Only wants fruit!

[lachies_mum]

My 8 month old has decided that he only wants to eat sweet food- and the only sweet food I will give him is fruit, so that is all he wants. He is very reluctant to eat his veggies, and is only happy to eat them if I mix them with the fruit! I want him to get used to lots of different tastes and not to have a sweet tooth.

I always give him savoury, give him as much as he will take, and then end up mixing the rest with fruit, and giving him fruit for dessert.

I dont want to cut out the fruit as he is too young to understand that if he doesnt eat his veggies he can go without, and I dont want him to be hungry.

So how can I get him to eat his veggies???

[the pero clinic]

Dear Lachie’s_mum,

Firstly, apologies for missing your question in my posts last week! Secondly, you are doing a good thing in trying to encourage your bub to eat a variety of foods and flavours.

It’s fine if he is eating his veggies mixed with fruit – even though we may find the tastes unusual! To encourage him to accept foods without sweet tastes, however, it would be an idea to start gradually reducing the amount of fruit that is added to each mouthful of veggies. Instead of mixing large amounts of food types together, keep them in separate bowls so that you carefully control how much of each is placed onto the spoon. It is much easier to alter the tastes this way.

You can also try to mix savoury vegetables with sweeter vegetables, as a way of compromising with, and adding to, your son’s repertoire of accepted foods. Try sweet potato and sweet corn combinations for a start.

Given his tendency to prefer sweet tastes, you may also want to carefully consider when / how you will introduce juice. Babies and toddlers don’t need juice – fresh fruit and water are much better alternatives – and your bub may be particularly prone to being a bub that refuses water and wants only juice. It may be worth avoiding juice for a long time yet. Just some food for thought!

the pero clinic