Banana recipes (smoothies?) for fruit refuseniks

[Sariska]

Unless it is a satsuma or pineapple, my 4 yo DS will not eat fruit. The school that he will be going to in September has a fruit only policy at break - and I know that a satsuma alone will not keep him going until lunchtime. Neither, for that matter, would an apple or pear. (At home/nursery he has bread sticks/ poppy seed biscuits/ raisins/ oatcakes/ cheese.)

So I want to teach encourage him to eat bananas. As a toddler he used to like them. I even have photographic proof! As a first step I wondered about banana smoothies or similar - just to prove to him that he likes the taste, really (obviously I know he'll have to eat the unadulterated fruit itself at school).

Does anyone have any recipes that I could try?

Don't have any myself that don't involve nutella, or rum, or lime but maybe start with this one from Oscar's Lunch (she's one of the bloggers on here)?

She might have a few more too. Another might be to try using them as a sandwich filling - that was always good growing up. If bread is rejected, then you could use two weetabix biscuits instead (sounds odd, but tastes good ).

Sorry, too many 'mights' in there and, to clarify, they should be mashed for the sandwich filling .

Can you get him to help make a fruit salad? or Fruit kabobs?

Dip banana chunks in melted chocolate and then hundreds and thousands and freeze on a wax-paper lined plate (very yummy). Bananas and peanut butter are always a winning combination, on their own or in a sandwich (we call them "monkey sandwiches") but mine aren't allowed to take those to school. You can also do a smoothie with milk, banana and peanut or almond butter. My kids also like "ants on a log" which is banana sliced lengthwise filled with PB and choc. chips stuck on top.

Good Luck!

Great suggestions - thank you both. Will definitely give banana sandwiches/weetabix a go as well as a smoothie and the frozen dipped-in-chocolate recipe.

How about decorating the banana skin? My little cousin only ever ate a banana if there was a face drawn on the skin.

Our banana smoothies consist of a banana or 2, milk, vanilla extract and ice cubes blitzed with hand blender til smooth and frothy. Sometimes add berries if we fancy a change of colour.
Can swap cinnamon for vanilla.

Would the novelty of a banana guard help at all?

Thanks for the other suggestions.

I'll just say that I enjoyed a banana smoothie the other day. DS refused to have his because it tasted of banana. His 2 yo sister, who normally loves bananas, then also refused hers, copying him in saying that it was "yucky".

Oh well. I'm not beaten yet!