Toddler won’t eat fruit

[sunshinerainandrainbows]

Hopefully it doesn’t matter too much as her overall diet is good but she won’t touch fruit. She doesn’t have her back molars and won’t accept puree so I think some like apple and pear are too hard for her but she won’t eat raspberries, peach, banana … She used to eat cucumber but refuses that now (I know it isn’t a fruit but was a useful snack.)

Just wondering how much it matters in the scheme of things; pointless to fret as I can’t force her to eat!

It's an evolutionary thing, taste buds change in toddler hood so fruit tastes bitter, it was to stop us eating the wrong berries when out hunter gathering. It often sorts itself out later.

DD never liked slimy things, so a whole mango to know on with the skin to hold was A-OK, but not sliced mango, similarly banana slices Vs a whole banana.

She liked dry things so cous cous and quinoa were winners over pasta or similar.

Could you add a little bit of hidden grated coconut and mango puree to your chicken curry?

Make pancakes/muffins with mashed/pureed fruit in them.

Home-made “Ice lollies” - pour home made blended fruit smoothies into ice lolly moulds.

Oatbars with very finely diced dried fruit in.

Do they like scrambled egg - you can add a little purée to that before cooking?

I used to make a big batch of home-made pasta sauce (tomato, mushroom, courgette, onion, spinach etc, could even add a bit of grated apple!). Blend and freeze in ice cube trays. Easy a quick lunch - just pop a couple out of the freezer when needed.

I think the best thing to do with fussy babies/toddlers is to keep offering a little chopped fruit/veg with every meal. Even if it just gets played with or thrown on the floor. The second you stop offering it, it becomes even more alien to them next time they see it offered. Keep putting a little on their plate every day so that it continues to be familiar. Don’t force it. Don’t get upset/cross if they don’t eat it. But keep offering it.

Lots of veg, and no sugar elsewhere.

I wouldn't worry about it. Kids often eat things at nursery that they don't at home, so clearly she's being exposed to and trying some fruit at nursery.

My son doesn't eat any veg on its own except for cucumber and corn on the cob. Everything else is cooked into meals. I don't mind at all because I know he is eating things like carrots, onions, lentils, broccoli, pulses, garlic, etc., in soups and bolognese and so on.

As others have said, I wouldn’t worry if the overall diet is balanced.
My DD was like this though until over 1.5, she just didn’t like fruit at all. The first fruit she ever ate was a pear as I would eat one whilst sat with her so she’d want to get involved and after a day or two she was eating the whole thing herself. After that she gradually started trying other fruits either if I ate them or I would always put them on her plate with safe foods.
shes 2.5 now and loves fruit, she will pretty much eat every fruit and loves watermelon the most!
my approach for anything she’s not keen on is always to serve it alongside safe foods with no obligation to eat it.

Homemade soups?