Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Toddlerhood is all about independence -- "No, Mama, *I* do it!" -- so I try to let them have that control and not make eating a power struggle. But I hope to lay the groundwork for them to be healthy eaters of a wide variety of food. Long before I was a mom I met some little kids who popped tofu in their mouths like I had seen other kids eat tater tots, and I realized it's all about what they're introduced to early.

A more experienced mom gave me advice that I've tried to follow: She offers her kids fruits and veggies at every meal (no veggies at b'fast though...), requires a *taste*, and otherwise doesn't worry about it.

I made my own baby food (for nutritional and economic reasons) and introduced lots of veggies, not just carrots, potatoes, peas. And I used a variety of grain cereals, too, instead of just Gerber's overly processed rice stuff -- quinoa, etc. The whole forming-taste-buds gig -- I consider it one of my most important jobs as a mother.

Now that they're off baby food, they eat what my husband and I eat. I don't make "kids' meals" -- a huge pet peeve for me! Yes, occasionally, we (all) eat grilled cheese or mac and cheese. But, as I've heard many a mom say, "I'm not a short order cook." I make one meal for all of us. If they choose not to eat it, so be it.

And, how about trickery? "Let's eat lettuce like a little bunny" (cue bunny nose twitching), "Can you crunch your snap peas louder than me?", etc.

They say that the best predictor of a child's interest in reading is her parents' interest in reading, so I trust that's true with food, too. At this stage, one of the most important things is modeling healthy eating habits for them.