"How Do I Get My Kids To Eat More Fruit?"

Hi Raw Moms!

I’m a raw foodie mama of three gorgeous girls! I’m raising them mostly raw vegan as well. I’m having trouble with my two year old as she will eat anything green, and loves seeds but WILL NOT eat fruit unless it is blended in a smoothie… isn’t that funny???!!! She’s always been this way. Even when she first started eating solids she flat out refused baby food of any kind and opted for noodles / quinoa and smoothies (even green smoothies!).

Any ideas of how I can get her try a piece of fruit???

Thanks!
Jennifer, Jana (2), Naia & Ananda (14 weeks)
(Check out Jennifer’s Story below)

Shannon Says…

Hi Jennifer,

Things we fear will become the lifelong legacy of our children if we tend to make an issue of it instead of understanding that it really is a passing phase. Now I know it can seem odd to you that your daughter won’t eat a whole fruit unless blended, and yes, this phase has been going on a while and may continue a while longer, but the important thing to keep in mind as a mom is always the Big Picture.

In this case that is that she IS getting great nutrition- and in her wisdom she is wanting it in the most digestible and balanced form- the Green Smoothie. It is NATURAL for us moms to compare our children to others, but we do so at our and our children’s peril because it causes so much stress all around. I used to be a Nanny to a family of 5 girls and 1 boy- 2 deaf and 1 Autistic.

The boy ate from Organic Baby Food Jars until he was 8!!! It used to drive his parents crazy. I never worried because he was gaining weight and his health never faltered.

Do you want to know when he finally chose to break this little habit?

When he went to school he would NOT eat until he came home because he didn’t want the other kids to see. But at around 7 or 8 when he started to have kids over on play dates, he had nowhere to hide! He just dropped his baby food diet on his own due to peer pressure that he himself felt.

For the next year, I am giving you permission to give yourself permission to give your daughter permission to allow what is- allow your daughter to continue to make her very clear and not unhealthy food choices when it comes to preferring blended fruits over whole fruits…in fact, I would encourage you to go one step further and RELISH your daughter’s uncanny ability to intuit what she needs here. Celebrate her clarity and your blessings.

With much love and enjoyment,

Shannon

Ardis Says…

Dear Jennifer,

I think it’s great you are raising your 3 beautiful daughters raw! It sounds like, since your 2 year old will eat her fruit in the form of smoothies, loves greens and seeds, she is getting a wonderfully nutritious and well-rounded diet. As for getting her to eat an actual piece of fruit, a couple tricks that have worked for me are:

Get her involved! When making her smoothie, let her put the chopped pieces in the blender. Take bites as you go along – “mmmm, mango! mmm banana!” Maybe she’ll want to take nibbles as you go along, too.

Just keep offering her a wide variety of fruit as an option (particularly when she’s really hungry), but without any pressure. You might be surprised to find that on the 15th offering she actually accepts! My son does this all the time. For example, he would never touch tomatoes, and I actually stopped offering them to him. But recently, he saw some cherry tomatoes and devoured almost an entire pint! Now he can’t get enough. It also helps to make sure the fruit is perfectly ripe and in season; children’s intuitions about these things are really strong.

I hope some of this helps. But for now, it sounds like you’re doing a great job!

Love, Ardis

Tips from Tera

Skewers and kebabs make for amazing fruit sculptures. While I can’t easily find any pictures right now, I know that my very first cookbook as a young girl had spiders made from peach halves, carrot shavings for legs, and clove buds for eyes! There was a mouse, too, made out of half a pear!

Playing with your food is perfectly acceptable, Mom. Get your muffin to build fruits sculptures and peek around online to see what you can find about making animal shapes out of fruit.

I think the other advice from moms are great, too. Also, exercise, getting outside and running definitely increases the desire for fruit. When your little muffin starts to get more physically active and working up a sweat, the hunger for fruit will come, I’m sure.

Keep us posted, my dear!

Love and hugs,
Tera

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