Fruit

I thought I would create an all in one resource for fruit, vegetables and meat. This will give you a good overview of each, how to prepare those that are common and the benefits of each.

When can you introduce fruit?

Fruit can be introduced as soon as your little one starts solids. I have seen some things circulating that suggest that you shouldn’t offer fruit first as it is sweet and this will create a preference for sweet foods. This isn’t something I agree with, nor is it entirely true – it is a lot more nuanced than that.

Infants have an innate preference for sweet foods, right from birth. This is because they are designed, from an evolutionary perspective, to consume breastmilk, which is very sweet. Whilst breastmilk is largely water, the next highest component is carbohydrate, in the form of lactose and oligosaccharides (a sugar molecule). This gives breastmilk its sweet taste and ensures our little ones consume adequate amounts of energy to grow and develop.

It is because of this innate preference, that our little ones typically take really easily to fruit. So, whilst I don’t feel it is necessary to avoid fruit entirely, I do encourage you to ensure you are offering other foods in addition, to ensure your little one is exposed to a variety of flavors and textures from day one.

How do I serve fruit?

6 months old/starting solids: Puree or serve in finger length, two fingers wide, ensuring it is firm enough to hold, but soft enough that it will squish between the roof of the mouth and tongue.

9 months +/established on finger foods: You can continue to serve in finger sized pieces, or offer in bite sized/pincer grip pieces.

You want fruit to be ripe enough, or cooked enough, to pass the squish test. When cooking fruit, I find the best method is to stew. You can roll slippery fruit in things like chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut, bread crumbs etc for more grip. Alternatively, for foods like banana, citrus or kiwi, when starting out, you can serve partially in the skin. Below are some photos of common fruits and how best to prepare them. When offering berries, you will need to ensure you squish them into a disc like shape.

What are the benefits of fruit?

Fruit has so many benefits. Diets rich in fruit and vegetables can help to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of diseases like heart disease, stroke, some cancers and digestive disorders. Fruit contains fibre, which is essential to keeping our little one’s bowels regular, reduces the risk of colon cancer and helps keep our little one’s fuller for longer. Fruit also typically has a high water content, perfect for those warmer days or when our little ones are unwell. Most fruit is high in vitamin C, which is essential for a healthy and functioning immune system – particularly important when those dreaded daycare bugs hit.

In addition to vitamins and minerals, fruit and vegetables contain phytonutrients – the compound that gives individual fruits/vegetables their distinct color, taste and smell. Fruits and vegetables share these phytonutrients, so they often share the same nutritional characteristics.

Lycopene – red fruit contain lycopene, a nutrient that protects against some cancers, heart and lung disease

·      Strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, tomatoes, cherries, apples, watermelon, red grapes

Beta cryptothanxin – yellow fruit contain beta cryptothanxin, which supports the communication between cells and may help prevent heart disease.

·      Oranges, bananas, pineapple, tangerines, mango, apricots, peaches, cantaloupe

Sulforaphane, isocyanate, and indoles – green fruit contain these phytonutrients that inhibit the action of carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds).

·      Avocados, kiwi fruit

Anthocyanins – blue and purple fruit contains this antioxidant that is believed to delay aging and help prevent blood clots

·      Blueberries, blackberries, raisins, plums, figs, prunes

How much is too much?

I frequently get asked how much fruit you should feed your little one, or how much is too much.  If you are to follow the Australian Dietary Guidelines that outlines the five food groups and respective serves per age group, it suggests that toddlers aged 1-4 years, need ½ - 1 “serve” of fruit a day. A serve of fruit is considered to be 150g of fruit:

·      1 x medium apple, banana, orange, pear

·      2 x small apricots, kiwi fruits or plums

So, this is one guide to follow, or alternatively, taking into consideration that appetite fluctuates and some children have bigger appetites that others, I generally like to suggest that you offer fruit once per day for infants and 1-2 times per day (ie. one main meal, one snack) for toddlers. It becomes “too much” when your little one is eating so much fruit that they are not eating much of anything else and their dietary variety is becoming limited.

When to serve

There is no right or wrong time to offer fruit. I have often been asked if it should be avoided at dinner due to the sugar etc, but this isn’t necessary. I would recommend, as above, serving no more than twice a day, but the actual time doesn’t matter. Having said this, the one recommendation I would make is to avoid offering as a “dessert” or follow up to a meal. Whilst, as adults, we have been somewhat conditioned to see fruit as a dessert food, we really want to encourage our little ones to see it simply as food. So, if you are offering fruit at a main meal, I strongly recommend you serve alongside other foods/the main part of the meal.

Serving fruit as a dessert or after meals, unintentionally places it on a pedestal and creates a natural preference. Even if we don’t use language like “you must eat all your veggies before you can have your fruit”, by offering after a main meal, often once that main meal has been eaten, inadvertently creates this dynamic. Yep, there will be days where your little one will eat the fruit only, and whilst this might be frustrating as a parent, it isn’t an issue (if only offering fruit once or twice a day) and we need to remember that division of responsibility….

“It is your role as a parent to determine what, when and where food is served, but your child’s role to determine if and how much they eat”