How to Cut Bite Size Fruits Easily

I read on Mamapedia a long time ago about a mom who grated apples and pears for her baby, instead of cutting them up. That might be the fastest way. I had never heard of it before, but it sounded like a good idea! :)

Wow, judgmental much?

I forgot this site has a protocol for questions. If the question does not fit into that protocol we have to make fun and berate the writer.

I don't have any good response for the question.

All I can say/add is that I Nannie(d) for a little boy that was a month younger then my son. When he was around 9 months old I wanted to start feeding him baby food/solids. His mom was scared out of her mind taking him off his strict breastfeeding regime. I was able to finally get her to allow me to try baby food on him. By the time he was a year all he would eat was refried beans. I could not get him to eat soft foods like banana or over cooked pasta. He would gag and throw up.

So I get to some extent not being able t cut their food small enough. It seemed like he gagged and threw up everything because he did not know how to chew and swallow.

This site has a bully problem. It has become outrageous. 7 years here and people still cease to amaze me.

I can't say how to do it quicker but can tell you to save time.. try and do a bunch of fruit at once.. and then put it in a container and then pull it out of fridge as you need. Of course, this won't work for all fruits.. but ones like pineapple and or mango will definitely keep.. this includes oranges ..

good luck

Why do they have to be precisely equal bits? Slice a banana lengthwise, in half, then slice in half again, then cut the slices which make them four pieces per slice.. A 15 month old surely has some teeth, should be able to eat small slices. Section an orange, cut the slices with scissors.
Unless you want pieces the child can pick up piece by piece, use a food chopper and "pulse" it to get small pieces or chunks. I can't imagine why cutting up fresh fruits would be so time consuming.

My grandson could eat apple slices at that age and you can buy apples already sliced if too much work to cut them up. Try cooking them, peel, core, cut into quarters, place in pan with water about half way up on the apples, add sugar, cook about 20 minutes till soft. May add redhots to the water, for variation, apples will have pretty red color and cinnamon flavor.

Maybe your knife is the problem. Use sharp paring knife easily held in the hand. (don't cut yourself)

Chop chop!

Really? Well, okay...

For an apple, cut it in half. Cut into quarters. Remove the core. Slice each "slice" horizontally all the way down, not quite to the peel, then take your knife and pare the apple near the peel. Wha-lah.

Banana, cut off each end, slice down the peel, and take off the peel. Cut lengthwise twice, hold banana, and chop horizontally across the banana. Wha-lah.

You can use these methods for any type of fruit. Essentially, cut one way, and then the other, to make a grid.

***Sorry, S....there were so many crazy questions this weekend from people that I am sure weren't really asking, so I just didn't know what was real and what wasn't. It doesn't seem insignificant to me...it took me awhile to figure out how to chop things.

Practice makes perfect. Good, sharp knives are worth the investment. If you have a little food processor you might be able to whirl it a few times and get the desired consistency.

My 16 month old eats slices, not bit sized pieces. I removed peelings and core from apples and slice. Bananas she just eats. Oranges again, i peel and section and she eats. You could use canned pears, peaches because they are softer, i buy frozen fruit and let it thaw....then i know there's not added sugar.

They don't have to be equal tiny pieces. Aslong as they're small he should be fine. You can put it in a food chopper to cut it or maybe just use sharper knives.

My sister is paranoid when it comes to feeding her daughter. She cuts her food very small. I'm not so when I babysit her I cut the pieces bigger then she does. She eats it just fine & she's 13 months. I always watch her while she's eating though.

I can tell you I peeled the skin off of each grape my baby ate for a really long time. Painful I know:).

Also, sharpen your knives. A sharp knife will make the job much easier.

Buy a food chopper similar to the one that Pampered Chef sells. I would put the food on the cutting board then put the chopper on top of it. Then I'd whack it about 15 times for tiny pieces. As they got older I would just cut down on the times I'd whack the top.

This is quick and easy. The Pampered Chef one breaks apart and rinses off very easily.

http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product....

Some fruits, like kiwi, or veggies like avocado, it's easier to cut them in half and then use a spoon to scoop them out of their peels, rather than peeling them and then trying to cut them.

Aside from that, if you're cutting apples or pears, you can cut a lot of them at once, and then toss the slices with some lime juice to keep them from turning brown. If you cut a lot at once, it's not quite as time-consuming.

Do you have a food processor? If so, you can use the slicer or the shredder attachment and just feed all the fruit through there. That makes the process almost immediate!

Make the cuts first in strips and then cut in pieces about the size of the tip of your pinky finger. They should be soft fruits without hard skins or peels, and soft or cooked vegetables without the hard peels or skins as well.

if you go to onestepahead.com they sell a product that will slice apples and other friuts and dice them. I use it or my baby. I also will dice up 3 apples, pears ect at a time so they are ready for when I need them :)
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Super sharp, good quality comfortable knives are the key. For apples I peeled and sliced very thin instead of cubing.

If he has teeth the bites don't need to be teeny-tiny and they absolutely do NOT have to be equal in size! Don't worry so much...

Hi, S.....don't worry about the equality of the pieces. A little variety will help your son move along.

Pampered Chef has an awesome product called "Hold N Slice". It's great for stabilizing whatever you're chopping + helps protect your fingers. Here's the link: http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?pro...=

I just ordered one to put into a gift basket, & I use mine all the time! Good luck & I hope all is well with your family. :)

He should be eating bigger pieces now and be fine. Sort of, one half to one inches cubes of apple. He should be feeding himself and whatever you eat, with his hands.

You COULD go to a professional kitchen store an buy the same tools they use, but that's a bit overboard. Simply cut and chop - use good knives, you will get the hang of it.