids are ages 4 and almost 3.) As Love2ReadK said, just keep introducing foods to her. My son tried black olives for the first time the other day. He kind of liked them, but I try to put them in front of my kids so they can develop a taste for a variety of foods. We also talk about healthy food and not so healthy food which helps develop an awareness about nutrition. Now when we go to McDonalds or some fast food place one or both of my kids will say-this isn't healthy food, so we shouldn't eat it very much.
Shows like Team Umizoomi, Sid the Science Kid and Curious George will often model eating a variety of foods too. Rachel Ray has a great cookbook for kids called Cooking Rocks. There are a lot of great recipes that are fun for kids to cook and eat. I found cute metal lunchboxes for my kids at Old Navy. Sometimes I will pack them up and we will go some place for a picnic lunch or just eat at home. Sometimes that is fun for them to try different things! Good luck!
A.

As many people have said, you are in charge of what she eats, so give her what you want and she'll get there (maybe slowly)!

But to answer your question...work with what she is eating. Fries can be made out of sweet potatoes or other similar veggie. Always add something green to spaghetti sauce. It is a great place to add zucchini, spinach, brocolli or other. If you start gradually, your daughter should except the change. The same can be said for mac and cheese. I have never served it to my kids without broccoli, spinach, or peas mixed in. You can start off with just a tiny bit and then build up. What my kids eat now is probably 60% veggies and %40 mac and cheese. Or for starters you can add pureed carrots or squash to the mac and cheese and it won't be very noticable. Burgers are a good place to add cheese or spinach etc. Also tell her that starting now, she MUST eat healthier and a wider variety of foods. She may not be happy, but tell her what you want her to do and why and she will come around.

***It also may be helpful to phase out the sweets for a bit while you are introducing more veggies. Broccoli can't compete with a cookie! For a week we did a ZERO sugar week and my son, (who is a reluctant eater) was gladly dipping carrots and celery into sweet potato hummus by the end of the week (which is amazing)!

Good Luck!

you can put pureed carrots in mac and cheese.
put up a snack chart. she has to pick 1 new snack a day for meal time.

My son (3.5) loves his veggies. Not sure what I did right or if he just likes them, but early on, I always gave him a variety of 'dips' to dip his veggies in... italian dressing, ranch dressing, honey mustard ...... I could actually get him to eat just about anything if I let him dip it in something. Shoot, yesterday he dipped his green beans in ketchup just because he could (he had hot dog on his plate, hence the ketchup on his plate as well).

In your case, try dips. Try making it look fun (google "fun way to create veggie platter" and see what pops up. In the past I have made silly faces out of veggies and fruit and my son will eat 'an eye' or 'his hair' (an olive, shredded carrot). Get bamboo skewers and make a long stick of fun-cut veggies.)

If she's a sticker kind of gal, have her "eat a rainbow" each day. Heck - this would be great for adults too! (Woah they want you to buy stuff from this website. Maybe you can make your own sticker chart for a lot cheaper)
http://www.todayiatearainbow.com/

Home Made Pizza
Quesadillas with salsa/dips
Home made fries can be made out of sweet potatoes or butternut squash (check the HungryGirl site for recipes)