What fruit and veg would you suggest for someone who has never had either?

[SurlyCue]

Its me. I'm not trying to trick DC into eating it.

I have quite big (for me) food issues. As far as I can remember i have never eaten a piece of fruit. I have eaten carots and onions in things like stew and vegetable soup. Apparently i ate "everything" until i was around 3 years old and then suddey stopped. Probably perfectly normal toddler behaviour but for some reason i never reverted to normal. Diet as a child was cereal, toast and chips. (Then no chips for a long time) i have had hypnotherapy as an adult to address this but it was unsuccesful.

Currently my diet is much better than when i was a child but clearly still awful from a nutrition point of view. I want to fix it but i know from experience it will be a slow, baby step process. I have real issues with texture, anything 'gritty' or seedy is a no. I cant eat rice. My palate is also not used to spicy or strong tastes. I eat bland stuff. (I dont add salt to anything though)

So what vegetable and fruit (i'm going to try one at a time) should i start with to try and improve my diet? And also, what should i cook it with and how? I have next to no cooking skills or knowledge but can read (very clear) instructions.

I cant express how much i am afraid of gagging on food so anything with bits or lumps will be a no initially. I also cannot stand the smell of bananas so wont be trying those either.

I know this probably sounds ridiculous to you all but please be gentle as food is a massive source of emotional distress for me. "Just eating it" doesnt work. I was force fed as a child (because i wouldnt eat) and it really is going to take tiny steps for me to get anywhere with this.

Thank you if youve got this far.

I used to have issues with food. I found buying a cook book and then finding a recipe that looked good was brilliant. I tried all sorts of new food and I think food is more appealing if you've prepared it and cooked it yourself!

Peas are lovely too, frozen ones. They're quite sweet, and quite squidgy too, there's nothing to chew on. And they take just a minute or two to heat through, so you could maybe add them as a simple veg to one of your hot meals. Frozen sweetcorn too. Bung them in the pasta water, just 2 mins before the pasta is finished cooking, or do a tiny portion alongside lively potatoes.

Have you tried baked beans?

Have you tried tinned fruit? This might be a good place to start if you're a bit freaked out by fresh fruit as its sweeter and softer in texture. Even as a fussy, fussy child I loved tinned pineapple. Maybe be also try some foods which are sweet and have a nice "mouth feel"- for me that's things like sweet corn, grapes, satsuma segments. They have texture but not that gritty lumpiness that some veg and fruit have.

Keep at it! I was like you until my teens but gradually introduced more foods and now eat lots of fruit and veg

I sympathise OP I had big texture issues with fruit and veg growing up too, and I still don't eat much fruit. Being able to try new foods without any parental pressure helped a lot, as does a blender.

Leek and potato soup is pretty mild, and if you like onions there's a good chance you'll like it. Blend it well and there'll be no lumps, even seive it if you want to be doubly sure. Butternut squash is sweet but mild and also good in soup, as are carrots. Red lentils make quite a thick soup.

Passata (seived tomato) is good in stew or bolognese-type sauce, or as a pasta sauce on its own or mixed with cream cheese, and entirely lump free.

If you want an unblended vegetable carrots are good, and you could try raw (crunchy), steamed/boiled (soft) or roasted (in between, and also the best flavour imo). If you like cooked carrots you can try parsnips, which are a similar texture but a bit sweeter. Aubergine also cooks up very soft, though the skin is tough. Mushrooms are soft cooked or raw, but raw has the milder taste.

You can buy sweet potato chips which are just like normal chips but sweeter (and more expensive unless they're on offer).

Apple cooked to mush and seived or blended is fine on its own or in pie or crumble, I find it a bit sour by itself but you can add sugar to taste.

Fruit juice counts too. Apple is sweet, orange is tart, other than that are there any fruit flavourings you like? There are lots of different juices in supermarkets if there's anything you fancy.

