Trying to get a picky eater to change

My wife and I joke that my son is on the "white food diet": Plain noodles, unseasoned rice, plain white bread, vanilla ice cream, and gallons of milk. It's frustrating to both of us, because despite our efforts at getting him to try new foods, he always falls back to his old "favorites". Even though I keep reassuring myself and my wife that this is only just a phase in the life of our 3 year old, I think to myself, "Man, he's missing out on a lot of good and diverse foods!", and my worry is that he'll never develop a taste for exotic foods. Friends of ours with kids his own age are going through similar "food fights", but somehow I think that our son is a bit extreme in not wanting to eat new foods. O.k., I'm happy that my son has never had a Coca Cola or a soft drink in his life, that he's not really into candy or chocolate (although the few times he's had it, he's said, "I like it!"), and junk food in general says nothing to him. He loves water, plain noodles, whole milk, rice, and the most basic of pizza - cheese pizza.

Hopefully, when his baby sister comes of age and is able to eat on her own, she'll show more of an interest in varied foods, and show her older brother that new foods are o.k. to try. If he doesn't like them after at least trying them, he can opt out of trying them. Baby sister's got a way to go with eating exotic and more adult fare, so the wait will continue until our toddler eats something new.