Fun Fresh-Fruit Kebabs

My biggest "food challenge" with my little guy is his lack of love for fruit.  This passionless relationship began before his toddler years, when he shunned my freshly made pureed apples, bananas and berries, and has continued through to the first grade where he still prefers spinach to oranges and green beans to grapes.

I have tried to sneak fruit into many a meal, and while I'm not convinced that the best way to get a food into your child is via a hiding game, it's irrelevant anyway, as he can detect the sweet taste from his first bite and turns his head in distaste immediately. (An interesting side note here is that this same child also dislikes candy, lollipops and popsicles as most of those items are fruit flavoured)

I'm happy to say that over time we have made some progress and I find his interest in fruit becomes slightly piqued when he's interested in how it's being served.  Cue the fruit kebabs...so fun for him (or any child) to assemble, they bring some simple fruit to a new level, yet provide a healthy snack that is also fun to eat.  These can be made with any assortment of firm fruits and I like to serve them with a yogurt based dipping sauce for an even yummier treat.

 

The skewers shown above are on their way to a picnic with friends...here's hoping that my son is interested in trying some of his creation...if not, I'll need to figure out a way to skewer the green beans and spinach so he can have some fun with the food he does like. 

Fresh Fruit Kebabs, my recipe

Wooden skewers

Pineapple, cut into 1" squares

Strawberries, with stems removed

Watermelon, cut into 1" squares

Blackberries or grapes

Large marshmallows

3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp lemon or lime zest

~ Skewer the cubed or sliced fruit onto a wooden kebab stick.

~ Combine the yogurt, honey, zest and cinnamon and mix well.

~ Serve skewers with dip.

~ Enjoy!

 

Comments

[Heidi]

I too have a picky eater and I've used the fruit kabob trick many times. My kids like to make patterns and they can choose what they want to add to their skewer. I love the fruit dip idea and will try it soon.