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

Had a bit of a taste test last night. I bought JO fish fingers, youngs 100% cod fillet fish fingers and chip shop battered fishcakes and served a little of everything with home made chips and mushy peas.

I thought the JO fish fingers looked nicer but preferred the youngs ones, dc preferred the JO ones, dh could tell no difference. I wasn't keen on the fishcake tbh but dh and the dc really enjoyed them.

We are all enjoying having more fish and aim to keep it up. I think that will be easier now as I don't feel the need to have to get fish from the fish market I will keep a supply in the freezer.

I think my opinion of frozen fish has changed I used to think the fish would be more like a processed mush but have been glad to see real flakes of fish.

They do make for a quick and nutritious tea and are handy when we have other things on in the evenings.

My favourites have to be the gastro basa fillets the salt and cracked black pepper ones were divine and I'm looking forward already to the lemon ones later this week. Dc liked the JO fish fingers and scampi best and dh the battered haddock fillets although the basa fillets were a close run second.

I'd definitely recommend in fact I have already and bought my ds the basa fillets to try herself.

Thank you for the chance to be part of this product test we have all really enjoyed it. Will be back later in the week to report on the lemon basa fillets and whatever the dc's fancy.

Today we JO fishfingers oven chips, salad.

DP said he thought they were underdone because they were too pale and they just tasted like fishfingers. Apparently he didn't realise he was doing a taste test tonight and didn't pay too much attention and therefore didn't want to give a comment

DS ate them all up and said they tasted lovely

I thought they were very fishy, nice solid fish as opposed to mush, I suppose the coating was a lot paler than the usual orange we are used too. And perhaps the coating was not as crispy as normal either

Friday I shall be doing a proper frozen bits of fish meal - haven't been able to find fresh fish anywhere. We have very good fresh fish counters throughout the area in most supermarkets, so I suppose they have no room for any other branded fresh fish.

Basa tonight - black pepper and lemon.

Dh and Dd loved the salt and black pepper basa, liked the light coating and thought the fish was very tasty.

Served ds (severe ASD) the lemon basa. He cleared all his plate apart from the fish while we encouraged him to try the fish. Eventually he picked at the batter coating which he seemed to quite like. He did manage to eat a few mouths of the fish but it was only because he knows he is expected to try the food that is served. Dd helped herself to some of ds fish and said it was lovely.

Dh and dd want me to buy them again. It was a big step for ds to even try them and he manged to eat some without gagging (which is a huge deal with new foods) Overall very pleased with them.

Had the pollock in parsley sauce tonight - far too much runny sauce (would have liked to see that a bit thicker) but the fish itself was a hit.

DD1 had the Fisherman's Pie and has reported:

"Fisherman's pie = yummy (even though it has mash which I don't normally like)... Its filling and well seasoned etc"

and

"Not very much fish though..."

We have that in the freezer, still to come. Will do the JO fishcakes tomorrow (we had something other than fish last night ).

DD1 further reports "all the fish was on one side of the pie so to start with I didn't think it had any at all!" The cheese disc all melted into the mash, unlike a previous poster's experience .

We had the Wild Pink Salmon Fillets from the freezer tonight. The youngest two had them baked plain, and us 3 older ones had them baked with pesto smeared over - was a hit with all. 9yo liked the pesto and felt it hid the taste of the fish. I liked that these are Wild, not farmed, and so were a natural pink rather than died orange, and have not had any valium, antibiotics, etc. A revelation to be able to buy wild salmon for a reasonable price compared to fresh (which is seasonal anyway).
Tick!

We had the Gastro Basa tonight with the lemon and herb coating. We enjoyed it. Texture wise, it's the best frozen fish we've had in this challenge. The batter was excellent, in fact that was what made the meal as the fish was quite mild. DH said he'd still prefer fresh, but this is a product I'd definitely buy again. Good price too. (had oven chips and peas with it )

We had the salmon crumble tonight. Again, DS wouldn't touch it (but that could have been because Nana had been feeding him biscuits all afternoon ), and I didn't blame him to be honest, it wasn't very nice. DH was very unimpressed as well, although it did have more fish than the mariners pie. He said that he can't imagine anyone ever buys it more than once though.

I tried the mariners pie last night, as an emergency dinner and shared it with DD1. I wasn't too impressed tbh, not much fish in it, very bland tasting and as a PP said the cheese stayed exactly where it was.

It didn't look very appealing and didn't taste it either, DD1 ate most of it though so 1out of 2 isn't bad I guess!

