What's the RDA of food for a toddler?

Ava decided tonight that eating was not something on her agenda. After a few days of eating processed food sprinkled over cookies, I cut up and steamed some butternut squash to give her body a needed dose of vitamins.

Did she eat it? This food that she usually scarfs down faster than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Usually, I said usually, and gave it away. Of course she didn't. Nor did she eat cottage cheese, nor a granola bar, and for fun I threw a pesto tortelini on her tray, nope, not even that.

She did, however, take her non-stoppered sippy cup and dump all of the water down her chest.

I am not only at the end of my rope, I am not sure where the rope was to begin. Ava and I spent the day at the SF Zoo with her two cousins age 6 & 9, and they are great kids, as far as kids go, but I just don't have the tolerance for that much kid noise. I'm spoiled by having just the one pre-toddler making her brand of noise, and the silence that comes gift-wrapped when she falls asleep.

We did play a marvelous game on the way home - who can go the longest without speaking. Ava lost.