Elliott eating broccoli . . .

Notice the large quantity of food on his plate. I mean really, am I asking too much that the kid atleast try a bite or two of the meal the rest of the family is enjoying??? Seriously, boys cannot live on yogurt and fruit alone - although somehow Elliott is managing to do just that. I have had my ups and downs with his picky eating. The kid will not eat anything that is an actual meal and subsists mainly on fruit, yogurt, granola bars, and muffins. Oh, and McNuggets from you-know-where and rainbow sprinkle pancakes from Perkins. REALLY?! No mac-and-cheese for this kid. No cheeseburgers. No hotdogs. No mashed potatoes. No cheese. Not that any of those are particularly healthy options, but they are typical kid fare! No vegetables - unless carrots dipped in ketchup limit one every two weeks counts. He will occassionally eat pizza - cheese only and usually just from the Pizza Hut at Target. What happened??? I was such a good mommy, serving up steamed broccoli and other such healthy goodness to my children who gobbled it up and asked for more. Until Elliott, that is. And I've tried everything . . . bribery (um, I mean rewards), time-outs, spanking (gasp!), 'two bites because you're two', going to bed without snack, not giving anything else unless . . . The kid has amazing willpower and will simply not eat anything other than what he likes. Even if he's never seen it, heard of it, or tasted it before - he says "I don't like that!" So I'm left with making fruit and yogurt smoothies with protein powder and muffins with whole wheat, applesauce, and whatever pureed veggies I can sneak in there (favorite - pumpkin). All I can say? It's a good thing he's cute!