I came across this blogpost the other day, and it is SO helpful (so is the rest of the blog):
http://itsnotaboutnutrition.squarespace ... ke-it.html
We've only been trying this for the last couple of days, but T will almost NEVER try anything new. Yesterday she had butternut squash soup and I said "You don't have to eat it, but you have to taste it and tell me if it tastes sweet or salty." To my absolute amazement, she did. She even went back for a few more tastes - and this was soup with green flecks of herbs in it! She didn't finish it, but wow what a step in the right direction!
Today we tried it again with risotto (which has always been an absolute no go area). I said "Tell me what it's like" and she immediately put some in her mouth and said "Mmm. Quite nice!" She didn't eat any more, but I'm just so pleased she actually put risotto in her mouth and ate it!
Thought I'd better post about it in case the same approach (or something else on here) is helpful to someone else.