Thai, Indian, Cuban, American, South African: It didn’t matter. My former almost-two-year-old was like the United Nations of eaters.

Then she went to daycare. Then I got busy with other stuff. Then she turned 3. Then 4. Then 5.

And before you knew it, Tillie (aka the Tillie of “But Will Tillie Eat It?”) had forgotten about her prior culinary forays and became mired in a cycle of black beans and rice and Kraft macaroni and cheese.

Now don’t get me wrong: that’s not all she eats. She’s a champ when it comes to downing the veggies, for instance. But the aforementioned black beans and rice and macaroni and cheese are definitely staples—as to where she might have one or the other at least 4 to 6 times a week.

That’s a far cry from her “Lunchtime With Tillie” days.

What’s that, you might ask? You see, that was a weekly feature I used to write for the much-loved Clinton Hill Blog, where I—a newly laid-off guy thrust into the stay-at-home dad role—would take my infant/toddler daughter out to different restaurants in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy parts of Brooklyn and write about the food and experience. I also made pains to expose her to all different types of cuisine and I have to say, she really took to it.

But as life changes, I guess so do the tastes of your average kindergartner. And we don’t get out to nearly as many restaurants as we used to with our days being so hectic.

So that’s where this new, hot off the WordPress blog comes in, because I’d like to expose Tillie to a variety of food again, but with a bit of a twist. It’ll be meals I make at home.

Back in the day when I was home with Tillie Bear, I really got into cooking. Now I find myself always saving recipes I find online (primarily on Twitter), but I never set aside time to make different things, which contributes to how the kid goes about her dining.

The goal, though, is for that to change: I’ll be making pancake bars for breakfast. Or instead of mac & cheese from a box, I’ll be making individual cups in a muffin tin. Crab pilaf? Caramelized onion & cheese squares? Yes and yes.

I’ll try to get Tillie involved in the cooking process, too, as I’ll probably need the help. Let it be known now: I feel I can hang some in the kitchen, but by no way am I an expert in any dish. Even my Cheerios can end up too soggy from time to time! But it’ll be fun and if anything, the family (including my lovely and amazing wife Nancy) will be trying some new meals or new twists on old favorites (more on that in my next post).

And I plan on writing here at tilliemeals.com as frequently as possible, with Tweets and Facebook posts to come.

So welcome to But Will Tillie Eat It? As things go on, feel free to comment and share your getting-kid-to-eat experiences, too. Maybe we’ll all be able to turn the tide on these kids and their stubborn ways!