18 mo won't eat fruits/veggies and is texture sensitive

[rayasunshine]

Hi all!

So my 18mo DS will only eat cantelope and that's after months of offering it.  I continue to try to offer a variety of foods but to no avail.  I continue to offer fruit and veggie purees and he was eating them fine but lately he's been refusing to eat it.  We end up kind of pushing it and after some time he'll eat it but he's not happy about it.  I've tried even cutting up the fruit and putting it in yogurt but he just spits it out. 

Veggies wise he'll do purees but same thing again, not wanting it.  I tried steamed veggies and he ate some carrot, peas and some corn.  Again not much eating happening.

He's also texture sensitive...he eats rice sometimes and is fine and other times he gags on it and we have to puree it a bit.  Same goes for pasta.

I'm kind of at a loss...he'll eat grilled cheese, pizza and quesadilla without issue.  What to do?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

[creations]

Mine is a little texture sensitive too. He has never accepted rice (and he is 2.5yo!) but I generally don't consider him 'fussy' simply because I can cover all the food groups and have a reasonably varied diet.  He also won't take mashed food, food with bits in (like anything smooth with added lumps like the yoghurt with fruit you describe) or mixed up food. So for example loves a stew but only if I separate out each component veg into a different pile on his plate so he can see what's what he will eat it all, usually one pile at a time. The veg taste different when cooked as a stew with stock/meat/herbs rather than plain steamed (esp aubergine, courgette which are just 'wet' when steamed and courgette is quite bitter on it's own too).
What sort of pasta are you offering? Try some of the bigger shapes (twists, penne) rather than the very small ones (baby pasta, soup pasta) because it is a different texture experience.
Is he 10 or 18 months? (10 months is quite a common age for threads where LO refuses puree)
It sounds promising that he tried the steamed veg and I would continue down this route, offering the same things over and over and also different things alongside.  Oven baked/roasted wedges or chips are a fav here, sweet potato, turnip, potato, carrot, butternut squash.
It also sounds promising that he'll have the pizza and quesadilla.  You can make a tom sauce with various veg whizzed up in it to give him a range of vits and nutrients within his preferred food and lots of different healthy toppings on pizza.  I would also expand on various breads and flat breads, just because he is already taking something like that, so pitta bread with cheese inside (heat in a dry frying pan so the cheese melts), various flat breads, chapatti etc just to encourage a variety of textures and flavours even though it's all very similar.
You could also try hidden fruit and veg in pancakes, muffins, and little bean and veg frittas/burgers which were a fav here.
Do you sit and eat your meal with him?  Most LOs are motivated to eat by copying the others at the table and the social aspect of meal times is (IMO) just as important a skill to learn as eating itself.

[rayasunshine]

Hi Creations,

Thanks for your response and suggestions! DS is 18mos, thanks for catching that...I went back and modified that lol before I confused everyone else.  I try to eat with him but if I can't 5yo DD is eating at the table with us.  I do offer him Indian food which he devours...more specifically a 2 layered chappati with some veggies and buttermilk.  I've tried him with muffins and again he's not really into them.  I'm going to try to find some soup recipes and try to get his veggies into him that way at least once or twice a week.  I'll try to look into the frittas you mentioned.  I guess I'll just keep trying.  DD is amazing with her fruit/veggies (more like me) and DS is like his father...what's a veggie? LOL...thanks again!

[creations]

I do offer him Indian food which he devours...more specifically a 2 layered chappati with some veggies and buttermilk

Yum!
My LO also likes a curry although we make it mild.  This week he helped cook onion, aubergine and courgette with chicken curry
As your LO is 18 months maybe try some cooking activities with him if you don't already, this can help them feel involved and sometimes motivated to eat the foods they help cook.  Does he eat dahl, that's really healthy? What about veggie samosas? (I don't have the patience to do home made).
Also as he is 18 months I would really not go with offering more puree, if something is naturally soft/mashed or a dip then fine but otherwise I think he needs to move on to adult dishes rather than pureed baby foods.  My DS wouldn't eat soup until just recently but yes it's a great idea, mine likes to drink it from a cup rather than use a bowl and spoon (although he does start with the spoon) and I've read other LOs like to drink soup form a cup too.  Mine also likes to dip in any kind of sauce, tom sauce, or mayo, or mint sauce, anything really, so at times when he isn't so sure about trying something I offer a spoon of sauce and he is suddenly interested.

[rayasunshine]

Hi Creations,

My DS is a hazard in the kitchen (and everywhere else) lol...so having him help would just not work right now but I totally get what you're saying.  I think I mentioned he is fighting us on the purees but at least this way I know he is getting some fruit/veggies into him.  I don't do the cooking in our home and I don't think my husband cares as much about this as I do so asking him to find ways to hide veggies into meals would probably be an issue.  Anyways...I guess we'll keep trying and hopefully one day this guy will just eat fruit and vegetables like his sister does.  Thanks for your suggestions though...I will definitely try some of them.