Do your kids refuse most fruits?

[JanH]

If so this might be a solution...

DS2 is nearly 12 and has never even tried most fruits. He has eaten apples, grapes and bananas under duress and with a lot of grumbles. However...

Today in Food Tech he made fruit salad. We had a major fruit shop yesterday which cost about £12 () but he's ended up with a fruit salad containing:

pineapple, mango, peach, strawberry, kiwi, sharon fruit, passionfruit, blueberries, red grapes, green grapes, orange and apple. It looks beautiful, he got 10/10, and he loves it! (Except for the blueberries.)

He's just eaten a whole bowlful. I am reeling. Granted the liquid is syrup rather than fruit juice but still. I think I have seen this recommended before as a way of involving kids in what they eat and making them more adventurous, and it might not have worked for him when he was younger and more stubborn, but worth a try if you have a fruit resister!

[Earlybird]

Does ds2 have a sweet tooth?

DD is a major sweet eater, so will eat fruit willingly. She will not, however, touch a vegetable. Isn't it amazing when they discover they actually like something they've steadfastly refused?

[KateandtheGirls]

Great idea Jan. I've never been much of a fruit eater myself, but I've always loved fruit salad. Maybe I loved it so much as a kid because my stepmum always added a healthy slug of something warming (in my dad's words) to hers.

[gingerbear]

DD is a fruitbat, so never had this problem, but making a fruit salad together sounds like a great idea.

She just discovered that she likes boiled potatoes the other day - hurrah, no more pasta with everything! Have just got to convince her about mash.

[JanH]

The something warming sounds very appealing, Kate! (Not sure about the healthy slug )

Yes, he does have a sweet tooth, Eb - he's not a major veg eater either. Broccoli is OK; if we have salad he will eat lettuce; after a row about it he has a couple (literally) of green beans or sprouts and he has a psychological problem with peas!

Anyway I've decided we are going to have fruit salad on the go at all times now (I don't eat enough fruit either...)

[tiptop]

I loved that story, Jan! My nephews do some cooking in food technology and like to eat what they've made. They are always happy to help out in the kitchen when they are staying here. They're much more use than the adults who just want to sit down with a glass of wine! My ds (aged 11) has done some cooking with scouts in order to get a badge, and he's pretty interested in cooking and can prepare veg, stir stuff in saucepans and make pizza using prepared bases. He does all the rest himself. He also can put a hot cross bun or teacake under the grill. He's great to have in the kitchen! He and dd have always been good at eating fruit although they both hated bananas for a while. It's nice to hear some positive stories about kids and eating, so thanks for the tip and I'll suggest making a fruit salad to him.

[JanH]

Well done, gb!

DD2 detested actual potatoes, but loved mash; DS2 loathes mash but tolerates spuds. (DD1 once tried to hide some peas in his mash and he detected them and threw up, I think that might be the source of his fear!)

[roisin]

Obviously not suitable for 12 yr-olds like Janh's ds2, but for (much) younger ones a fantastic book introducing this idea is: Oliver's Fruit Salad