Meghan wasn't much into breakfast at that age either. Even now it's the smallest meal of the day. I think it's the big bottle in the morning, when we switched her to a cup of milk with her breakfast she started eating a little more food. Of course, then her milk intake decreased, so probably the same number of calories.
As far as meats go, maybe it's the way they're prepared? If you poach chicken (cover it with water/broth and simmer it), it stays more tender. Meghan will not eat baby meat, like those Gerber meat sticks, but she will eat ground beef in spaghetti sauce, little pieces of deli ham (not turkey though), meatloaf (I make it with veggies and tomato sauce and it's quite moist). She's just started eating a little hot dog (the all natural, no nitrate kind).
Another thing to try is to make tiny little meatballs. I did that and mixed them in with her beloved pasta and I'm not sure she even noticed them!
Oh, and fish, all of my kids love fish. I bake salmon with butter, garlic, salt and dill and they eat a ton of that. We also eat salmon cakes quite often. Meghan will not eat fish sticks, but the "real" deal she thinks is great.
One last idea, put ground meat in pancakes. If I have a roast chicken or leftover sausage or something, I just put some of that in her pancakes (usually with broccoli or spinach and cheese) and she'll eat it like that.
Will Michela eat beans? If she's getting her protein and iron from other sources, she doesn't need much meat. And the serving size for meat for a toddler is only about 1 oz, so about 1/3 the size of a deck of cards.
HTH
