Eliminating the NO option in feeding

VeeGee's feeding therapy is just going NOWHERE, not one inch closer to anything actually going in her mouth. So, I decided a couple of days ago, "no more fun and games." What I mean is that the feeding therapy that we've done is very play based (which, of course, suits my parenting inclinations quite nicely), but it's not working. At. All.

For the past three days I've been "forcing" her to eat three bites of pureed food (apple/banana). It goes like this: "Look, you've got some food to eat! I'd like for you to eat three bites, and then you can go watch Dora. Do you want to put it in your mouth, or do you want mommy to help you?" "NO!!!" (covers mouth with hands, turns away, pushes bowl away). I ask a few times, then say, "Okay, mommy will help you." Usually I've been able to get her to kind of open her mouth for me to put it in, and when I say kind of, I mean, I actually really have to sneak it in. She's swallowed about three or four times, the rest, she's just spit it out.

This morning, though, she, on the third bite, actually opened her mouth on her own. Her eyes were squinting and she was shuddering, but it was open. And she swallowed. I was so excited.

So here's the worry part: I do not want to create an issue where she is afraid of food, or that she feels forced or whatever. But the fact of the matter is that she is going to have to learn this at some point, right? I mean, I can't just let her keep ignoring all of the "gentle" "therapeutic" ways of cajoling her. I actually really think she's too ornery for that.