when do they start eating foods they dont recognize right away?

I used to make a big deal out of eating new foods in front of my boys. I would act like the new food was chocolate or something that was SOOOOO good. Then I would tell them that they couldn't have it, it was only for big boys.....after a while they would beg for some :D Two of my 4 boys love veggies...the other two it didn't really work, but they now know they have to at least try it! Good luck

thats funny i'll try it

You start from the very beginning with them having to try each food on their plate...If they've already tried it once, then they have to take so many bites before they can get down. If you don't stop it, they never out grow it.

Introduce the food to them at least 5-7 times. They will eventually become familiar with it. Talk about the color, texture, taste, smell, where the food originates. Taste it and talk about how good it is. Talk about the health benefis. For example, Spinach will make you strong, like Popeye. Preschool children are generally picky eaters. As they get older, their tastes will change. Just be patient with them. Experiment with different foods and shapes. Make it fun. Don't force food on your children. Read my articles about food and preschool children at http://www.examiner.com/x-9784-Charlotte-Preschool-Examiner
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I always just tell her what the food is and stick it in her mouth ("mmmmmmm, yummy eggplant!") or I hand her the fork and tell her "like a big girl?". She loves to do the fork by herself, it works for me, and my 14 month old will eat anything besides brussel sprouts (although I don't blame her for not eating those).

I made sure our 1 yr old got a variety of foods by making his baby food and exposing him to different textures and tastes constantly while he was learning to eat solids....he's almost 18mo now, he will eat ANYTHING you put in his hand. My 5 yr old step daughter wasn't given alot of different kinds of foods and given whatever SHE wanted growing up, so now she only volunetarily eats about 5 things...so it can last awhile.

Clipreschoolexa also gave good ideas for overcoming that with younger kids. The 5 yr will ooo and ahh and talk about how great the food is if we do that with her, but when it comes down to it, she still won't eat.

A lot of it depends on the child. We've done the same things with both our girls (required that they try at least 2 bites of everything). With our first daughter, we thought we had done this amazing job and almost let it get to our heads -- she would eat anything and everything -- sushi, bleu cheese, raw vegetables, you name it. Then our second daughter came along. Well, she's 14 months and will NOT swallow it if she doesn't like it (or if she THINKS she isn't going to like it). We're still working on strategies with her. But we don't give in and only make her her old favorites, either...
Our 2 1/2 year old (older daughter) is now all the sudden having weird texture issues, like she hates chunky soup all the sudden. Oh well, we just make what we make and forge ahead. As long as you don't let them run the show, these stages pass...