How I Get my Baby to Eat Fruits and Vegetables
As soon as we began to introduce Annabelle to solid foods, we found out very quickly that she is a carnivore. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise since we have a very meat-loving family, but I was still a little worried about how to get my baby to eat fruits and vegetables since she seemed to have no interest!
Our first attempts at “baby food” fruits and vegetables were pretty much complete failures. I couldn’t blame her for spitting them out though — they tasted so bland! This was Annabelle’s first taste of plain avocado:
However, Annabelle wasn’t quite ready for many “grown-up” foods yet, as the vegetables we eat might be hard for babies without a full set of teeth to digest. What we needed was something in between.
Then I was introduced to Gerber Lil’ Bits Recipes, which are a blend of real fruit and vegetable purees with chewable pieces mixed in. There are ten different recipes — we tried both the Apply Blueberry and Sweet Potato Carrot & Apple Cinnamon flavors. I sampled each variety and I’m not ashamed to admit that I liked them! Annabelle’s older sister Lilu asked if she could have the leftovers — they were that good! Of course babies love flavorful food too, and Gerber Lil’ Bits Recipes are full of yummy taste combinations for them to try!
The other way I think I had gone wrong previously was feeding Annabelle foods without any texture. She got teeth very early, and I’m sure she wanted to use them! Gerber Lil’ Bits Recipes have bite size pieces of fruit and vegetables so Annabelle can practice chewing.
A third thing I hadn’t considered is that Annabelle wants to do EXACTLY what the rest of us are doing. So if she see us eating with utensils, of course she’s going to want to do so as well! Feeding her with a spoon instead of only letting her have finger foods made her feel like a “big kid.”
I do try to let Annabelle taste the vegetables we have with our own meals if they are soft enough (cooked mushrooms are one of her favorites). However, if we are having something tough like grilled asparagus, I can feed Annabelle a helping of Gerber Lil’ Bits and know that she is still getting the nutrition she needs.
If you’re struggling with how to get your baby to eat fruits and vegetables, try these three tips:
- Experiment with new flavor combinations
- Add some texture to practice chewing with their new teeth
- Feed foods that require utensils so they feel included
Stay tuned for next week’s follow-up when I share tips for teaching babies to learn to chew and be sure to visit My Gerber for more ideas!
How do you get your baby to eat fruits and vegetables? Share your tips below!
Gerber 3rd Foods Lil Bits Recipes help babies learn to chew and ease the transition to table food.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gerber. The opinions and text are all mine.
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First time moms would love these tips and guidelines. 🙂