Any parent of a fussy eater will know how stressful it can be to try and get fruit and vegetables into children sometimes. Often really fussy eaters will have one thing they are happy to eat loads of but try anything else and you are met with a major meltdown.
Strawberries or cucumber perhaps go down well, but put a carrot or a pea on their plate and it’s enough to send them over the edge.
One option is to get sneaky. Parents are well equipped at disguising fruit and veg in all sorts of ways. Chop it up small, grate it into things, blend it, tuck it under something else on the child’s’ fork – we’ve done it all.
With really fussy eaters though, none of this generally cuts it. So what other options are there?
Sometimes there is very little you can do, you just have to ride out that fussy phase as best you can and hope it is just that – a phase!
If they are a bit more amenable, you could try to get them to ‘make friends’ with fruit and veg. We have a few books with fruit and vegetables in which the children love. After reading Supertato for the first time the two youngest both asked to eat peas AND actually ate them for the first time since the weaning stage.
Anything that gives the fruit and veg a personality seems to really help. For example giving the fruit and vegetables names – the carrots in our house are all called Colin and the children get great satisfaction from biting Colin’s head off these days.
Whatever works right?
The guys at Googly Fruit know all about getting little ones to make friends with fruit and veg. Their fun range of products has really appealing packaging and tons of character.
Their products all have names, googly eyes and lots of personality and they are making it their mission to get more children eating more fruits and vegetables. I love their approach and enthusiasm and it seems my little ones love it too!
There’s no nonsense in this range and the products are 100% organic – the only problem comes when you run out. I’m down to one squeezy pouch after the weekend, a very dangerous place to be!
Are your children friends with fruit and veg?
