NOW CLOSED: Young's 'Twice a Week Challenge' feedback thread

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the 25 Mumsnetters and their families that are taking part in the Young's "Twice a Week Challenge"

Here's what Young's say about the "Twice a Week Challenge":

"The UK Government's general advice is to eat two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily, and we'd like to show folks how easy it is to meet this target. Young's has a wide range of delicious fish meals so you needn't get bored of eating the same dishes and there's something that all the family will enjoy".

"Jamie Oliver by Young's has recently launched a frozen-fish range for Young's, championing high-quality and sustainable alternatives to species such as cod and haddock. The range includes MSC-certified fish fingers, crispy fishcakes and little meals created especially with kids in mind all made from Young's responsibly sourced salmon and Pollock and packed with hidden veg and low in salt. What is more, the pollock in Jamie's range is filleted and frozen within hours of being caught, keeping it as fresh and delicious as possible and all the recipes use chunks of fish and not minced fish, so you can be confident knowing you've got a quick and healthy meal on standby whenever you need it"

Below are a few questions for you to answer but please feel free to add any other thoughts or comments you may have.

Please also state which products you tried throughout the "Twice a Week Challenge". Everyone who adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw to win Jamie Oliver goodies worth £100 - the winner can choose between JO kitchenware to the value of £100 or a £100 voucher for one of Jamie's Italian restaurants (locations nationwide).

Please add your feedback giving overall first impressions at the start of the 2 week challenge period and then answer these questions towards the end of the fortnight. We'd also love to hear how you get on during the challenge and your recipe and meal idea tips.

Thank you and good luck with the prize draw!

Questions to be answered at the start of the challenge

~ How easy generally do you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet?
~ Do you eat frozen fish as well as fresh? If so why? If not why not?

~ What was your overall impression of the Young's range? What did you like? What didn't you like?
~ Is sustainability important when you?re choosing meals to feed your family?

Questions to be answered towards end of challenge

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?
~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?
~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?
~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?
~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?
~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?
~ Is sustainability important when you?re choosing meals to feed your family?

Thanks, MNHQ

So, week one:

We've had 3 fish meals this week -

1: A fish pie comparison - a Mariners pie and a Salmon Crumble (with some green veg) - shared between me and dh and a 3 and 5 yrs old. We haven't had pre-prepared fish pie before largely because of packaging and time taken to cook from frozen (I tend to prepare meals from fresh that take under 30 mins or batch cook things that take longer). The portion sizes were generous for 1 - just right for and adult and a young child to share (neither of whom have enormous appetites). The concensus was that these were okay - I strongly preferred the salmon crumble as it tasted less "fishy", the children liked both, dh though both a bit bland but okay. I don't think I would buy them regularly as a family meal but would buy occasionally as a meal for 1 if one of us was out for the evening (and it would probably go in the microwave rather than the oven in this case).

2: Dh and I had chip shop fish fillets and dcs had fish fingers with oven chips, green veg and home-made tartare sauce. These were tasy , went down well with all but the chip shop fish fillets were a bit on the greasy side - we don't usually have things with batter on. Fishfingers always a hit with dcs :)

3: (my favourite) - I made fish pie with some of the easy cook frozen fish pieces (poached in milk which was then used to make a cheese sauce, topped with mashed potato, served with green veg). I've done this before with fresh "fish pie mix" but this was just as easy and much more convenient as I didn't have to be plan in advance to buy fresh fish on the right day. I would definitely buy these easy cook fish pieces (salmon, white fish and smoked fish) again to keep in stock in the freezer and I have two meals planned for next week using them - kedgeree and moroccan fish stew.

newlark can I please have your kedgeree recipe & the Morroccan fish stew? Sounds good

40notTrendy I tried to google the Nigel Slater stove top vegetables but could only find Daulphinoise. Would love that recipe too please

LaVita....
You need a mix of any of the following: fennel (bulb), celery, Jerusalem artichokes and new potatoes. I also have put leeks in. Peel, halve or quarter if they are big, the veg. Melt butter to cover the bottom of a large shallow pan that has a lid. Put the veg in all in one layer and let them colour a bit. Pour water, or we sometimes use vermouth, up to about half way up the sides of the veg, season, cover and leave for about 30 mins. Turn the veg over, grate parmesan over and a squeeze of lemon juice, lid on again and leave for a couple of mins. Serve!

