Your toddler is still developing a taste for solid foods, so he may decide he wants to eat only macaroni and cheese or PB & J as he adapts to a wide variety of colors, tastes and textures. Although BabyCenter.com says you may need to expose him to a new food multiple times before he considers eating it, you can broaden your picky toddler's horizons by diversifying his meal choices and adding some zest to the presentation.
Healthy Smoothie
A tasty smoothie can camouflage the fruits or vegetables your toddler refuses to eat. It will also appeal to a toddler who only likes to drink her nutrients. Pediatric expert Dr. Sears online recommends blending milk, fruit, yogurt, wheat germ, egg powder, juice, honey and peanut butter to give your toddler a healthy boost.
Sampler Tray
If your toddler likes to play and graze throughout the day, Dr. Sears recommends placing nibble-sized portions of nutritious foods in a tray with compartments, such as an ice cube tray or muffin tin. Fill the tray with nutritious finger foods such as thinly sliced apples, slices of banana, small cubes of cheese, slices of avocado, wedges of hard boiled eggs and bits of O-shaped cereal, says Dr. Sears.
Tasty Toppings
Add nutrients to the meals your toddler enjoys most by topping them, suggests BabyCenter.com. For example, dust his macaroni and cheese with wheat germ and add small fruit chunks to his morning cereal. Other nutritious toppings for various dishes are melted cheese, tomato sauce, applesauce, peanut butter, cream cheese, yogurt and guacamole, says Dr. Sears.
Dippers
Add some fun to crackers or a bowl of sliced fruit by placing a small cup of whole-milk yogurt in front of it for dipping, suggests Peggy O'Shea, Boston-based registered dietitian in a Babies Today article. Whole-milk yogurt can transform into a healthy, tasty dip for soft vegetable pieces if you puree in some vegetables. Other healthy dipper examples are hummus, tomato sauce and applesauce.
Artistic Presentation
Your toddler may refuse a sandwich, pancake or slice of pizza but she may be less hesitant to take a bite it if it's shaped like a heart or star. Invest in some cookie cutters for fun shapes, suggests Dr. Sears. Also play with toppings to make art out of your toddler's food. A pizza slice, for example, can transform into Mr. Pizza Man when its olives become eyes, its mushroom is a nose and its bell peppers look like a mustache.
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