How to get kids to eat more fruit and veg?

[Lauuuroa]

So I have 3yo DS and 1yo DD.

3yo - only eats hidden veg at home, some fruit but is refusing atm?
At nursery eats all fruit and then sometimes veg but still avoids some

1yo - at home refuses both fruit and veg, eats mixed in hidden veg but can tell with fruits ? Was pulling bits of strawberry out of her mouth the other day and refused weetabix with some banan mixed in

I feel like a failure! I’m not sure why they’re so fussy at home

I offer it every meal in some form and it gets left or thrown

any tips how I can help? My mum said maybe. They’ve ’went off’ it as we’re in the Uk and the fruits not as nice in winter as a few months ago my toddler would eat nearly a punnet a day of raspberries ! And loved peas

what can I do

I normally don't buy fruit out of season as I find it's overpriced and tasteless so it could be that.

Have you tried smoothies? You can get frozen berries, pineapple and mangos for example, blend to drink or with some yoghurt and oats mixed in it. DD loves it, she adds honey to sweeten it a bit though.

Veggies - it's an age where they really dislike anything bitter, we found out that Broccoli works with gravy but not on its own.

Honestly my children don’t like fruit out of season unless it’s organic, sounds so twatty I know but try the difference yourself and you’ll see why. There’s very little difference in the price of organic apples/ pears and the taste difference is incomparable out of season, same with tomatoes/ salad etc.

Is there any characters the 3 year old loves e.g paw patrol, Elsa, Minnie mouse etc? If so buy some stickers with that character on and stick them on the veg. In the same way they want all the tat they see with them on they will suddenly find the bag of apples, oranges and carrots etc much more interesting.

Worked for a relatives very fussy eater.

First of all don't make it a big thing, just keep offering.

If the 3yo watches TV he might be more happy to munch on something as a snack while watching. Not saying to up the TV time just for fruit and veg, just take advantage of whatever you're doing as is.

Also, a small thing but both of mine have always loved frozen peas straight from the freezer as a snack or indeed on the side of a meal. They eat more that way than they do cooked.

Completely agree with this. DS has gone through phases of flatly refusing to eat cooked carrots but happily eating them raw, of turning down broccoli florets but happily eating just the stalks of tenderstem broccoli, he's only eaten apple if its peeled, or if it's red, or it it's quartered...

He's also gone through different phases with berries and other fruits but a lot of that is the variable degree of sweetness and texture, children tend to have quite a 'no negotiating with terrorists' approach to foods that sneak in flavours they don't like 😆

Not much to add to what's already been said, but I follow Kids Eat in Colour on Insta and she's amazing at breaking down exposure to fruits or veggies (and making you feel like a half decent parent at the same time) ~ well worth a follow.

Will they eat those Ella's pouches? I've known many kids who would eat almost anything if they could suck it out of a pouch.