Does your child dislike fruits? If so, how do you encourage him/her to eat more fruit?!
...make sure that any fruit you ask him to try is truly ripe, and sweet (...one bite of sour fruit, and you've set your agenda back a long way!)
......and STOP when he wants... then do again at later times
...give him smaller bites... even things I don't like taste better as small bites, or I can partially offset the taste with something I eat just before or after
... try kabobs of fruit... maybe fruit kabobs with small hunks of cheese in between (my son used to love those turkey sticks that come as "baby food" cut up and kabobed with cheese too)
...let him make some to serve the whole family at dinner (pride of ownership and accomplishment)
...another good dip for fruit is vanilla yogurt
....or if you don't mind the calories and don't get him too used to it, try cream cheese softened with sour cream plus powdered sugar till sweet (unbelievably good)
...let him pick out a colored tookpick or buy some colored plastic cocktail picks to use to pick up and dip with, or just to eat his fruit pieces with ...or even let him help you buy a tiny fork (like a "pickle" fork, etc.) to use
(...the more he's invested in something he did about the fruit or buying or preparing something for it, the more he'll be willing to see it as something he'd like to do rather than what you're pushing him to do)
...mash, or mash then cook the fruit (usually adding sugar) then use it as a sauce on top of something else (ice cream, etc., or even as a sauce or dip for meat/chicken (actually lots of recipes for those use fruits, like pureed apples/brown sugar with pork... or pineapple, peaches, or apricots with chicken --or cranberries/sauce with turkey, etc.)
...peanut butter and jelly between two waffles is another popular choice
...see if you can figure out which types of fruit he most dislikes, and concentrate on others (citrus fruits, stone fruits, bananas, etc.?)... it could be the texture that bothers him too (too crunchy or hard, too soft and mooshy, etc.)
...cook the fruits (baked apples, with brown sugar and cinnamon, e.g., even perhaps over ice cream)
....many cut fruits taste good with brown sugar and sometimes cinnamon... another one would be sliced bananas sauted in butter, then br.sugar added
...puree the fruits and add them to another food (they'll generally just add a sweetness that's not especially identifiable) ... see Jessica Seinfeld's new book for some ideas using both fruits and vegetables ("Deceptively Delicious")
...let him "play" with fruits... and make it a "quality-time" event with you
..... e.g., let him cut them up (with a plastic knife --perhaps after you've already cut them into strips if he's very young);
he could also make his own kabobs or make them for everyone for dinner (leave plenty of time!)
... or have him make fruit critters by sticking parts of fruits together (with shortened toothpicks, etc.)
... make a gingerbread house or figures with dried fruits like raisins, blueberries, pieces of fruit roll-ups (or make/dry your own “fruit leather”)
...have him help you make yogurt smoothies
...have him help you buy lemons or oranges (or get them from a tree), then use some kind of "tool" (tools are GOOD!) to juice them and make lemonade... he can also help you puree some strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries to add to the lemonade (really yummy)... maybe he could even "test" each combination to see which he likes best or just to do some Mad Scientist "experiments"
...(could make other types of juices too... much better than the ones from the store which have lots of high fructose corn sryup in them)
(Those are some suggestions anyway... my son was a fruitaholic! so I never had that particular problem)
Diane B.
Answers: There are some good ideas here. I'd just add a few things:
...make sure that any fruit you ask him to try is truly ripe, and sweet (...one bite of sour fruit, and you've set your agenda back a long way!)