Bonkerz - are you filming yourself dishing up? That would be good. Or what you are serving it with? And the DCs tucking in!?

LaVita - I don't exactly have recipes - it is more make it up as you go along :). I haven't made kedgeree before but a friend made it for us recently and the children enjoyed it so when I saw the smoked fish pieces it sprang to mind. I am going to fry an onion with some mild curry spices - cumin, turmeric etc and poach some of the smoked fish pieces in milk then set the fish aside and use the milk topped up with water to cook some rice in with the onion. Stir flaked fish into the rice and serve with a couple of hard boiled eggs cut into wedges something like Delia version.

For the moroccan fish stew (I have made before) I base it on an M&S ready meal I once had - I fry an onion with some chunks of red pepper, add some chopped tomoatoes, veg stock, chunks of sweet potato, chickpeas, generous amount of ras el hanout moroccan spice powder and simmer. I add the white fish pieces to poach in the liquid for the last 5-10 mins or however long it needs. Serve with couscous (and harissa paste for my dh).

Managed to get 10 mins this week. Filmed kids eating they all gave speech about meal. Filmed dh cooking and eating and talking. I've given my views on meals etc. I suppose the trouble Is that dh eats at a different time to the rest of us and whilst I eat with the children it's been a mad week of appointments etc which has meant mealtimes have been as hoc and DS has had different food to me and DD. also have eaten a few of the fish pies and the easy cook fresh fish so filming the microwave isn't interesting.

comments on the fishfingers (the chip shop ones, not the JO ones) - they were OK, a bit on the thin side, so turning them over on the grill with tongs and keeping each one in a single finger was interesting . They were reported to be tasty though (and didn't smell fishy). Tonight is the salt and pepper basa fillets, so will report back later.

DD1 has spent one of the vouchers and filled up her fridge/freezer space at uni, so will be feeding her boyfriend, and they'll report back too.

Okayyyy..! This week I've made a fish pie with the smoked haddock, salmon chunks and white fish chunks. I used the milk left from poaching the fish to make a cheese sauce. Without the sauce I thought the fish was a little dry but with the sauce/hard boiled egg/sweetcorn added we were back to a lovely creamy fish pie. Actually, next time I'll just whack the frozen fish into a dish, it's cooked for 35 mins anyway so I'm not sure I neede to poach at all. Just force of habit perhaps with the fresh fish I usually use. Two out of three thought it was lovely, my younger son not all that interested, as usual.

My second meal was fan-flippin-tastic. A prawn stir fry. Utterly delicious, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, half a red onion and a Waitrose micro steam pack of broccoli/butternut squash. Absolutely yummy (am I going on a bit here...?) Just threw the frozen prawn into the pan.

basa fillets declared delicious and I'm under instructions to buy them again.

Am at those who have found the basa fillets, the Tesco Extra (huge one) nearest us doesn't stock any of the gourmet range :(

We've had another 3 meals. Will be starting to look like a fish soon as that is 5 fishy meals in a week :o

1. JO Pollock Fishcakes (the bigger ones that come in a two pack) - I found them a bit lacking in fish There was a lot of potato, which meant that the texture wasn't brilliant, they were very smooth, not very interesting in IMO. DS didn't look impressed and barely touched it. DH thought they were ok, but not very flavoursome, he thought they were quite bland.

1. Mariner's Pie - Size was good on this, we had two between 2 adults and 1 2yo but some left over, so I think it would have been perfect for 2 adults and 2 small children. I found this a bit fishy smelling but we all agreed there wasn't actually much fish in it, it was mostly sauce and mashed potato. We counted 2 or 3 pieces each, so about 4 per pie which isn't a great ratio! DS wouldn't even try it. DH was very unimpressed with the amount of fish. He also thought it tasted quite salty and said that it made him quite thirsty.

1. JO Pollock and Sweetcorn Fishcakes (the little ones that come in a 4 pack) - These have been our favourite thing so far. A lot more fish in each one and I think because they were smaller, the texture is a lot better. DS ate some, looked quite impressed but didn't go for any more. DH cooked two packs though, there was enough in each box for an adult and a small child.