Week 2's questions:

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

Definitely the Basa fillets, really tasty flavours without being overpowering, and not greasy. I couldn't choose between the salt and pepper and tempura ones though!

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

Definitely the mariners pie. It was almost fish free and very bland!

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Yes- I always thought I didn't like fish before, have definitely had my opinion changed. I now though that the Youngs range are mostly very good. I will definitely be buying the Basa fillets as a staple now.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish
changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes- I will be used the white fish/salmon bags for meals from now on, as they are healthy, tasty, and I know what to do with them now!

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

Suprisingly easy really, I thought my DP would put up a fight but since we split up in the middle anyway it hasn't been an issue

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

I found it quite convinient as the convinience meals weren't very nice! Fishcakes/fishfingers etc are pretty easy really and I didn't know that fish was so easy to cook with.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

Yes.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

I already have! My mum has bought the Basa fillets as I was raving about them! Because they are tasty, good for you and a lot cheaper and better than meat in some cases.

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

• I confess that I still haven't looked into it!

To remind challengers the final questions are:

Many thanks!

~ 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?

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

The Jamie Oliver fishcakes went down really well. Even I, a complete fish fearer, tried them and thought they were tasty.

I also liked the frozen fish chunks which I used to make a fish pie. I have never prepared a fish dish from scratch, and these made it really easy for me. I think this challenge has helped me to become a little less fearful of fish

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

The least successful thing was the only fresh fish I managed to find, which was breaded pollock fillets. DH said they were OK, but didn't want me to buy them again. He thought the fish was a little slimy, possibly past its best although was within date when I cooked it.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Yes, the frozen prepared items like the fishcakes are so convenient and were enjoyed by all of us. I'll definitely buy the JO fish fingers again, because they look a lot more like real food than the orange crumbed ones I've bought in the past.

I'm still on the hunt for the 'gastro' items that other testers had found, which sound really tasty.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

I had never eaten it myself, although have always bought it for the rest of the family. My opinions of fish in general have changed, and I'm now more confident about trying fish and cooking with it.

I've also realised that there's more to frozen fish than breaded fillets and fish fingers. I've lead such a sheltered life

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

I had no problem at all getting DH and the children to try new things, it was just me that had an issue. I didn't find it easy to eat things I'd always believed to be unpleasant, but this challenge has been a good introduction to fish for me.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

I found the frozen items to be really convenient. The children's JO fish pies made an excellent quick option for an evening with numerous after-school activities.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

Absolutely. I am determined to keep serving and eating fish.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

Yes, I think many of them would like the convenience of the children's range, and I'll definitely be recommending the JO fishcakes.

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

Somewhat, although I don't really understand enough about it to make truly informed choices.

We had the lemon Basa fillets last night and another hit here, really lovely fish, tasty but not overpowering crust. The basa fillets will definitely be a regular buy from now on and without this test I might not have looked for them or bought them so thank you.

Dd being off school on wednesday tried the JO yummy pollack fish pie she said it was ok but not as nice as the one I make I think I'll probably keep one in the freezer though as it's a nutritious meal to serve in a rush.

I think the only question I haven't answered is sustainability. I totally agree it's important but I guiltily confess that cod is my favourite and I do buy it most regularly but having said that the basa fillets will probably replace one of the cod meals now so I'm trying shall we say.

Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

We loved the Scampi, it was light and delicious. I loved the salmon chunks and prawns for a stir fry.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

There wasn't anything we didn't like, my younger son isn't a fan of my fish pie really but did eaat some in the end. We thought the Gastro Basa fillets in the lemon tempura wasn't very flavoursome, eaten cold was a different matter, gorgeous!

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Yes, the salmon chunks, prawns, Jamie Oliver pollock fishcakes (larger ones) and I'll definitely be keeping the white fish chunks and smoked haddock in the freezer for a fish pie.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

I'd buy frozen over fresh prawns, fish pie mix now, this is a definite change.

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

Very easy. We have easily fitted the fish 'Twice a Week' into dinner times. We can't always eat together and for busy nights the fishcakes are perfect.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

I won't poach the fish in future for fish pies, just whack it into the dish, found poaching made it dry, this will reduce time even more. No defrosting prawns either, just straight into the pan. Hugely convenient, no wasting fresh fish that's gone off, no waiting for it to defrost either.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

Yes, I'd like to try some recipes from the website too.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

I'd recommend frozen fish, but I wouldn't by name, because you just don't talk like that, do you! (Well, I don't.)