......and STOP when he wants... then do again at later times
...give him smaller bites... even things I don't like taste better as small bites, or I can partially offset the taste with something I eat just before or after
... try kabobs of fruit... maybe fruit kabobs with small hunks of cheese in between (my son used to love those turkey sticks that come as "baby food" cut up and kabobed with cheese too)
...let him make some to serve the whole family at dinner (pride of ownership and accomplishment)
...another good dip for fruit is vanilla yogurt
....or if you don't mind the calories and don't get him too used to it, try cream cheese softened with sour cream plus powdered sugar till sweet (unbelievably good)
...let him pick out a colored tookpick or buy some colored plastic cocktail picks to use to pick up and dip with, or just to eat his fruit pieces with ...or even let him help you buy a tiny fork (like a "pickle" fork, etc.) to use
(...the more he's invested in something he did about the fruit or buying or preparing something for it, the more he'll be willing to see it as something he'd like to do rather than what you're pushing him to do)
...mash, or mash then cook the fruit (usually adding sugar) then use it as a sauce on top of something else (ice cream, etc., or even as a sauce or dip for meat/chicken (actually lots of recipes for those use fruits, like pureed apples/brown sugar with pork... or pineapple, peaches, or apricots with chicken --or cranberries/sauce with turkey, etc.)
...peanut butter and jelly between two waffles is another popular choice
...see if you can figure out which types of fruit he most dislikes, and concentrate on others (citrus fruits, stone fruits, bananas, etc.?)... it could be the texture that bothers him too (too crunchy or hard, too soft and mooshy, etc.)
...cook the fruits (baked apples, with brown sugar and cinnamon, e.g., even perhaps over ice cream)
....many cut fruits taste good with brown sugar and sometimes cinnamon... another one would be sliced bananas sauted in butter, then br.sugar added
...puree the fruits and add them to another food (they'll generally just add a sweetness that's not especially identifiable) ... see Jessica Seinfeld's new book for some ideas using both fruits and vegetables ("Deceptively Delicious")
...let him "play" with fruits... and make it a "quality-time" event with you
..... e.g., let him cut them up (with a plastic knife --perhaps after you've already cut them into strips if he's very young);
he could also make his own kabobs or make them for everyone for dinner (leave plenty of time!)
... or have him make fruit critters by sticking parts of fruits together (with shortened toothpicks, etc.)
... make a gingerbread house or figures with dried fruits like raisins, blueberries, pieces of fruit roll-ups (or make/dry your own “fruit leather”)
...have him help you make yogurt smoothies
...have him help you buy lemons or oranges (or get them from a tree), then use some kind of "tool" (tools are GOOD!) to juice them and make lemonade... he can also help you puree some strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries to add to the lemonade (really yummy)... maybe he could even "test" each combination to see which he likes best or just to do some Mad Scientist "experiments"
...(could make other types of juices too... much better than the ones from the store which have lots of high fructose corn sryup in them)
(Those are some suggestions anyway... my son was a fruitaholic! so I never had that particular problem)
Diane B.
Are you giving your child a daily vitamin....we noticed that after we started a daily vitamin routine our pickiest eater started having an open mind. Something about the chemical balance being straighten out in the mind by giving vitamins
My nephew doesn't like fruit but when he is over my house I make him fruit smoothies and he loves them. He just thinks they are shakes.
For example you can mix bananas , orange juice, vanilla yogurt
There are many recipes online for smoothies using all kinds of different fruit.
Make a fruit salad with some different coloured fruits.
What about fruit dip? Maybe if you cut up fruits into bite sized pieces and give your child some fruit dip, it might make it more fun to eat. Also, apples and peanut butter are a big hit... or apples and caramel. The caramel may be a little too sweet, and ruin the idea of a "healthy" snack, but it could be a way to introduce the ideas of fruits.
Also, sometimes you can use fruits to make fun snacks.... like sticking raisins onto a peach to make a face.
How about frozen grapes?! These are a delicious frozen treat -- more than just a piece of fruit!
Good luck!
My son loves to dip his food in anything. So, if I give him some fruit, with some lowfat whipped cream to dip it in, he eats it right up.
i dont have a child, lol, but i like fruits.....apple, orange, berries. Its how i eat healthy.
Is this really Ashley Tisdale?
no bc I dont have a child...I'm 11 years old...duh!!!! No i have a child but im 11 and no they dont! Miley hates friut, I cant get her to eat it!!! She cries when i make her so I took her to the docter for her to eat bc she just was not eating fruit she wasn't eating at all! I am getting worried!! HELP ME!!!