Food Rut, What to Fix for Kids...

The easiest way to get my picky eater to try new things, was to get him in the kitchen. He helps prep dinner, cleaning veggies, stiring, ect. Once he was apart of it he started eating more things. He still won't eat Green beans, but he now eats cabbage, spinache, corn ect.
For the the ten month old, I would feed her everything the family eats, (except spicy things). Just dice it up small. My youngest has been eating table food since he was 9 mos old with out a problem.
Good luck

I have used the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, for my teenage dd and hubby and they could not tell that healthy food was in thier food, and when my dd was little and even now try the food, you don't have to eat it all but try it. but the book is good and you don't have to pre do all the stuff I just do has needed and it helps me to eat healther

For your 5 year old, maybe you could offer some of the foods she has refused in the past, but prepared differently. BOTH of my kids refuse to eat cooked carrots. (They are 8 and 11 Years old). They have NEVER liked them. But they LOVE them raw. Same thing with bell peppers. They will not eat them cooked (like on a pizza), but they will happily much away if I just cut up raw strips... they especially LOVE the red bell peppers (which I am glad about, b/c they have a TON of phytonutrients!).

I have a friend who's child would only eat green peas if they were FROZEN... like, right out of the bag!

Have you offered her "odd" things, like black olives, pimento stuffed green olives, french fried sweet potato, shredded raw cabbage, steamed broccoli..
The best advice I ever heard (and use) is that even if your kids don't eat/like something... to continue to offer it to them. Put just a small (one small spoon?) portion of the item on their plate at meals. Don't force them to eat it every time, but keep putting it on their plate.

It doesn't always get them to love foods, but they become less averse to trying them out. I always serve something that I know they will eat (not their favs necessarily, but something they WILL eat) as a main dish, a side they WILL eat or really like and usually one item they are less sure about. They may only take one bite... but sometimes we hit on something that one of them loves!
At my kids ages they are required to have one bite/taste of everything. If they don't like it.. they aren't required to have more.

My 1 year old loves....sweet and spicy tuna in the pouch (not really "spicy"), hummus, brussel sprouts and avocado!! Of course, she also likes cheese, macNcheese, bananas and some of the more common foods. I didn't expect her to eat the tuna, but I gave her a bite of my sandwich and ...voila! I buy frozen veggies and put them in a container in the fridge. I don't warm up the peas, because she seems to prefer them cool. I agree with others in that the way you prepare foods can be the difference, too. The hummus I will put on raw carrots and she licks it off or any veggie, really. I buy frozen waffles/french toast at Trader Joe's and give those to her anytime of day. They also have fruit cups that aren't sitting in heavy syrup. My daughter likes those. I have frozen yogurt in ice cube trays with popsicle sticks in them - the popsicle stick works well as something she can hold on to. My daughter almost always refuses to let me feed her, so I got little bowls with suction cups on the bottom that I attach to her tray. I put yogurt or finger foods in them with a spoon. She doesn't get as much in her mouth as I would by feeding her, but it beats fighting her for control over the spoon and giving up due to the amount of food on BOTH of us! LOL! Another thing she like is sweet potato chunks or fries, acorn squash or plain whole wheat pasta. Good luck!!!

Our rule for new food is that DS just has to lick it. If it is something I know he has eaten before he usually has to eat one bite. Just keep offering it in small quantities. If your daughter likes ketchup or ranch dressing or cheese put it on the vegetables. I have a weird child who is not a fan of condiments so we usually will sprinkle Parmesan cheese on his veggies. He also loves mushrooms and black olives, but I can't get him to eat tomatoes which I love. Have you tried soups with your 5 year old. My son will eat things in soup that he wouldn't touch otherwise. Soups are also great for freezing. Good Luck!

This might sound weid my kids loves garden burger patties with no bun.. and ketchup.. and they get their veggies in too :) super easy.

Oh I share your pain! As babies, all three of my children ate wonderfully and would try absolutely everything! Then, my middle child got a little older. At approx.. 3, he figured out how to make himself throw-up over the idea of eating something he didn't think he liked. Sometimes, he would just look at it, and then vomit onto his plate. We finally got to the point were he would at least get some in his mouth before vomiting. And although he will still gag/almost vomit, we have the rule that you must try everything on your plate. If you don't want what is served, you may have a plain peanut butter sandwich and don't ask for any thing until next meal time. He understands our rule, and can now actually chew and swallow 1 bite of green beans w/o incident. He is also willing to try new things even knowing that he may gag. I think you just have to be consistent in serving a variety of items and don't discount foods just because of previous dislike.
Good luck!

Agree with the answers below. Also, plant a small garden. If they grow it (or cook it) they will try it. I tell my children that they only have to try it and if they don't like it, they don't have to eat it. Then I give it to them again and tell them they are "older" now and might like it....followed by cries of, "But mom I'm only a week older!" hej hej hej eventually they eat a wide variety. Good luck and dont' give up. Also try blending various vegetable and use it as a dipping or saute sauce for simple items like chicken. If they can't see it, they will often eat it.