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

With eggs, chicken yes! With fish: Could do better.

Had our 2nd of this week yesterday, the fresh smoked haddock. Went down well with adults, and dd1 is 9, was ok with it because it wasn't white fish which she "dislikes" (unless battered [hmmm]). The 6 and 5 year old weren't so impressed, thought it was "too strong". I poached it in milk, was quick and easy, and I liked it.

Questions to be answered towards end of challenge

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?
The JO fish fingers - much better quality than the fish fingers we've been having, felt like "real fish" and sustainably sourced too.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?
Admiral pie - a bit bland and not fishy enough, and too thin.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?
Yes. I'm impressed with their efforts to sustainability, and I didn't realise how easy it was to use the unbattered products straight from the freezer.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?
Yes, didn't realise I could use fillets straight from frozen.

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?
Reasonably. I know the 9yo has some superficial fickle reasons for being reluctant for non-battered fish, and the 6 & 5yo follow suit, whereas battered products go down really well.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?
I cooked them as usual. Where it helped me was that if I buy fresh fish, then don't cook it, I sometimes have to throw it away before I get a chance to use it. By not having to plan to defrost either, it became an easy last-minute choice.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?
Definitely. Especially as I love it and would eat it more!

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?
Yes. Sustainability. Quality. Though I'm still not so impressed with the pies.

~ Is sustainability important when you?re choosing meals to feed your family?
Yes, but I do have to balance it with cost, more so than in years gone by.

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why? - Definitely the easy cook fish pieces (we tried the salmon, white fish and smoked fish pieces - and I used them in three different recipes - fish pie, kedgeree and moroccan fish stew). These were so convenient - normally I have to plan in advance as we just do one big shop at the weekend so If using fresh fish I need to plan to buy it and cook it within a day or two. They didn't seem quite as succulent as fresh fish when cooked but the end result was fine.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why? Nothing we actively didn't like but I wasn't so keen on the Mariners pie as it tasted a bit "fishy" to me

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why? Yes - particularly the easy cook pieces and probably some of the other frozen fish fillets if cooking a recipe where the fish could be cooked as a whole piece like kedgeree.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not? I found it easier than expected to cook with frozen fish in the recipes I tried as there was no need to defrost fisrt and the cooking time wasn't significantly longer

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why? Very easy as dh and dd love fish and I was receptive to trying new things - ds is picky at the best of times so I think he'll be sticking to fish fingers :)

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not? About the same - I tend to cook most meals from scratch.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet? Yes, everything went down well so these will add variety to our usual repetoire.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why? Yes but I can't imagine it coming up in conversation!

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

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?
I really liked the Gastro range, especially the lemon tempura Basa fillets. Also loved the JO Pollock fishcakes, really tasty, and so easy and the Scampi, which is a great Saturday night, lazy tv dinner.
~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?
I liked everything I tried but didn't and wouldn't buy the fish with sauce or Youngs fish pies
~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?
Yes definitely the Gastro range and the JO range, still haven't tried the fishfingers but want to. Love the fishcakes.
~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?
I didn't before but now think I'll always have some as a back up meal, it's quick, easy and tasty.
~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?
We all like fish so very easy
~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?
Fish is very easy to cook quickly, but I think using frozen, means you can organise a quick meal without planning to buy fresh fish
~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?
Definitely, it's also a healthy option, which is good
~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?
Yes
~ Is sustainability important when you're choosing meals to feed your family?
Yes but agree with other posters that I'm good with eggs and chicken but need to learn more about fish sustainability.

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

We enjoyed the scampi, fishcakes and Gastro Basa fillets. All for the same reason really - good coating and tasty inside!

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

Didn't dislike any of the products we tried, but I think if want to cook with nude fish (no batter or breadcrumbs!) I'd use fresh as we prefer the texture.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Yes, those that we liked the best. DS has fishfingers once a week as an easy tea and now I've found a grown up equivalent! So instead of always having fishfingers, and we eat later, we can all eat fishcakes/scampi together.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

We have had frozen fish before, and apart from the Basa, it was how I remember - and reminded me why we stopped freezing fish. It's ok as a standby but I prefer fresh white/smoked fish or salmon.

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

Very easy!! We already did one fish meal a week and ds really got into the spirit of the challenge and tried everything.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

Very convenient, bang in oven with a few chips! Much quicker than making homemade fishfingers, which is what we usually do with the fresh fish.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

Yes, and this is what pleases me most - I think now we will have fresh once a week and frozen fish another - especially as now I know there a few more options than just fishfingers!

