is my 18month-old getting enough fruit

[barneybear]

my 18mth-old DS is a great eater - eats nearly anything i give him, but i worry that he's not getting enough REAL fruit...down to laziness on my part some times...

i still cook him homemade meals 95% of the time or he eats what we've had the night before; alternatively he has beans or scrambled eggs on toast, sausages and beans once a week etc.

so i consider him very healthy...but i've never been good at giving him much fresh fruit - he did love raspberries but refuses them now. he loves bananas and once a day he has an Organix fruit puree or the Del Monte type pots of fruit in syrup (i remove the syrup a) because it's very sugary and b) it means he can pick the fruit up from a bowl)

but i know neither of these things are as good as fresh fruit - i feel like i've hit a stumbling block because i've left it so long.

any ideas? do you think he' s getting enough? or what enjoyable fruits are out there that toodlers like to eat?

any advice/words of comfort gratefully received!!

DS will eat pretty much any fruit, but he's recently stopped eating bananas which is a bit odd as they were his favourite...

Anyway, at the moment he really likes strawberries and grapes and he's just started eating whole pears. Oh, and he really likes chewing on apples too.

What about getting some prepared fruit salad from the supermarket? The fresh stuff I mean, rather than tinned. I do that sometimes as it's easier than getting a whole melon or pineapple or whatever but gives DS some variety.

Or you could try smoothies if he's reluctant to eat fruit.

I have the same problem. My 17 month DD wont eat any fruit, except raisins which arent exactly fruit. She used to eat grapes but wont anymore and very occasionaly eats some orange if Im eating one. Cant offer you any helpful advice but Im going to watch with interest for any tips!

my dd loves raisins, grapes, melon, banana, apple, blueberries, dries apricots, kiwi, oranges, she has fruit after every meal and as snacks inbetween.

get some strawberry plants in your garden, and when in fruit show him how to pick them then eat them.
he will love it, my son goes out every morning after breakfast in the summer and helps himself to them. he even washes them under the tap

IMO vegetables are more important than fruit.

Have you tried giving him cut up fruit to make kebabs? Or making funny faces with it? Making smoothies/mashing banana with yoghurt etc? I would try and buy fruit pots in juice rather than syrup or it will reinforce the idea that fruit=sugary.

Just because he isn't keen now doesn't mean he never will be. DS1 was never keen on veg at 18m but now he regularly eats swede, parsnip, sweet potato, watercress etc. Their tastes change but you have to keep offering and most importantly, demonstrating that YOU like and eat it regularly.

thanks so much for advice - i love the idea of growing my own fruit with them - also Hens Mum - i think i'll buy the mixed punnets of fruit (I love them myself apart from pineapple!) - i can't believe i didn't think of this - doh!!

Hens Mum - such a great (if obvious! i don't always think!) idea - bought some of the fruit this afternoon and picked out the grapes and mango (as they're my favs)...he (in his own way) asked for seconds!!

am so chuffed. was so great seeing him eat fresh fruit.

thanks for your help x

Oh good! I'm glad it worked!