“Dinner time, kids! Minestrone’s ready!”
“…YUCK!!!”
Who has never heard this answer from their children? Probably very few. Not to mention the difficulty we often face getting them to eat a fruit salad or a smoothie. There are some fun tricks to get them closer to fruits and vegetables and nourish them with all the minerals and vitamins these foods contain. Let’s take a step back: for convenience, during weaning, we often rely on baby food jars, which are rich in vitamins and are eaten willingly by children, but their flavors are very different from those of fresh fruit in reality. The texture is also quite different. If, instead, we manage to offer them a ‘real’ apple, first grated and then in small pieces… or a ripe banana, mashed at first and gradually served in slices, and so on for all other fruits… we are definitely preparing them to appreciate the real flavors and textures that fruits offer us in nature.
A common mistake is to mask the taste of the first purees with spoonfuls of parmesan or melted cheese; this does not help train their palate to recognize real flavors. On the contrary, by using few seasonings, we will get them used from the start to the different tastes of vegetables, and the transition from pureed to simply cooked vegetables will be quicker and ‘painless’.
“Eat everything on your plate now, or no TV all day!” Blackmail and threats over a fruit salad? Punishments over a bowl of soup? They may work at the moment, but they do not bring us closer to the real goal: to truly help our little ones appreciate fruits and vegetables. So, what strategies can we follow to accomplish this difficult task?
First point:
- Let’s introduce these fruits of the earth through a booklet or an illustrated story to read together before bed. When they see the food on their plate, the memory will make them smile…
Second point:
- Take them with us to the market or, if possible, send them to the garden with their grandfather; they will understand where the food comes from and learn to appreciate it more…
Third point:
- Have them sit next to us while we cook and give them tasks in preparing the dishes. In this way, having fun, they will get to know fruits and vegetables better and won’t have an unconscious fear of the unknown when facing their plate.
Fourth point:
- Preparation is very important. Imagine facing a whole apple, maybe a little big or oddly shaped… Or imagine a plate of fruit arranged like a painting or shaped like a cute little animal. How can they resist? If they feel like co-creators of these wonderfully tasty ‘works of art’, they surely won’t be able to resist tasting their special creations. Game set! Offer your kids one of these plates every day (maybe starting with fruits they prefer), initially using snack time so they arrive hungry and more willing to try. And let’s not forget vegetables: we can prepare cleaned carrot sticks and fennel slices to munch on while waiting for lunch or dinner.
Fruits and vegetables are fundamental foods for our children’s growth; they contain vitamins, minerals, and many antioxidants essential for our bodies and immune systems. Don’t give up at the first “NO”!
PATIENCE, CONSISTENCY…
and success is guaranteed.
Enjoy your fruit, everyone!