Fruits & Vegies

LIke - peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, grapefruit, satsumas, Granny Smith apples, roasted beets, okra, mustard greens, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, edamame, mushrooms, grapes, raisins, craisins. mangoes, cantaloupe, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, butter beans, brussel sprouts, cabbage, avocado, pineapple, coconut, apsaragus (fresh, not canned)

Dislike - pears, kiwi fruit, raspberries

When my children were little, we found that anything small on a cute, small plate, was delicious! And things that dip are even better.

So, the plates had a little protein on them and then: carrot, red pepper or celery sticks, alone or with any salad dressing or dip, frozen grapes, raisins, orange sections or berries. And food on toothpicks or skewers is quite appetizing. So lunch could be a skewered small chunk of cheese, a grape, a cube of ham, a little whole tomato or a berry. Usually this method was quite effective, as the portions were so small, they loved to ask for more! And most meals avoided breads and chips that tend to fill the kids up.

Snacks could be banana slices, alone or with honey, dark chocolate or a generous sprinkling of granola or chopped peanuts. Or thin apple slices, alone or with honey or peanut butter for swirling.

After your grandson tries something, you may also wish to note what he didn't like. He may avoid squishy foods, slimy foods or crunchy foods. Just adapt and offer the same food in another form (apples to applesauce, uncooked bananas to broiled, etc.) Over time you may be able to serve the same food with fewer or diminished alterations, as he becomes more skilled at enjoying a variety of foods.

I find it helps a lot to let the kiddos pick out the fruit/veggies at the produce department. Or if they pick vegetables from Grandma's garden, they are so happy to eat them. We also use a produce co-op (Bountifulbaskets.org, not sure if they are available in your area) but I love it because they give you 5 types of fruits and 5 types of vegetables and often there are a few hard-to-find items that we normally do not see in the store. It is a great way to try new things.

Fruits our family likes:

apples
pineapple
watermelon
peaches
apricots
mango
plums
pluots (plum/apricot hybrid I believe)
strawberries
raspberries
blueberries
blackberries
bananas
tomatoes

veggies we like:
broccoli
cucumbers
carrots
celery
cabbage
peas, sugar snap peas
corn
butternut squash
sweet potato
radishes

My kids and husband are not so keen on but I like
squash
zuchinni
lettuce
spinach
mushrooms
okra
avocado
kale
green beans

Edited to add: we really like dried fruits like apples, raisins and bananas as well. Or fruit leather. I know there is often sugar added so it is not as healthy as fresh, but still good!

Take him to a grocery store or farmers' market and let him choose things to try. Asian or other ethnic stores have an even wider range of fruits and veggies. (Personally I would stay far away from the durian at the Asian grocery store! It is known as the world's stinkiest fruit. I think it smells like rotting meat.) My daughter fell in love with purple string beans (which we call magic beans because they turn green when you cook them. But, they are all natural! We bought them from an organic farmer.). You can also try a pick-your-own farm.

My daughter likes broccoli, aspargus, green beans, greens, corn and carrots for veggies. Fruits she likes apples, cuties, grapes, watermelon and pineapple. Good luck!!

Likes: peas, carrots, corn, lima beans (for one of them), broccoli, red/yellow pepper strips (uncooked), green beans, cucumbers, spinach when added to smoothies or ravioli, zucchini when made into zucchini bread (aka "cake"), crispy lettuce (either iceberg or the spines of romaine), potatoes (in some forms), sweet potatoes.

Dislikes (or haven't pushed it yet): asparagus, brussel sprouts, most greens on their own, tomatoes (one likes oven-dried tomatoes), potatoes (in other forms)

Try putting fruits and some greens into a smoothie. This is almost always a hit. (Try yogurt, frozen banana, frozen mango, orange juice, and spinach.)

The trying new foods is a great idea. My daughter eats pretty much all fruits and veggies but at times will be picky or refuse veggies especially if there is something more appealing on her plate. There are a couple ways I got her into a variety of veggies. One is to have them as the only food for a snack i.e. your snack this afternoon is carrots and hummus. As long as she is hungry, she'll eat if because its what we are eating for snack. The other thing I did was mix various veggies in with other foods to get her comfortable with the flavor.

My youngest isn't a big fruit eater. She likes apples (if they are sliced and peeled) and oranges. My oldest likes just about everything except avocado and kale.

Favorites:
Carrot
Jicama
Celery
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Orange
Apple
Pineapple
Blueberry
Strawberry

Your best bet is probably to let him peruse the produce section and choose something that he finds interesting.

Use dips and dressings whenever you can, and make smoothies. Even my anti fruit/vege daughter loves fruit smoothies (and sometimes you can sneak a few veges in as well.)

I'm trying, but I honestly can't think of any fruits or veggies that the kids don't like. Some are preferred raw, some cooked, but all are eaten.

I don't care much for okra. And Brussel's sprouts? I can take them or leave them.

There's not much we don't eat.

What if he decides he dislikes everything you try? Are you never going to serve it to him again? Is it ok for him to never eat any fruits or vegetables if he says he doesn't like any of them?
I propose something different. This is what I do with my kids and how I've altered the eating habits of every "picky" eater who has come to my daycare over the last 10 years. I serve a fruit and vegetable at every meal, tiny one-bite portions, along with a small portion of the main course. If he wants seconds, he has to eat everything on his plate first. You can then work up to insisting on seconds of everything if he wants seconds. No snacks after dinner, other than offering the fruits and/or veggies back to him, if he refuses to eat the fruit and/or veggies, no matter how hungry he says he is. Lots of praise if he does eat them, no pleading or nagging if he doesn't. The words "I don't like" and "I don't want" are not allowed at the table when talking about food. The new attitude is "eat or don't, but we're not fighting and we aren't complaining".
Two weeks is like forever for a kid, so limiting exposure to new foods to twice a month will feel almost random to a kid. Plus, such a long gap between new foods will make it easier to forget and stop. You want to make a major change in behavior, it has to be immediate, consistent and regular, not sporadic. You wouldn't go the the gym only twice a month and expect results, would you?
It's great that you want to broaden his food horizons, but giving him the choice to like or dislike, therefore not have to eat it if he doesn't like it, isn't the best way to go about making that change.

My kids eat everything I put in front of them. My 4 year old isn't a fan (the acceptable term in our household) of cooked zucchini, cooked eggplant or cooked bok choy, but she still eats it when I cook it. I just give her a smaller than usual portion. She loves brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus, to name just a few, all either cooked or raw, along with all fruits. My 2 year old eats anything and everything, in any form. Two nights ago we tried seaweed crisps: I'm not a fan at all, but they ate half the package before I cut them off.