Please tell us your ideas for getting children to eat more fruit - you could win £250 in supermarket vouchers

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

Do your children like fruit? Do they eat all sorts - or just the regulation daily banana?

ZESPRI Kiwifruit would love to hear your ideas for getting children to eat more fruit - whether your kids only just manage their five a day or are such fruit fiends, they could tell a kiwi from a kumquat at 40 paces.

Everyone who sends in an idea, tip or suggestion will be entered into a prize draw to win £250 in vouchers for a supermarket of their choice.*

Please note that your tips may be published on Mumsnet at a later date.

Thanks and good luck! MNHQ

*Participating supermarkets include Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrison, M&S and Waitrose

Baking with fruit, 'testing' as we go.

My DD (3) loves helping in the kitchen, using her small (blunt) knife to prepare fruit, slicing bananas etc.

Choosing own fruit whilst shopping.

We always have a 'full' fruit bowl on the coffee table which is at the kids level so that when they get hungry/bored they pick at grapes or an orange etc. I try and buy different stuff each week so they try different things and get a good variety - although I am lucky and my kids enjoy their fruit.

We also make our own fruit jellies and ice lollies using real fruit and juices - the kids love making them and eating them of course!!

I blatantly copied an idea from the burger king focus group that I went to with mn a few years ago Chop up apple to look like french fries, use strawb or rasps for 'ketchup'.

We also eat fruit straight from the tree in the gartden; thety love that.

Fruit is always on offer between meals.
This year, dd is growing her own strawberries.
If all else fails, let them dip bananas/apple chips/strawberries/mango in melted chocolate.

Fruit is always available as a snack and we then make faces with them so get a variety of fruit or have a mini picnic

Sarfeasticated, its called novelty .

I'm not saying my kids wouldnt eat an apple if given to them, of course they would, I'm just saying they like things that are vaguely amusing to them. Then again, maybe its my own fault because they also like making pizza faces and cutting butties up with shaped cutters

I didn't mean to single you out at all, or criticise you personally, just the notion of fruit disguised as chips, but like you say, novelty is nice and I'm sure your children are old enough to appreciate it. I am only looking on this with 'mother of a 3 year old' goggles on so please ignore me.

Actually this thread isn't really the right place for my comment either as it is a suggestions thread, so I'll ask for it to be deleted.

Thats ok, dont worry about it. I'm feelig very fragile atm.

We also have a fruit bowl out and ds1 can have some whenever he likes (he knows to ask first).

Never underestimate the importance of choice. Pick-your-own is fab, as is letting children hoover anything you grow yourself (obviously supervised and have the 'only pick berries which an adult says are OK') conversation!)

Recognise that favourites go in phases. Ds refused point-blank to eat any soft fruits until this year (he's now 3) when we grew some raspberries and went strawberry picking. Likewise, I couldn't buy enough pears last year and now they're treated like the devil's food .

Adding fruit to savoury cooking (fruit puree to porridge, apple chunks in a pork casserole, apricots in cous-cous) has worked well for us.

My tip is to just keep trying, offering, suggesting and buying. have thrown out so much fruit, and have despaired many times. Sadly dd2 is shapng up the exact same way.

As the mother of a dd1 who really grew up on ready break alone, I know ths does work. It took 5 years to get her to try a grape, and the same for raspberries. One day I asked if she wanted some, she said yes, and ate. I nearly fainted!

She will now eat an apple and a banana, kiwi and sometimes oranges cut into smiles. Occasional grapes and soft fruits. It has taken 5.8 years to do this!

Make fruit jellies/lollies and fruit kebabs.
Or dip them in chocolate!
Have a fruit bowl out that that they have reasonably free access to.
Let them choose the fruit sometimes when shopping.
Make sure that they see you eating fruit too.

Smoothies
make them into ice lollies mashed up
Smother them with squirty cream/ice cream

if all else fails bribery!

Any word on who won yet?