We are now just going with the flow and following his lead
This is the exact advice I was going to give you! Don't make it into a battle, because I guarantee you'll lose and just get more frustrated. I feel the same way you do about kids and junk food, and it was a priority for me to raise Tyler with good eating habits (still is). I worried all the time, and I've come to realize that babies' and toddlers' tastes change all the time. As long as you only offer healthy choices, you're doing fine. And yes, fruit counts too! Tyler's gone through "no veggie" phases and I'd respect his choices by offering him other healthy foods, like fruits or grains, or finding ways to make veggies interesting again. Now he's old enough to understand "after you eat your veggies," and he does.
You might try offering well-cooked veggie pieces as finger food, many babies start to reject eating from a spoon around 9 mo but will eat anything with their hands. If it's slippery, try coating it with dry baby cereal, wheat germ, or crushed cheerios. Hang in there!
