Getting Simon to try new foods has become an olympic event in our household. I know toddlers are sometimes cautious about trying new foods but it would be easier to get Simon to ride a unicycle backwards on a high wire than to be adventurous and eat something new.
I've read up on the subject of toddler eating habits and know that it can take at least 10-12 exposures to a food before one might even attempt to taste it. I've been trying solid veggies now since Simon was 8 months old and yet I can't get him to try ANY. Once upon a time he'd at least eat peas, but it's been at least 6 months since he's eaten any. He's also stopped eating chicken and the only meats he will eat are hot dogs, polish sausage, and deli ham.
Our one saving grace in the last month is that Simon has shown interest in dipping. He surprised us one day and dipped some buffalo chips in blue cheese at Buffalo Wild Wings. Doesn't seem to care for ranch dressing but didn't seem to mind blue cheese. That's my boy! Of course this was before his true interest in ketchup so I'm not sure that will be a repeat performance. Now he asks for dip whenever he has a hotdog.
In going with the dipping theme, I offered him some strawberry yogurt to dip some apples in. He was reluctant but he did it a few times. We had waffles tonight for dinner and we've always been unsuccessful in getting him to eat them. It's crazy but this kid doesn't really like sweets. He won't eat any candy offered to him which is driving me nuts because children's vitamins (chewable and gummy alike) are meant to be appealing because of their candy-like appearance/taste. Not for this kid. Okay, back to the waffles - tonight I tried cutting his waffle into strips so he could dip them into maple syrup. That was a no-go. He wouldn't even try the syrup with his finger until a dropped a strawberry into it. His reaction to the taste was one of startle-ment (yes, I just made up that word). He made no effort to taste it again. When I thought all hope was lost he started asking for "butter." In Simonese, that means peanut butter. The boy loves his peanut butter. I smeared a thin layer on each of the waffle strips and next thing I know, his plate is cleared. Thank God for peanut butter and no allergies to it! My new mission: find a smooth dip made out of peanut butter which shouldn't be too difficult given my love of Pinterest. Heck, if I'm lucky it might get him to eat a carrot stick, red pepper, or broccoli!