Kianey Carter: Mother vs. Son, Battle Food

In the green corner, we have Kianey. Mother of one-year-old Davis. Her objective: Teach her toddler son good eating habits.

In the yellow corner, we have Davis. A toddler looking to eat whatever he wants, preferably bananas or things with cheese or found on the floor.

This is the battle I am facing right now. Our doctor has given us the go ahead to feed our son everything that we eat. Up until this point, we have been pretty successful in our feedings. He isn't allergic to anything. He ate baby food like a champ and from pictures you can tell he doesn't miss any meals. My problem: He won't eat vegetables. His foods of choice are pasta, ravioli in particular, and bananas.

When we first started table food, we did like the doctor said and started with oatmeal, green beans, squash, bananas and avocados. Foods that weren't too sweet. Then we graduated to chicken, sweet potatoes, pasta, peas, corn, etc. No issues, but these were mostly purees.

When we started giving him bigger pieces and showing him how to chew, we noticed his affinity for pasta and bananas. It made sense to us. They were easy to chew and tasty. But then he started turning up his nose at the peas or carrots sitting on his high chair table. Spitting them out and throwing them over the side of the chair. We thought it was just a phase and continued to try to give him these foods, but our efforts were unsuccessful.

Weeks have turned into months and he's started eating some vegetables, but he will gladly turn them down and eat only what he wants on his plate. We've started giving him the squeeze pouches of food so that he gets the vitamins and nutrients from vegetables he needs. He will suck those things down easy, so we know he likes the taste, he just won't eat them if he has to feed them to himself.

How do I change this habit?!?! I know this isn't the first time we will have a food battle, but I want to nip it in the bud before it gets out of control. I've gotten baby/toddler cookbooks, turned to Pinterest for ideas and read dozens of articles for help.

Unfortunately, right now this kid has me on the ropes. For now, I will continue buying those squeeze pouches and giving him the chance to eat the veggies himself, but I need help. I am welcoming all tips and tricks!

Round one of battle food goes to Davis! Don't worry, mom isn't giving up.