Getting Daughter to Eat Real Fruit

My daughter LOVED fresh strawberries with whipped cream at that age.
THey are in season, so try that. Wash, rub off the seeds, cut the stem end off, and put a couple on the plate, flat side down... or cut them up into bite size pieces.. whichever. Then take a can of Whipped cream and squirt it onto a couple of the pieces (make it the 'flame' like on a candle if you use the whole berry) and put a squirt on the plate for dipping.

Following the monkey see, monkey do suggestion, do you eat the fruit with her? They always seem to want what Mom is eating!

Try cutting it up and then eating from the same plate in front of her.

The other thing, it could be a texture thing. Baby food has that creamy consistency, real fruit is not. Process of elimination, look for table foods that closely resemble the texture of the fruits. If she eats those, it may not be a texture issue. If she doesn't, ask your pedi about a possible texture issue.

My children love strawberries but the trick is that I cut them up to small pieces and drizzle some natural sugar on them so that they don't get a sour one. It brings out the juices and the kids seem to love them. The other thing that I do is make fruit smoothies. That way they get a serving of fruit and don't even think about it twice.

We didn't have that problem - both of our kids wanted to have the real thing way before their first birthdays.

One thing both of them loved was either holding an apple (a small one that was started by us taking a bite) and gnawing on it, or cutting slices and letting them gnaw on it. Of course, you should be with them in case they bite of more than they can handle.

My recommendation would have been cut strawberries, grapes (we really never cut them for the kids because they could handle them whole), blueberries.
Perhaps things like kiwi that are a little softer and more palatable would be a good introduction or ripe pears.
Our kids also loved canned pears. We'd get them halved, in juice to keep sugar/calories down, and cut them to appropriate sized.
My kids also loved (and still love) strawberries/blueberries in oatmeal. Perhaps adding it to something else will help her take it.

I'd keep trying - their food interests are going to blossom over the next few months. But, if it were my kids, I'd remove the baby food altogether at this point in time.

Good luck! The next year is SO much fun.

Have you tried blending the fruit just a little, to make it smooth with just a little bit of fruit chunks? Or maybe mixing the fruit in with some yogurt?

Don't feed her grapes at that age. They are choking hazards even if you cut them in half!!!!!

I had a hard time with my daughter and fruit as well. I tried putting the fruit into her oatmeal or cottage cheese. She LOVED both! It does cause quite a mess but great for pictures!

That's so funny, most kids prefer fruits to veggies... that's not necessarily a bad thing! Babies R Us sells this thing that has a handle similar to a pacifier, with a little screw-it net piece instead of a pacifier nipple. You can put pieces of fruit in there and let your daughter suck and mash on it. It might be a little juvenile for a 12 month old, since I think it's more targeted for younger babies, but it's worth a shot! She might think it's more fun than just stuffing food in her mouth, since she would actually have to work a little to get the food through the mesh netting. OR, if she can handle it, cut up pieces of fruit and give her a fork to eat it with. Since a fork is more technical to use than her fingers, it might be a bit more appealing, and hey, mom and dad use a fork, so why not?! Monkey see, monkey do :)

I would make smoothies with fruit and offer that to her as a drink.

Cut up strawberries and maybe add a bit of sugar. Cut up cantaloupe and watermelon. Put that on her plate or in a bowl on the table BEFORE you serve dinner.

I wouldn't worry if she doesn't want too much real fruit. In a short time she will. Baby food is nice because you know she'll eat it and it's easy to store/take along/etc.

My 2.5 year old daughter went back to eating baby food (fruit) when her little brother started on solids a few months ago. She'll still occasionally ask for bananas or something in a jar!

Continue to give her the babyfood, especially applesauce since kids eat that anyway. She is not ready for the cut up fruit yet. But, keep offering it to her. Especially if its fresh and in season. I find that my son likes to try fruit that I am eating, so be good model to her. Also, when I first started offering my son fruit I gave him the Dole peaches in the plastic jar. They are very flavorful and not to firm. Most kids like nice soft fruit like bananas, very ripe pears, strawberries, and peaches so just give her time. Somtimes it takes a many tries to get them to eat something!

Blueberries are a favorite because they are so finger friendly, even dried blueberries, but at that age, my son loved to hold the whole fruit himself. We would peel an apple and take a first bite, and he loved to gnaw on that. Plum was his favorite though. Also peeled, and then outside with everyone!! I would usually eat one with him, or ask him for bites of his (actually it was usually mine and would end up his). For grapes, I would cut them in 4ths, and peel them. My son didn't seem to like the skin on anything. Nectarines, cut up into bite size pieces were a favorite as well.

You can also steam the apple chunks, and mash slightly instead of puree?

Raspberries may have too many seeds, and the oranges may have too much pulp for her. Just keep trying whatever is in season, or even dried - raisins, and in the mean time do the baby food.