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

Yes, and already have done!! Great variety, a lot more than I expected and I like the ethos of the company in terms of the commitment to quality and sustainability.

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

Yes. It fits in with how we feel generally about food. As best we can, we buy local, seasonal food and although we are about as far from the sea as it's possible to be in England, looking after what's there is important to us. And when we go to Norfolk in the summer we'll be buying local, seasonal, sustainable fish!!!!

Thanks so much for choosing us to be part of the challenge. I'm sorry it's over.

Today we had fish risotto with white fish pieces, tuna chunks and prawns (all frozen).

DS liked it especially the prawns and double especially after looking at it and saying "well I know I'm not going to like that " Second for him was the tuna and unfortunately the white fish visibly disappeared although the flavour remained (oops I shall put it in a bit later on next time).

His favourite overall has been the chip shop battered fillets.

DP really liked it too He loved the fishy taste and the fact I put in big pieces (the tuna chunks were already cut into a nice size).

Overall for him, his favourite was the Salmon Crumble as, as advertised on the front of the packet, it did have proper chunks of actual fish in it.

I really enjoyed it for all of the above reasons - and it worked being my first attempt at risotto too hate being in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

I preferred the fish packets, DS preferred the battered chip shop fish, DP liked the salmon crumble.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

Basically the pies etc. bland, too much sauce, tiny small pieces of fish - if you could find it. Appearance. Length of cooking (didn't like the idea of nuking them even though it would have taken shorter time). Oh, and the tiny size - having to use two of each time, kind of negates the cost.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Probably the pieces of fish, easy to use, convenient and the chip shop fish as DS likes it - we tend to roll with anything he actually likes

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

Although not eating it (due to fussy eaters in the house) I had not had any negative thoughts on using it - more to do with the fact I would have been just cooking for myself, it's disappointing to spend time cooking food when both DS and DP turn their noses up at it, so tend to stick to regular things I always cook [boring] .

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

I think because we were doing this taste test, it was a good excuse to introduce fish. I don't know if I could get away with it if we were not doing this. I have done it every other day as even I don't think I could have pushed it every day, and at weekends there are family favourites that I just couldn't have usurped.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

The so called convience meals (pies etc) were less than convenient for me. I tend to batch cook cauldrons of food from fresh ingredients and freeze (money thin of the ground). And the cost of these meals would work out more than the meals I make myself. And obviously fish fingers take no time at all and as that is all I normally cook - I didn't notice any real difference

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

I think I will try more than fish fingers as I have been surprised at how well DS has attempted to try these meals. You never know, I may well get away with it Which would well suit old fish loving me!

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

I don't think I could ever see a time when it would come up in conversation! I don't think I'd recommend the pies but maybe some of the other battered dishes.

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

Yes, I did thoroughly read the information on the website and was glad that it was there.

And the question from the beginning I left out:

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

There did seem to be a lot of battered stuff. And obviously an awful lot of stuff that I just couldn't find and the supermarkets I use have very large fresh fish counters, fish cooler sections, frozen fish sections and frozen convenience meal sections. And I suppose that is the problem. The products are spread out all over the shop (literally ) The prices were comparable to store's own brands which we do tend to buy.

Obviously because we eat tea as a family, we couldn't try the childrens JO meals as DP (and I agree - see above re slaving in the kitchen) likes us all to eat the same meal.

And there was an awful lot of stuff that I still have in the freezer that I haven't got round to yet

Overall, personally, I have enjoyed taking part in this taste test and thank you for letting me participate - I do believe as a family we may well be having fish more often in the future.

And, of course, if there are any answers you wish me to explain in more detail I would be most happy to.

Thank you

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

The Basa fillets, with sea salt and black pepper. They were divine and I will certainly be buying them regulary.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

We were all unkeen on the JO pollock and sweetcorn fishcakes, they were a bit of a letdown, not enough sweetcorn and the fish tasted to strongly.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Yes definately, this product test has taught me that if you pay a bit more for fish it is worth it.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish
changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

I ate it slightly before.

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

I found it easy, my dc are 3 and 1 so don't argue as to what is put in front of them anyway but they tried it. Dd who is 1 does not seem to be a fish fan, but I will try to convert her.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

They were about the same time, although the battered Haddock seemed to cook in less time then stated so I ruined my first attempt.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

Yes for definate, although it will probably be more than twice a week.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

Yes. I already have.

