My LO is 15 mo and not speaking yet so she can't actually ask for specific food. But she has a few things she will love and basically will always eat no matter what (sliced cheddar cheese and cereal bar). She is generally not a great eater, and unpredictable (yes to chicken nuggets today, no to them tomorrow), and almost never likes what I make for dinner (she generally will only eat plain food like meat, veg... not like a casserole or fried rice with stuff mixed together).

So generally she gets a waffle and fruit or yogurt for breakfast and usually eats that okay. Snack she may or may not eat. Lunch I make her kid food (i.e. plain protein, veg, fruit) and she usually eats okay... ish. If she isn't I just let it go because I figure she'll eat more later if she is hungry. She always gets a pouch in the afternoon and crackers if she wants them (sometimes yes, sometimes no). Dinner is where I struggle with what to feed her.

I always first serve her whatever we are eating + a plain veggie. I want her to get used to different flavors, spices, normal prepared food, etc. She almost always refuses the main dish. I don't want to make food a battle so we don't really push her to eat it. We ask her to taste it a few times and she throws it and we just leave it sitting there. But I never know when I should offer a different protein then. Since it is her last meal of the day, I don't want her going to bed hungry. But I also worry that if I keep giving her something I know she likes after she refuses our normal dinner she will learn that all she has to do is refuse to eat and she gets cheese lol.

How do you handle this? Especially in the pre-verbal stage?