Increase fruit consumption!

[PinkDaydreams]

Hello all!
Please can anyone advise on how to encourage a 22 month old to eat fruit! He will only eat bananas, no other fruit, I’ve tried all sorts but he’s not interested. He will eat the cow and gate fruit pots and also Heinz fruit custard/yoghurts (He won’t eat ‘normal’ yoghurt or fromage frais).
Thank you!

@hookiwooki that’s what my son had, cmpa, but also allergic to sesame and chickpeas. Luckily we’ve come through the other side now but it’s been such hard work. I made everything from scratch for him, he had no processed foods at all (yes I know his corn snacks aren’t ideal now), did blw too and he’s still fussy! I’m a lot more laid back with food now compared to how I was, I’m grateful for him eating anything!

The other thing is, I think that any food refused doesn't matter, but when you keep offering it occasionally over time, they eventually decide to eat it .

My toddler is the same. I puree fruit and veg and freeze into ice lollys, she will eat one of these most days.
I also put fruit or veg out at every meal/snack. She doesn't have to eat it but I explain why it's important to. Maybe 1/10 times she will eat some.
I also use smoothees, I know not ideal but some fruit veg is better than none.
I can't hide it in sauces etc as she only eats 'beige' e.g. plain pasta, plain rice, bread with no butter etc.
It's hard.
But she has vitamins daily and is a generally healthy kid so ok so far.

@Auberjean Sorry, not always true. DS2 would eat anything when he was BLW and never had processed baby foods, just breast milk and home cooked. He would eat all fruits and veg and stuff it in his fat little face. Now he looks like I starve him and won't eat any meat, fruit and just the odd carrot.

My daughter ate everything from weaning to 18 months. Literally anything. All homemade, fresh food. Since 18 months, she’s been incredibly fussy despite us following every possible bit of advice on eating. We eat together, we don’t fuss about her eating, we offer choice, variety & let her serve herself. We don’t offer other options if she doesn’t eat it.. I’m completely lost.

Fruit wise - have you tried dried fruit at all? My girl will eat apple & raspberries fresh but that’s all. But loves raisins, dried mango, dried strawberries, dried cherries & dried banana. I make sure it’s 100% fruit with no added ingredients. Perhaps not the best on her teeth but I’m hot on brushing them! They are much sweeter so possibly more appealing but just as good as fresh nutrient wise. Just be careful on portion size, they don’t need as much to count as one portion.

My girl will only eat peas vegetable wise & even then, it’s not always lots. So I pack in the fruit for the nutrients. My daughter is incredibly active so I’m certain burns most of the sugar off

I think the advice about smoothies is a counsel of perfection/something to aim towards, all being equal. They’re not all equal in your son’s case though. At this stage it’s more important, IMO, to get vitamins and minerals in them, and broaden their palate/normalise eating a wide variety of foods without being uptight about any particular food groups.

It’s normal for toddlers to be fussy, and is a phase a lot of them go through (and only feeding home cooked meals from scratch is no guarantee they won’t be fussy). The smoothies will provide some fibre and a lot of vitamins and minerals, albeit with sugar. You can adjust other foods throughout the day to account for that if you are worried about this. Personally, I would only worry if he was already getting a lot of sugar. I would be surprised if a child of that age eats enough veg to cover their vitamin requirement.

@Tolleshunt thank you. I put his daily vitamins in his milk each day so I know he’s definitely having those. I’ve tried him with a smoothie this afternoon but he turned his nose up at it. I also tried him with some yoghurt for dessert after his tea but he turned his head away and cried!
I’m going to do as you’ve all suggested and keep on offering fruit/veg/dairy and persevere. This fussy stage has got to end at some point