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Is Your Autistic Child a Finicky Vegetable and Fruit Eater?

By Bonita Darula

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 19Nov2010 Word count: 580 Viewed: 278 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Do you feel frustrated thinking about preparing meals for your whole family and your autistic child at the dinner table? You want to have a balanced meal, but your child with autism does not like vegetables and fruit. You know that these items contain the nutrient value your child needs to be healthy and pursue the proper development. What can be done to encourage your child not to be a finicky eater, when fruits and vegetables are added to their meals?

My brother was a finicky eater with the disorder he had. I remember, my parents did not know how to get him to eat his vegetables and fruits. However, I remember my mother dicing apples, oranges, and other fruits, then she would put some of them in the jello she made.

She would pour the contents of the colorful ingredients into several unique plastic molds, of unusual shapes. She would put the molds in the refrigerator, let them set and serve to my brother. He loved the colorful shapes, the taste of the jello which made it appealing to eat. I would recommend that if you have not tried this, experiment with it. Find out if your child might like to try it. It is a wonderful plan, to have this idea for the holidays.

I found when autistic children do not like eating vegetables, I would cut them up in different shapes, sizes, and be creative with arranging them on their plate. You can be real creative using carrots, peas, lettuce, beans and even tomatoes. You might want to add some sliced cheese, of different flavors to give more color, texture and designs to the plate.

Your child may choose raw vegetables to eat, rather than cooked vegetables. He or she might like the feel of the texture and picking the vegetables up with his or her fingers.

Another idea you might want to try is, using a blender for fruits. When you use a blender, you are able to mix fruits and make a milkshake. You can also use yogurt that has various flavors, or make blended juices out of the fruit. Pour the ingredients into some colorful, fun glasses or containers to make it appealing.

It is important to introduce fruits and vegetables at meals that contain high nutritional value. You want to make sure that there is a variety of high antioxidants in them.

Your child who is a finicky eater, will do better if you do not force him or her to eat all of their fruits and vegetables, Let your child pick and choose which vegetables and fruits they want to eat.

Do not threaten your child if he or she does not eat all of their vegetables and fruits. Do not tell your child that there will be some consequences, if they do not eat all of what is on their plate. This puts fear in your child and it will cause rebellion.

Have snacks with fruits and vegetables during the day. You may want to make a vegetable dip or a fruit dip and serve with some organic crackers. This is an excellent source for your child to obtain new tastes and textures.

When you make your introductions with fruits and vegetables, do it naturally. Remember your child will probably not eat all of the fruits or vegetables, or even like all of them. Keep on being creative and do not get discouraged with your child, who is a finicky eater.

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