2 year old won't eat fruit

[Mummy23boys]

Hi there,

He used to eat bananas apples etc, but for a while now refuses point blank! I thought I was just a phase but it's still ongoing! I always offer fruit every day. I make a fruit salad so he can pick out what's he wants, it ends up on the floor. I offered those squeezy fruit pouches, nope! I purée fruit for my 6.5 month old so I offer him that, this works sometimes, but usually not. Tried smoothies and he makes a face like its acid I've given him! he LOVES raisins so I find I'm giving him them (tiny little boxes you know the ones) twice a day. Is this ok? Is there anything else I can do/offer? Will this pass do you think? I am worried he's not getting enough. He's not a fan of cheese either so I'm giving 2 yogurts a day.

He's a big strong boy and loves his food so I know he's not hungry but I just want him to have the right nutritional balance of food. How would you approach this?

Thanks M
Xx

[*jazzberry*]

How about pureeing the fruit and mixing it with some natural yoghurt? Dried apricots are a good one too, my kids love them.

[Mummy23boys]

Thanks jazz,

Brill idea with the yogurt! Why didn't I think of that! Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees I suppose! Lol. I tried dried apricot this morning. I cut them up onto little pieces and hid them amongst his raisons (which already had little bits of apricot in them) but he picked them out and threw on the floor! But I'll keep trying with them! Thanks

[*jazzberry*]

Lol little monkey! Let us know how it goes

[skatty]

Smoothies are good too, if you use frozen fruit they are like ice creams or slush drinks 

[Mummy23boys]

Thanks! Oh will try frozen fruit I've been using fresh fruit! Oh fab have lots to try..hopefully something will work! Cheers girls x

[creations]

Just an idea - I always hated fruit mixed with anything so for example didn't like fruit in yoghurt, fruit cocktail, fruit with custard, fruit with ice cream, a lot of it still sounds totally yuck to me but I'm not as particular about it as I was when I was younger.  How about offering whole fruits, just one, not a mix.  So a whole plum for instance.  Or a whole clementine so he has the fun of peeling it and exploring the peel rather than being given the segments?  My DS LOVES being given whole fruit and being given the responsibility for looking for the pip in the plum or nectarine and dropping it in the bowl or taking it to the bin.

Fruit pies and crumbles can be made low or no sugar.
Have you tried baked apple wedges rather than raw?
Dried apricots are perhaps the only fruit my DS doesn't eat, they are pretty hard and unforgiving to chew on, not soft like sultanas.  Prunes are perhaps more similar to sultanas maybe try those?

Does he have tomatoes, sweet peppers, courgettes, pumpkin, marrow and other squash?  These are fruits, perhaps he doesn't need the traditional sweet fruits to balance his diet??

[Mummy23boys]

Hi creations and thanks for your reply. I have tried offering whole fruits and he will literally run in to the next room screaming! He will only eat raisins and will pick out all the apricot/apple bits ad just eat the raisins and sultanas 😒
I will try the baked apple wedges and the fruit pie and see if they help. I'm going to keep trying the smoothies too. He knows now that I sneak some purée in to his yogurt or cereal so he will turn his head away!

I tried all kinds of tomatoes. Nope! I have baby sweet peppers I will try today. Ill cut them up tiny. I think it's the feel or texture of things he doesn't like. He's the exact same a his father. A real meat and two veg guy. He loves real hearty meals and stews! But hates fruit and cheese! I've tried all different cheeses too!

I think I'll bring him to doctor if it continues. His poos can be terrible, like little pebbles. He's definitely lacking in something. If its a phase it's going on too long now!

[15milner]

What does he have for breakfast?  Any way of hiding in cereal.  Even though Andrew is almost 6, I still buy the pots of organix fruit puree that he adds to porridge - would you have any luck adding some to cereal without him knowing.

his big brother likes grated apple in weetabix.

Some people here have recipes for pancakes with fruit in I think - even to using a puree fruit rather than pieces.

