When we go to restaurants, I order Soda for Aditya instead of Milk. If I order milk, he will fill his tummy with it and not eat the food. He doesn't like Pepsi, Lemonade etc a whole lot and won't drink much. So I just order a soda. He is happy, I am happy.
I am probably the only mom who prefers to order soda instead of milk for their kids.
I am actually quite amazed at his eating habits. He eats quite healthy for a kid growing up in the junk food world. He doesn't like sodas, doesn't eat much chocolate, doesn't eat any cookies except "homemade chocolate chip" and an occasional Oreo, doesn't like pizzas or french fries, doesn't eat burgers or sandwiches, doesn't like cakes and pastries ( except Passage to India bakery eggless cakes which are less sweet and very airy), doesn't drink sugary fruit juices, or eat sugary cereals and doesn't like creamy ice creams. His only "vice" is his weekly Friday night McDonalds dinner.
He likes Popsicles ( icefruits in India), healthy cereals like cheerios, raw carrots, strawberries dipped in gourmet chocolate, grapes, oranges, pappu annam with ghee, beans, beets, bendakai, dondakai, bananas, perugu annam, yogurt and milk, milk, milk, milk, milk, milk.
He actually has a very refined palate and can distinguish even subtle tastes. I gave him two oroe cookies one from an old batch and one new. Srinivas and I also ate them and did not find much difference, but he was able to distinguish which was old and which was new. He is sooooooooooooo picky with his food, he reminds me of Nanna all the time. Just like Nanna, he eats only a limited set of high quality foods ( home made cookies, waffles ; gourmet chocolate, just ripe fruits, home cooked chappaties).
On one side, its great to see him eating healthy, but his limited preferences make it hard to feed him.
