I was raised in a similar home environment -- except, instead of, "Eat it, or starve!" we were told to sit there until it was gone. We had to eat at least one small serving of everything Mom cooked; the only rare exceptions were uncommon fare, such as asparagus.
In hindsight, I am rather glad my parents were this way because it acclimated me to enjoying most foods. The only food I can't tolerate is beef liver, but I never had that until I went off to college and it was served in the cafeteria one day. Yuk! And grapefruit is yuk, unless it is the pink variety. But, I've never had any other meat or fruit, any vegetable, or any bread that I don't like!
It's frustrating to go out to dinner with other people and it turn into a struggle to pick a restaurant because one person hates pasta, one hates Chinese food, someone else doesn't like fish, and so forth. I'm always the one that keeps repeating, "Anything is fine" and will be happy wherever we go. It's all "Yum!" to me! 😊
With all the smothering and helicopter-parenting these days, it is refreshing to see someone raising their child to appreciate foods of real value! Good for you!
Thank you @thekittygirl yes it would seem that parents like myself are becoming few and far between these days sadly.
Thank you for the wonderful comment!