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

Yes.

final week questions
~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

we tried the chip shop style fillets, JO salmon & pollock fishcakes, Jo pollock fishcakes & the Jo fish fingers
we liked the battered fillets best of all - they weren't very fishy tasting at all & the crispy batter was very nice! DD (2) loved the fish cakes & the fish fingers. I will definitely buy them for her again.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

DH & I didn't like the fish cakes very much - they smelt & tasted too fishy for us.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

yes, definitely! I was impressed at how tasty they were & very easy to cook.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

I thought it would be harder to prepare & cook. I was surprised it was so easy. The fillets & fish fingers were much nicer than I expected!

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

I was easy! We were nervous to try it at first (fussy eaters!) but we were brave & it went so well we will try to have fish at least once a week from now on!

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

very quick & easy. much easier than I thought it would be.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

We will try! I think once a week is more likely though.

~ If it came !up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

yes - i was very impressed.

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

It is, but Idon't know too much about it.

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

The basa fillets (salt and pepper coated) were by far the favourites here, closely followed by the spicy king prawns. Good quality fish, tasty coatings, easy to cook

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

DD3 didn't like the JO fish pie - it smelled and tasted too fishy for her (and me!). The ordinary fishfingers (not the JO ones) would be second to bottom, but only becasue they were bog standard fish fingers, nothing special.

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Yes, because they were good quality for the money, especially the Gastro range. The Cookshop battered fillets will be a freezer staple in future I think.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

Other than fish fingers which I tend to grill until they are properly cooked very crispy, I've always imagined frozen fish to be very soggy, and that's not been the case. And also it's dawned on me that it's probably fresher than most fresh fish anyway.

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

As not very much of a fish eater, I did struggle a bit with the very fishy products, DD2 refused point blank to try anything (but in fairness she's had a lot of tummy problems recently); DH and DD3 had a blast with "which fish are we having tonight then?". DD1 who's away at uni ate fish when she probably wouldn't have, and I think she's more likely now to at least look at fish in the supermarket.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

I mainly went for the "bung in the oven/microwave" dishes, so they were generally easy and convenient. Really not sure about the "fish and sauce in a bag" though, we'd have had a better meal with plain fish and made our own sauce.

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

Twice a week, probably not. Couple of times a month probably yes.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

The Gastro range did surprise me as to how nice it was, and I'd probably recommend that. We haven't tried the JO fishcakes yet, but they've had good reviews on here, so if we like them, then I'd be reasonably likely to recommend the whole JO range.

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

Not as much as it should be - it was good to find out a bit more about other fish varieties, and that will influence me in future I think.

Ok as my second fishy meal this week we cook cod steaks in butter sauce. I fancied something easy.
We just had them with peas and mashed potato and they were lovely, a bit surprised to find a big bone in one, annoyingly my 3 year old ds's which he luckily took out his mouth in horro
The sauce was lovely and the cod was ok. I only microwaved them as I said, I fancied something easy, and the fish was hot throughout.
I will defintaely buy these again especially as one pouch is only 107 calories!

sorry about the typo's, my keys are sticky.

~ Out of the products you tried, which did you / your family like best? Why?

ds liked the haddock fish fingers best. With the rest of us the Basa fillets were favourite - both lemon and black pepper. Wanted to try mackeral and fresh products but couldn't source any.

~ Which didn't you / your family like? Why?

Not keen on the fishcakes - rather small and not that impressive taste wise. Thought the prepared chunks of fish not necessary - I would buy fillets and chop!

~ Would you buy Young's products again? Why?

Would buy the Basa and the haddock fishfingers. Would look out haddock fillets to see if I can get ds to eat them too. Would buy youngs if the price is not over inflated.

~ If you didn't eat frozen fish before, have your opinions of frozen fish changed at all? If so, why? If not, why not?

We do eat frozen and fresh fish.

~ How easy / difficult did you find it to introduce fish into your family's diet? Why?

Mixed response. DD and DH enjoyed the fish but if I was asking a general "what do you want for dinner" they didnt say fish. Ds mixed response - but I would expect that with any new food.

~ How convenient did you find the meals? Were they quicker than how you usually cook fish meals? If so, why? If not, why not?

Didn't buy the fish pie type meals as we don't really do ready meal type food - either scratch or fish fingers!

~ Going forward, do you think you will try to include fish at least twice a week in your families' diet?

I will use fish more in meal plans but probably not twice a week every week.

~ If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Young's range to your friends? Why?

Just can't see it coming up in conversation. More likely to say ds will now eat Haddock that say Youngs!

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

Yes it is.