Toddler eating habits

All toddler's/preschoolers/young children are different. Some will eat anything, some are super picky, some eat like an adult, others eat only small amounts and are full. Eating habits can also change while teething or going through a growth spurt. Sometimes toddlers are just difficult (I fully believe that they do this on purpose to push our buttons).
The key is to know how your child eats. Both of kids eat a lot, I mean, really they eat almost as much as I do, sometimes more than I do, at each meal. So I would never feed them small amount of food and call it good, because they would still be hungry. Some kids eat small amounts more often, so feeding them a large meal would be silly. My kids eat much less when they hit a growth spurt, but most kids eat more. I know if Bret tells me he is full before his plate is cleaned, that probably means he is about to grow. Normally he would never even tell me he is full, even after he has eaten everything on his plate (and then some).

I am a firm believer in NOT catering to toddler's/kid's wants...especially when it comes to food. I do give them some input into what we have lunch or snacks, but I have never, and will never make them "specials" foods. They either eat what I make or they don't eat. The only time that rule is broken, is if they are sick (because obviously I'm not going to give a throwing up kid some tacos). If they are sick they get the BRAT diet, which of course they love because it's bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (some of their favorites). Aside from sickness, the last time I gave them something other than what everyone else is eating, was when they were still eating baby food. Of course, I don't force them to eat something, I do make them try at least 3 bites of it, if they don't want it, they don't have to eat it, but I will not be giving them something else. My kids eat such a variety of foods because of this. Of course they still go through phases where they insist they don't like something, tacos is a prime example. They both LOVE tacos, but they have both recently gone through phases where they insisted that they HATE tacos (they still ate them though). We do the 3 bite rule because after about 3 bites of food they swore they didn't like, they realized they really did like it. This has happened with almost all new food they thought they wouldn't like.

One big issue we ran into when Sophie was 2-3 was her not wanting to eat veggies. Instead of not giving them to her or offering them, I disguised them as something else. I made yellow squash "fries" and eggplant "chips" and hid them in other things. She soon got to where she loves most veggies and eats them without hiding them at all.

I get very annoyed when parents say "oh well she will only eat (insert random food here), so that's what I giver her". That is such an unhealthy approach to food, not only does it teach terrible eating habits, but that child is not getting nowhere near the nutrients they need. Even if that food is something good, like tuna. Tuna may be awesome for protein, but that child is lacking in all nutrients.
I went through a only wanting mac and cheese phase at about 5, my mom thought maybe if she let me eat it enough I would get sick of it. After a few weeks, she realized that was never going to happen (um, yeah because 22 years later I still LOVE mac and cheese, good effort though mom), she only let me have it maybe once a week and I just had to deal. It was either eat whatever she made or go hungry. Guess what? I ate whatever she made, even though it wasn't mac and cheese. If you don't give in to those demands, after a day or so, your child WILL eat other things, once they realize you are serious about not giving in.