With toddlers everything can become a battle ground. They are testing their boundaries and one of the ways they do that is with food. You can not make them eat anything.

It isn't as extreme as you think it is, a lot of people have this same struggle in their houses every day.

Offer her food but do not cater to her or that will become the lifelong cycle. Offer her nutritional, healthy food and she will eventually eat it. Do not take away all the foods she will eat, but continue to offer her foods that are different. It can take a few tries of a new food before they eat it.

She is a toddler, she has no reasoning ability. Rewarding her for eating - why wouldn't she wait you out until she gets a reward every time for eating a carrot or a few peas? I would. Children are not small adults, they are children and they learn very quickly what gets them what they really want. Meal time sounds like it has been set up to be a struggle.

Maybe you could talk to her pediatrician and a nutritionist about the best ways to introduce new foods to her.

Reasoning and rewarding are not the answer, it was a last resort to see if I got a different result. The nutritionist came up with all the ideas I have tried and failed. Her pediatrician has only recommended me taking her off of juice to see if she'll eat more. As far as offering new foods along with what she will eat...I've done that the last 1 1/2 with little results. And yes, we made a picky eater worse. It's where do I go from here?

My toddler is 2 and 1/2. When we started her on jar foods, it was a struggle. She wouldn't eat the meats either. She would only eat the fruits and veggies. Now, she hardly eats anything except junk. For a while, I just caved and gave her what she wanted for fear of her going hungry.
Now, I make our family meal (everyone eats the same thing), give it to her with a fork and sit down and eat. If she chooses not to eat what's given to her, she immediately goes to bed. We've put her to bed a couple of times before she realizes that she has to eat most of her dinner. I don't believe in wasting food. It will only be a matter of time before she realizes that she doesn't get to choose what she eats yet.

Now that my daughter is a little older, we give her one option on one food item every night for dinner. (peas or green beans-apples or banana-biscuits or bread, etc) It has worked for the most part.

I wanted to go that route and the nutritionist & doctor talked me out of it. And I like your idea of going to bed (and not just giving her the same meal until she eats it) Did your daughter finaly get around to eating meat? I would imagine there will be a couple of things you will never get them to eat?

Well when I was young, I remember that my father wouldn't let me get up from the dinner table until my plate was clean. I can't do that to my daughter because I don't want her to feel forced to eat. There's always an option (Although the option is usually, eat some more or go to bed). I never will make her eat all of it. I don't want her to over eat. She has to eat most of everything though.

As for meat, sometimes she will eat it, sometimes not. It depends on what it is. If it's chicken, she will almost always eat it. Beef is something I struggle with, but I'm not too worried about meat. Try making meaty meals that are fun to eat. Kyleigh LOVES to eat tacos. Also, if it's something like chicken tenders or hotdogs, some kind of a dip is a MUST. Ketchup is my best friend, along with a close friend named Ranch dressing.

One thing that she absolutely LOVEs to eat is shepherd's pie. It has beef, veggies, potatoes, and cheese. Can't go wrong with anything topped with cheese. If you want a recipe, just ask.

It is true, some things they will never eat. But it's important for YOU to eat what you are trying to feed her too. If she sees you enjoying the same thing, she will be more likely to try it.
You're going to have to keep offering her the same kinds of food repeatedly so she can get a taste for it. Remember, her taste buds aren't fully developed yet. There are plenty of things I would never eat as a child but love to eat now.