Disclaimer about DS: He is not generally a fussy child, has always eaten most things and is still very happy to eat everything he is familiar with. Unfortunately I think this test has coincided with a fussy period for him where he has started to refuse to try things he's not familiar with, so I'm sorry that we haven't really been able to test the foods out on him! He did like the fish fingers though! And it has encouraged me to keep trying as I suppose if I keep offering, he will eventually try it (as he did with the meal we had today).

finally found time to check in here after a manic week of birthday celebrations and last minute work trips playing havoc with meal times. very pleased to be able to take part in this challenge as we generally eat a balanced healthy diet apart from the lack of fish and I would love to make fish a more regular meal.

How easy generally do you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet?

not very easy, I'm a reluctant fish eater at home but generally enjoy fish meals in a restaurant when I'm brave enough to order fish. dd was given fish twice a week from weaning but is quite reluctant to eat fish now (I suspect because we don't eat it regularly as a family although she enjoys it at school/nursery). dh is vegetarian.

~ Do you eat frozen fish as well as fresh? If so why? If not why not?
fish fingers are always in the freezer but only consumed once a month or so.
I never seem to be able to cook fresh fish properly.

~ What was your overall impression of the Young's range? What did you like? What didn't you like?

the website ranges looked fantastic. it was disappointing to not be able to find much available in the local supermarkets, no fresh range found at all yet and limited frozen. I have visited 3 large supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsburys & Morrisons), will keep searching though.

~ Is sustainability important when you?re choosing meals to feed your family?

yes and I also like that most of the range is made in the UK

so far we have tried

1. JO 2 pack crispy Pollack Fishcakes

I felt these were quite potatoey but I really liked the crispy breadcrumb coating (very tasty with mayonnaise). as predicted dd was not keen, although she did try one piece and said she didn't like it. I will be buying these again and continuing to persevere with dd.

1. JO 2 pack crispy Salmon Fishcakes

did not like these as much but I think I overcooked them as the salmon was quite dry. will try these again but cook for less time (especially as they were on special offer in Tesco's) dd refused point blank to try these, said they smelt funny which they didn't (but she was in a difficult mood).

1. Youngs Salmon Fillet Dinner

I don't usually eat ready meals and did not enjoy this one. the salmon was quite dry (overcooked again I think despite cooking for the recommended time) and the watercress sauce was quite watery.

would dearly love to try the Basa fillets but not looking likely round here

I made an emergency Salmon fillet ready meal today for lunch and quite enjoyed it. I found the watercress sauce too watery though too marmitemad.

I might go mad and have fish twice today, got some more Basa fillets that are calling my name tonight

Tonight, we had a bit of a fish meze! We had Jumbo Whole Scampi, Calamari and Young's fishfingers, which we already had in the freezer before this challenge .
Pleased to report that DS tried them all (v impressed) and liked the Fishfingers best (obviously) but also enjoyed the Scampi. He didn't want more of the Calamari. We also enjoyed the fishfingers but both DH and I really liked the Scampi and have agreed that we will definitely be buying that again. The Calamari was ok, but I'd rather eat it in a restaurant as it didn't have a great deal of flavour and the texture wasn't quite right. I'm not cheffy enough to prepare it myself.
We had boiled new potatoes, saute potatoes, a sort of homemade tartare sauce and peas.
As people are raving about the Basa I'm off to Sainsburys tomorrow to get some as I know it's in there. I'm also going to get the JO fishfingers so that we can compare with what we had tonight.
Great to be involved with this, like getting new food ideas and really pleased to see DS trying new things. Thanks!

Today we had Youngs Salmon Pie with swede, carrots and salad. Had to cook two as one was too small to share between the three of us.

DS tried it and didn't like the taste of the sauce and didn't want to go rooting around the all sauce trying to find bits of fish to eat.

DP thought it tasted exactly the same as the Salmon Crumble we had on Friday - I did mention that supposedly it had a different topping, different sauce and this one white fish as well in it He did mention that he didn't think there was as much fish and that the pieces were smaller, though it did taste fishy!

