When it has gone, it has gone. This is ok isn't it?

[NoNoNoMYDoIt]

Am probably not going to explain this very well but ...

Food. And kids. My kids sometimes go through phases of eating loads of something. Recently it has been fruit. They want fruit salads every day. This is obviously fab news. I make them salads. They eat it all up. And then by about Tuesday all the fruit has gone and they are tantrumming because there is none left.

I can spend 10 quid a week or more on fruit and it has all gone in a few days.

Is it ok to say - when it has gone it has gone. There is always apples and dried / tinned fruit left.

I had an eating disorder as a kid and am paranoid about confrontation over food.

AIBU not to buy more?

Yes I send in cucumber and pepper for DD's snack. She isn't keen on raw carrot unless she can dip it in hummous.

I tend not to send dried fruit in for snacks as I know it is bad for sticking in teeth. I give them dried fruit at mealtimes and in packed lunch boxes.

OP, why don't you have a mental rule which is that they have five pieces of fruit or vegetables per day and once they have had that, you know you are OK. Don't forget half of an apple or half of a large banana equals one portion. A tangerine is a portion, the same as half an orange. A handful of berries would be a portion.

You could pass the responsibility over to your children. Let them keep a chart of what they've had.

Frozen berries would def NOT get eaten. Too squishy. Perhaps that is the secret. Only buy frozen and they will last forever

Thanks to those who have said not to feel bad. It helps!

Would they snack on whole carrots? Cheaper than the ready cut ones and less hassle than doing it yourself! Mine eat lots of tinned fruit. Pineapple and apricot are the current favorite. Pepper and cucumber sticks also are cheap and go further. I think it's more than reasonable to say once it's gone its gone. But I would try to ration it more.

If money is tight try sticking to fruit in season or cheaper stuff. If they don't like it as much they will still eat fruit but less of it. I would never buy expensive berries. I grow them but that means we can only eat them fresh for a few weeks and after that they are frozen.

It's like having expensive drinks in the house. They will always choose the best stuff.

If you put frozen berries on a flat surface to defrost, they're fine.

I would limit the fruit they eat if they are eating lots. It is good for you, but still full of sugar and not good for teeth. Encourage them with savoury snacks instead. So give them a daily limit and use frozen / tinned for later in the week.

YEs to frozen berries!

Make it clear when you've just done the shop that it has to last all week and if they eat all the yummy fruit in 2 days they'll have to make do with the less appealing ones (and cheaper and keep better) like apples, bananas and oranges the rest of the week

We are all fruitbats in my house especially me and DD. We live for tropical/berries etc so it really adds up. We used to get one large tesco delivery a week but always ended up in feast/famine as what we bought either got eaten or went off. We've switched to two smaller deliveries a week now which works better.

In general though no of course there's nothing wrong with "when it's gone it's gone" :)

And tinned fruit is fab as long as you get in juice not syrup :)

No problem with once it's gone it's gone for fruit imo. Fruit contains lots of sugar and it's not something you should be eating unlimited amounts of.

I actually think the guidelines about 5 fruit or veg a day aren't very helpful because I know some people whose children eat no vegetables but think they have a good diet because they eat 8 bits of fruit a day.

If you're making fruit salads, use some frozen and some fresh in them, Tesco do loads of frozen fruit - www.tesco.com/groceries/product/browse/default.aspx?N=4294681982&Ne=4294793660

I think it is fine to say that there is no more left this week. Might also each them (older one anyway) to space things out. DD (3) would happily eat blackberries and raspberries all day every day. I have no problem telling her that she can't have any because we haven't got any more and that she has to make to do with something else. Either she accepts the alternative (e.g. apple) or she goes without. Her choice.

I understand your feelings about this, as you had food issues when you were a child. But it's fine. Really.

I think it's fine to say that when it's gone it's gone! I assume there are other healthy snack options (dried fruit or a piece of toast maybe?). My dds would eat mango and grapes until the cows come home, but they're expensive. I get one pack of each, when they're gone there's plenty of cheaper food (i do ration them a bit).

Do you make a big batch of fruit salad that they help themselves too?

If possible you should divide it into portions in containers and then only allow them as many portions a day each so that it last until the next shop.
They will just have to have tantrums.
"You get what you get given" is what my mum always says.

My kids would eat strawberries by the punnetful and so they know when it's gone it's gone. There are always apples and in season tangerines.

there's also nothing wrong with learning about seasons. Year-round berries mean massive food miles unless picked and frozen yourself. They are not too young to learn that you can't have everything you want all the time.

it's not a choice between fruit and Mucky D's!! :-)

There's a lot to be gained by 'eating in season' - heath and money wise.

Fruit is high in sugar, even though it's naturally occuring - it's still sugar and shouldn't be unlimited.

Certain vitamins can't be 'stored' so 'more' isn't better, it's just 'wasted'.

You would be better off getting them onto more veg & off the fruit a bit and spreading out the 'nice/expensive' fruit through the week, with cheaper/more filling fruit as well.

They can only eat what you give them to eat - so don't give them so much at once & pace it out a bit :)

I think when it's gone it's gone is right for snacks such as crisps and sweets. But fruit is a bit different. If you can afford it I don't think I'd restrict their fruit intake as a rule. But if it's the very expensive fruit like berries in winter YANBU to say that's it for this week.