Question – fruit and vegetables as finger food
Adam eats well but does not feed himself. He will eat finger food but will not eat vegetables or fruit. I got him to take some banana when I was eating it – it got as far as his mouth, which is good because he usually throws it away because of the feel of it, but once I was in his mouth he totally gagged, as if he was being poisoned. He will pick up and feel vegetables and then throw them away. How do I get him to eat vegetables and fruit with his hands (meat and fish are no problem)?
Answer:
I’m really pleased that Adam tried some banana when he saw you eating it, even if it didn’t make it past his mouth. Children are great mimics, and the first rule of thumb when you want them to do something is to set a good example. It sounds as if you have been persevering with the finger foods too, though not making a battle of it, which is wise. Eventually he will taste the fruit and vegetables he picks up and I’m sure there will be some he likes. I suggest you aim to offer Adam several different fruits and different-coloured vegetables daily, whether as finger food or not. A good mix is one green vegetable and one red, yellow or orange vegetable, as the different colours often indicate a slightly different range of nutrients.
Starting finger foods is a great opportunity for making food fun. Try the following ideas when you have the chance – they only take an extra couple of minutes to prepare, and if you can find the time to enjoy eating with Adam he’ll be even more likely to try the foods. Try to offer the foods when he’s really hungry, at the beginning of a meal. Food looks interesting when presented in an unusual way, so try offering:
- chunks of fruit to dip in yoghurt
- vegetable ‘batons’ with a hummous dip
- fruit or vegetable kebabs (when he’s old enough, and using a blunt kebab stick)
- a mixture of fruit, vegetables and some food he already likes, such as cheese and little sandwiches, arranged as a face, a train or a sailboat on a plate.
Maybe Adam could help you choose the fruit he wants, while you are shopping, and together you could look at different types, textures and colours, for example fuzzy kiwi fruit cut into green wheels and orange melon cut into slices. He might also like to help you arrange the shapes, or peel fruit (such as banana and clementines). It sounds like texture is an issue for Adam, so you might try offering fruit or vegetables with a different texture. These include cooked fruit or vegetables, frozen vegetables or tinned fruit (in fruit juice), or grated carrot or apple.
If Adam is still not eating enough fruit and vegetables, there are lots of easy ways to hide them, for example:
- offering vegetable-based soups, puréed if necessary
- adding grated vegetables such as carrots and courgettes (his two colours for the day) to mini-meatballs, stews or cottage pie
- putting finely-chopped or grated vegetables on pitta breads and melting cheese on top to make mini-pizzas (cut into strips to serve as finger food)
- mashing or puréeing any fruit and adding it to custard or yoghurt
- trying fruit-based puddings such as a fruit crumble with a crispy oat-based topping.
If Adam really isn’t keen on these ideas, try a small glass of fruit or vegetable juice or fruit smoothie each day – it’s not as good as whole fruit but much better than none at all.