I have a very fussy 4 yr old who has been like this since she was a baby. Wont eat any vegies, when you feed her cauliflower or potato she gags on it and nearly throws up! Wont eat meat, (mince exception in spag bolg) and sometimes will eat chicken. Have tried vegies in white sauce, she gags on that too. Will eat fruit and sometimes raw carrot. Meal times are horrible as her 3 yr old sister is starting to copy her, arghh. Any suggestions?

I have a very fussy 4 yr old who has been like this since she was a baby. Wont eat any vegies, when you feed her cauliflower or potato she gags on it and nearly throws up! Wont eat meat, (mince exception in spag bolg) and sometimes will eat chicken. Have tried vegies in white sauce, she gags on that too. Will eat fruit and sometimes raw carrot. Meal times are horrible as her 3 yr old sister is starting to copy her, arghh. Any suggestions?

Totally sympathise! My 6 year old has ASD so sensory/textural issues are huge. Food became a battle at 2 when he started taking control of his eating. I have had to back down on certain food categories as I got sick of the dinner table being a battle field. My husband and I love cooking just want everyone to enjoy their meal and not have negative associations with food. Now I keep a mental list (constantly changing and experimenting) of foods that are basically nutritious and satisfying, easy to prepare and acceptable to my child. If what I am having for dinner coincides with this, great, if not then a separate meal is prepared. It's a pain sometimes, but at least there's no fight and we all actually eat a resonable meal of some kind! Maybe your daughter has an aversion to certain textures eg. soft/sloppy foods (such as cooked veg in white sauce). You may be better off sticking to crispier textures (like apples and raw carrot) and see how you go. Also try different breakfast cereals which can be eaten as snacks (instead of chips, crackers etc) and are quite nutritious, and different kinds of pita bread, tortillas etc which crisp up nicely in the grill and will help fill out a sparse meal. Also try not to get hung up on eating all 5 food groups in one meal, so long as there is reasonable consumption of all the important groups throughout the day or in the overall diet. Consider investing in an icecream maker. Icecream is always a treat for the kids and homemade icecream can be made full of good things (milk, eggs, real fruit puree, yoghurt etc) if you don't mind the sugar content! If this is affecting your other child's habits consider having a shared platter of food at meal times, so there's at least one thing that everyone likes on the table and your kids will feel like they are being given a choice (even a carefully orchestrated one!).
Good luck!

I've tried using sneaky recipes like these Carrot Cake Breakfast Biscuts
Carrot Cake Breakfast Biscuits

I have a very fussy 4 yr old who has been like this since she was a baby. Wont eat any vegies, when you feed her cauliflower or potato she gags on it and nearly throws up! Wont eat meat, (mince exception in spag bolg) and sometimes will eat chicken. Have tried vegies in white sauce, she gags on that too. Will eat fruit and sometimes raw carrot. Meal times are horrible as her 3 yr old sister is starting to copy her, arghh. Any suggestions?

Another suggestion which works for my fussy one:
Make a batch of pikelets but replace the milk with pureed vegetables. Use sweet or bland veggies such as pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini etc steam till soft and puree them well with a little cooking water, milk, coconut milk or yogurt. They will make your pikelets look delightfully orange but they will just taste like pikelets and only you will know of the hidden mummy goodness in them. OK so it's not a full serve of vegies in every portion, but it's better than no veg at all and my kid loves them and there's no fight getting him to eat them.