Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

I feel like I ask this same question every few months....
My DD is almost 19 mos and for dinner is insanely picky to the point that I literally feed her the same thing EVERY night. I get tired of watching her eat it so I would think she tires of it too.
She does not like pasta of any kind...immediately spits it out - including mac-n-cheese (she doesn't know what she's missing).

Her staples at dinner are anything Dr. Praeger makes...fish sticks, the brocolli, spinach and potato bites and chicken nuggets. That's it.
She'll eat anything out of a pouch that she can suck down so I try to get some veggies in her that way and now they make applesauce in those pouches too which is great.

Any other ideas for me? She used to eat pizza...I have to keep trying that with her b/c she still spits it out. Basically anything new she either says no to or will spit it right out.
New snacks she tries just fine...that she knows is always good. Just frustrating she'll never try new stuff at dinner.

Any ideas are appreciated - thanks!

Message edited 1/16/2012 4:08:34 PM.

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

I read that toddlers eat the majority of their calories before 3pm, and that parents should worry about getting most of thir calories and nutrition into them during breakfast, dinner, and snacks, and to make dinner into a social event more than anything else.

When DD1 was that age she never wanted dinner.... she's still not a big dinner eater now, at almost 6 years old. She eats great the other 2 meals, and is not malnourished... she's long and lean She has to stay at the table and talk to us, and I put a tiny bit of everything on her plate, but I don't push it... that's the attitude I took from the time she was little.

Good luck!

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

we are in the same boat at 20 months. His biggest meal is lunch, breakfast is 2nd. He has very little interest in dinner ...

he snacks healthy throughout the day as well.

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

I have the same problem with my 20 month old. It's been yogurt & cheerios or french toast for dinner for about 2 weeks now. She eats like a horse for breakfast though and lunch is hit or miss. She has been refuseing her normal staples but wont try anything new. She is starting to get her 2 year old molars so maybe that is a factor. At around 18 months she got her pointy teeth/canines. It has been such a pain because if she doesnt eat enough fiber she gets really constipated.

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

Dd is almost 19 months and we are in the same boat. I am sitting with her right now as she has a plate of mixed veggies, black beans and chicken and she is just looking at me and saying "No Way"
Her biggest meal is breakfast and then lunch - we start going down hill after that.
She usually ends up eating a baby veggie or hummus or yogurt. She will always drink her milk so I do not stress about it - but it did take me awhile to stop stressing about DD's eating habits.

Re: Dinner ideas for picky 18 mo old?

WOW glad to see we are not alone. I definitely need to stop stressing over it so much and go at it with a better attitude like you ladies do...thanks for all the tips!
She does eat well during the day and drinks a lot of milk so I guess I should be happy.

Thanks!