Me, well I wasn't too impressed when taking out the box. Yet again the twee icing potato topping and the cheese on top was in a nice regular 3cm diameter circle right in the middle and not covering the rest of the potato.

On cooking this circle turned a bright dayglo orange which didn't look that appetising. There was far far too much sauce (though tasty). I could understand DS not wanting to try to find the fish - they were very small pieces, and not that much at that.

I also can not understand why it is called Salmon Pie when apparently there is equal amounts of both salmon and pollock (7% apparently?). I thought the title was misleading. And obviously, I wished it looked a lot more like the picture all the fish and less of the sauce and evenly spread grated cheese on top.

I suppose for a £1 each you can't really complain, but...

Disclaimer: I honestly didn't get out of bed the wrong side this morning

ps the orange dayglo cheese stayed in this 3cm circle upon cooking.

I'd sent DP out with some vouchers and he bought the 2 types of Scampi, the jumbo whole scampi and the regular scampi (looks mixed/chopped up)

On inspection of the bags I assumed that I wouldn't like the cheaper one and the Jumbo whole scampi would be far superior. I was wrong, they both tasted great, so from a price point of view I'd happily buy the cheaper one.
We had them on Saturday night between us once the girls were in bed, 2 whole bags (greedy!!!) and had them with lemon, mayonnaise, and DP had sweet chilli and I had lots of wine! gorgeous, should probably of had some salad or vegetables but we were having a lazy night.

The girls had the JO salmon and broccoli pie, I thought it looked a bit grim and once cooked it did look better, you see big pieces of salmon and broccoli, but I thought it was a bit bland and grated some cheddar on it. The girls mostly ate it, a few bits were tossed, but they do that with most foods to be fair. Not bad, a good option if you aren't a confident cook. I will stick to making my own fish pie I think.

I will come back later in the week to answer the week 2 questions but just wanted to say that we have had the basa fillets tonight with lemon & herb (served with salad and new potatoes). They were absolutely gorgeous! We will definitely be buying them again even if I do have to go to Asda 20 miles away to find them!

I am ridiculously excited to have found the Basa fillets in a really big sainsburys 15 miles away tonight, nearly did a little dance in the aisle and have changed tomorrow's planned dinner so I can try them asap!

I can't find any of the more interesting items. Tried big Morrisons, big Tesco Extra, average-sized Asda and DH had a look in average-sized Sainsbury near his office for me too.

Anyway, I did find some frozen fish chunks in Tesco, so will be able to make a fish dish using actual ingredients, which I've never done before. I'm a bit giddy about it all, really.

We've also got loads of JO fish fingers and fish cakes in the freezer, which are proving very popular with the children. They really yum them up, and say they're nicer than the orange fish fingers I have previously bought .

Hot and Spicy King Prawns were another hit here yesterday amongst the fish eaters - DD2 won't go near fish in any case, but currently has tummy issues, so we're not making her eat anything she doesn't fancy; I tried some of the coating . Both DH ad DD3 loved the prawns, they both felt the pack was on the small size to serve two though ignoring my helpful suggestion to fill their plates with salad and new potatoes and to stop moaning. We have another two packs in the freezer for another time.

Tonight will be the JO fishcakes, with salad; I also have the fillets in parsley sauce for later in the week.

sea salt & black pepper Basa fillets were yummy. I could really taste the salt & pepper coating but not in an overpowering way. would love to try the lemon & herb tempura ones but will definately be buying them again.

dd had the JO brilliant fish fingers, which she declared were truly scrumptious. I thought they were much nicer looking than the bright orange ones I usually buy.

Had an extra fishy meal tonight! Going to look like a fish by the weekend .
We curried some of the easy cook white fish fillets. They were ok for a curry, but again I'm not convinced by frozen white fish, would have preferred fresh. Although good as a standby if I had a bigger freezer!

We had the Ocean Pie tonight. Was so much better comapred to the Mariner's Pie :) There was quite a bit of fish and we all agreed that the buttery sauce was really tasty. We thought it was a little mean with the mashed potato though. Even DS was quite impressed with it and ate more of it than his favourite vegetables (fickle 2 year olds ).

Ok so we have not had a fish meal yet this week as had to use the fresh food in the fridge first

at your snack Monster...