Lychees

I think lychees are the most artificial-tasting natural fruit. Or at least that is what I remember from a couple of decades ago when I first and last ate them. I saw canned ones in a lot of Asian grocery stores but never bothered to buy them. This time though I wanted to see if I remembered the flavor right and also get the twins to try.

I could not find lychees packed in anything other than heavy syrup. The flavor was exactly as I remembered and they were rubbery to boot. The kids rejected them in all forms - whole, pieces, mashed and pureed.

Strawberries

The twins really like strawberries. They eat them rolled in graham crackers, with some honey drizzled on top and fork mashed and mixed with other fruit purees.

Royal fig spread from St. Dalfour

I like figs - just not the fresh ones. In any other form though I like the grainy texture. So when I saw this Royal Fig spread from St. Dalfour I bought it. It has no added sugar (sweetened with grape juice concentrate) nor any preservatives, added flavors or colors.

Now that the weather is warmer, I know my yogurt will ferment without fail and so I stopped buying flavored yogurt. I just swirl in a tablespoon of fruit spread (this one has only 7 grams of sugar per tbsp) into the yogurt and they still love their 'desseaarr!'

For the really great part - the spread has pieces of fig which the twins do not really care for. Lucky me! I wonder how long it will last though…...

Peaches in white grape juice from Trader Joe's

Peaches are sometimes too much work so I give in to temptation and buy them processed. I liked that these peach halves from Trader Joe's were floating in grape juice (vs. sugar syrup) and that the container is glass (vs. metal.)

The twins accepted the halves rolled in graham cracker crumbs and I used the grape juice to food cube other fruits and thin out (and sweeten) greek yogurt for dessert.

Guava

The guavas with the pink insides are so darn pretty but I cannot remember the last time I saw one. Also, the ones I find in my area never get sweet no matter how many days I let them ripen.

The twins rejected guava pieces straight AND rolled in graham cracker crumbs. I remove the skin and seeds and puree them and food cube. For breakfast I mix the puree with some pear sauce and the twins eat it.

Apple applesauce

The twins have applesauce almost everyday. So I have seen a lot of different kinds of applesauces. It is one of those foods that I think I am better off buying - it is available cheap, (especially when I combine sales and coupons) is fortified and comes in many flavors.

This one from Musselman's particularly caught my eye because it is - you guessed it right - apple flavored! The twins had no reaction -and I did watch intently for one too.