That’s awesome that he is like that now though!!
Haha I know what you mean, I can be the problem too at times.
I was a picky eater as a kid too.. so the struggle is real. Sheesh.

I went to food therapy through Kaiser and found out I was the problem 😆
I myself didn’t eat most things lol

So they told me he won’t try new things if I don’t. So I got out of my food bubble and started trying new foods and really enjoyed them. My son eventually starting eating carne asada from the grill . We didn’t ask him, but he decided he wanted it like a cave man and just picked it up and ate it.
But by putting food in front of him more often then not. He eventually tried most things. He also now loves watching TikTok’s of people making different meals and makes it want to try them also.
But that was more recently on the til too meals

My son use to be extremely picky. We would tell
Him to try 3 bites and if he didn’t like it, he didn’t have to eat it. He now eat majority of food. It wasn’t so smooth in the beginning but eventually he got use to it and would try without much effort. Now he loves beef and broccoli and steak

Before he would only eat pizza and chicken nuggets and French fries

Start with Light Spices/Flavors, like adding Ranch Seasoning (From a packet) to the Mashed Potato, it takes very little and adds a touch of flavor. Also, get some flavored dipping cheese and make a Fondue where he can dip his banana.

I can relate to this As a kid, I was a picky eater due to the food sensitivities I inherited from my mom. I'm not that picky now, but I'm vegetarian since I can't handle the texture of meat.

I'd recommend gradually introducing your child to new foods. If he likes it, then good. If not, then he doesn't have to eat it again. He should understand that it's always good to have variety. As eating the same things all the time would get eventually boring.