Good luck

Sorry, went to bed early last night! I would have apple sauce by itself, probably, but it's lovely with pork. Would also go brilliantly with custard, cream, ice cream, yoghourt and rice pudding (which I know at the moment you wouldn't like from a textural point of view but flavourwise there would be nothing offputting there as it's just creamy and sweet).

Lots of very good suggestions here. Could you take a little tiny bit of a piece of fruit your children have picked (when they're not around if you feel more comfortable that way) and try it?

Fruit purees - dried apricots cooked in a little water and blended to a smooth puree are absolutely divine. It's a very concentrated flavour so you wouldn't want much. Lovely mixed with Greek yoghourt, or on its own.

Do you eat cheese? If so, what about very thin slices of apple paired with slices of cheddar cheese?
Or cheese and grapes?
Apple and peanut butter is nice too

Also try steaming the veg. If your parents were like mine (child of the 80's) everything was boiled to within a inch of its life. Then it's just yucky mush (imo)

I've only just invested in a metal insert for steaming, but before that I was just using a sieve over pan of boiling water, lid on.
It does make a difference. I find the broccoli still retains a bit of a crunch which makes it more palatable for me.

If you already eat the ready made mash, you could try Asda Root Veg Mash, or mashed Swede.

The supermarkets also do lots of fruit salad type ready to eat packs, you could get one of those and see which fruit you like and ones to avoid.

If you want to work up to rice, start off with ground rice pudding (instructions on the packet of ground rice) and move on to flaked rice, and then rice pudding which is softer than savoury rice. Risotto would be a good intermediate between rice pudding and plain cooked rice, too.

You are already doing great by just wanting to try.

The important thing is to remember that the first time you try a new food it will taste and feel odd, and you probably won't like it. But you need to try it again and again so that you get used to it. So don't taste it once and give up.

Thanks all. Lots of lovely posts and advice here. I'm heading to the supermarket now. I will let you all know what i decided upon for dinner.

I see you eat pasta sauce, and toast, and cheese....that's a pizza right there, so give it a go and then you can add something to your list.

As you gradually increase your repertoire you can add topping to your pizza.

So as promised, tonight for dinner i had my normal stuffed sausages with mash potato but also a ready mash of carrot, swede, parsnip and potato. it was delicious! I feel ridiculous that ive waited so long to try vegetables. I also got two ellas kitchen pouches, one apple and starwberry and one mango. But havent tried them yet. Oh and i got a blender too. I feel very good about this. Thank you all for suggestions to get me started.

Aw so glad you enjoyed it you're well on the way to having stir fries and all sorts of things. I should say that although my diet is quite varied, there are certain things I refuse to consider. You have done so well today

That's awesome! Glad you liked it and very impressed at your resolve!

I'm glad you tried the ready mash. I was going to suggest the carrot and swede mash as it is so delicious I could eat it on its own.

Good luck with your food adventures, and remember to be realistic. Even us food lovers have things we don't like. I eat most things but loathe parsnips.

Another thing I would suggest is try new things but don't worry too much if you don't like them at first. It is suggested when introducing new foods to children that it can take several attempts for them to take to a food. My DSs have always been pretty good with new foods but DD has been quite tricky. We've always insisted that she would try a bite and if she didn't like it she didn't have to continue. The same food would be served up on another occasion and the same stipulation made. One bite and that's it. Eventually she has taken to the majority of the foods that she initially didn't like.

This could be a strategy that would work for you. No pressure to eat something just a willingness to try and it sounds as though you are very willing so you've already won half the battle.

Wow that's great! You are going to LOVE the pouches.

It might be something for further on in your journey, but roasted veg is a revelation - made me really enjoy vegetables. Roasted broccoli with some balsamic drizzle is lovely but might be a bit much for you!

Well done for trying.

Celeriac is nice, and not that different from potatoes. Quite a mild flavour.

To make celriac chips, peel it, slice it into chunky chip shapes. Then parboil them for a minute or two, before cooking in the oven with some olive oil for an hour or so at 180-200C.

Woah! Well bloody done! You have a whole world of amazing flavours ahead of you now

You could try broccoli next?