Not that I'd want to encourage too much chocolate habit at age just 2, but would he dip pieces of fruit into  melted chocolate / chocolate spread?  Fruit on stick - kebab style?

Fruity flapjack / homemade muffins

[~*Nicole*~]

Jumping in b/c  my 2 year old, though he loves fruit...has been quite picky lately. How verbal is your LO? I only ask b/c mine is able to tell me that his bananas look "yucky" if they have ANY brown spots or irregularities. He HATES eating fruit that is "broken" so it must be a WHOLE banana. He also has to peel it himself or he gets upset. He is in the asserting his independence mode BIG TIME.....so will also change his mind a TON and decide he wants something else after he has asked for one thing, gotten it open, and taken a bite. Food is a huge area where he can control things: his intake, his choices...so it's a tough phase/age.

Here are some things that bug my DS that may spark thoughts for you:

*He hates chewing the apple skins, even though he has when younger. I now peel them and offer apples cut as much as possible. Sprinkled with cinnamon is a novelty.

*Pears are better as he can bite and chew the skin so feels like a big boy when eating them whole.

*He has always loved berries so those are an easy one to add to pancakes, smoothies or just eat by the handful!

*He will copy almost anything his sister does so I often have her model or be the first one served b/c then he wants to eat what she has. Good role models and all that!

*He is in the "mine" phase as well, so anyone taking what is "his" is a no no. So daddy or his sister will often be willing to eat what he doesn't want....then suddenly it is much more appealing as he doesn't want to give up what is "his" to anyone else....some more food has gone down as a result.

*He's taken a TON of exposures to finally eat some things that he has turned up his nose to, spit out and refused in the past. It took months and tons of tries for him to chew and actually swallow cherry/grape tomatoes which he decided the other night for dinner he liked finally.

*Ice pops! You can puree and freeze fruit with or without yogurt and my kids love it just b/c it's frozen.

*Muffins! Another way to add in extras for my kids and they seem to like them.

*Fruit preserves/jellies. If you make them extra smooth and add to yogurt or use with PB on sandwiches....or to top bagels with cream cheese...it's exposing to fruit flavor even if a bit less "real" or "nutritious" but it may bridge back over to those fruits.

Anyway, just thought I'd share some of that b/c right  now my DS is tough with eating. He "doesn't like" a lot of things b/c he is holding out for preferences or changing his mind and I am sure he'll come back around soon enough. It's just his way of asserting himself and being independent right now. Maybe your LO is doing something similar??

[Mummy23boys]

Thank you 15milner and Nicole and forgive me for my late post! Wow lot of info there..still no joy here although I've managed to get a few smoothies in to him! So that's progress I suppose. I always sneak some purée fruit in his cereal when I can and I also make banana pancakes and banana bread, he loves those! If I cut up any fruit or even leave whole he will throw it on the floor in disgust! I'm trying everything!! And it's costing me a small fortune. I do hope it is a phase, although its been going on for a while now and I am so worried he's not getting enough nutrients. In saying that he does love his veg. He loves traditional dinners like stews and roast dinners! He is so like his dad food wise it's unbelievable!

Thanks again xx

[altpj11]

I posted this in another thread but will here too in case it can help you! I found some good advice about getting kids to like eating and to like healthy food in particular at a blog/website http://www.weelicious.com. Awesome recipes and advice! Some includes having child/children involved in the preparation process as much as they can, even in the store or farmers market. Having them chose their own fruit and press blender buttons, etc, sometimes helps, or making the food fun by calling it a fun name or drinking smoothies with friends who love them- etc! Maybe it can help!

[creations]

He loves traditional dinners like stews and roast dinners!

Do you try things like apple sauce, red currant sauce or cranberry sauce alongside the roasts?
Sometimes i make Moroccan type dishes, like stew with dried apricots or prunes, so fruit can go well alongside or inside the savoury dish.  Although honestly I wouldn't have eaten that when I was a child I hated cooked fruit but happily eat it now.