Talk to Fish is the Dish about seafood and child nutrition - £200 voucher prize draw NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Fish is the Dish want to talk to Mumsnetters to see how they, if at all, they incorporate fish into their child's diet.

Here's what Fish is the Dish have to say, "Our latest research has revealed that future good health is what we want more for our children than anything else. One of the best things we can do to help our children achieve good health now is to provide them with, and encourage them to eat, a healthy, balanced diet. Fish of all sorts provides great nutritional value to the diet of children. For example, all types of fish including white, oily and shellfish, are excellent sources of protein and vitamin B12. Plus, many varieties such as cod, haddock, coley, crab and mussels are also rich in iodine, which contributes to the normal growth of children."

So, do you like fish? Is fish something you like eat with your children? Are you aware of the health benefits that incorporating seafood into your diet brings? If you're not a fan of seafood are there other foods you deliberately try to include into your and your DCs diets to make sure that they get all the nutrients they need? If you are a fan, what's your favourite fish or seafood recipe?

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 seafood voucher which can be spent on seafood from Wings of St Mawes which will be delivered to you. To read more about Fish is the Dish and Mumsnet click here.

Thanks
MNHQ

[tiredoftrains]

I do enjoy seafood, especially shellfish, but Im always wary of supermarket counters where Im never sure how fresh the produce is so don't tend to eat fish as much as I would like to or as much as I know we should.

I would like to get into the habit of eating more oily fish but unfortunately DS doesn't seem keen so I tend not to bother.

must remember to try and get some more this week!

[Hanginggardenofboobylon]

We love fish in this house! The biggest issue is freshness and ability to buy sustainably.
DS age 3.5 will choose fish over most other things and loves seeing the fish counter at the supermarket and market.
I would love the shops to stock less well known fish like Coley more widely and change attitudes so that people choose something other than cod.
We are having a lovely bit of smoked haddock this evening DS will wolf it down!

[Hanginggardenofboobylon]

Oh and my desert island dish would be Lobster!

[BellaVida]

We eat a lot of fish in our house. It is simply something we introduced from them being babies and they have grown up with it being normal and enjoyable. They eat it at least 4-5 or more times a week, everything from simple breaded fish to anchovies and squid. Tuna is a firm favourite- they will eat it from the tin with a drizzle of olive oil and tomato salad. Shellfish tends to be more of a treat.

We believe it's so important for them to get good protein and omega 3.

[OPeaches]

We're not massively adventurous with fish, but the kids love poached salmon or haddock done in breadcrumbs. They love tinned tuna, and making up tuna mayo is a great way to get salad veg in to them too - I add spring onion,
Cucumber, celery, red pepper and sweet corn. Yum!

We don't eat fresh fish as often as I'd like though, the cost is prohibitive, although I understand why it is expensive.

[grassroots]

Our best 'instant' meal is kipper fillets with brown bread and butter - it only takes three minutes to get ready and is perfect for those nights when we are rushing off to swimming, cubs etc

I love all sorts of fish and would happily have fish/shellfish every day.

[CloserLook]

I love fish and shellfish but my DP can't stand it so it sometimes makes my DS a bit wary of it.

I tend to cook a lot of quite plain fish as my DS likes to see what he's eating so I poach or bake salmon or white fish and serve it with potatoes and veg. I'd love it if DS was a bit more adventurous as one of my favourite dishes is fish pie but I hope to be able to move on to that soon.

We don't eat shellfish much as I'm the only one who likes it but if I do treat myself to prawns, mussels or crab occasionally.

I enjoy selecting some really fresh fish from a fishmonger but frequently buy frozen salmon for convenience.

[missorinoco]

DH and I Love fish, and eat it regularly. We are aware of the health benefits of fish, although I hadn't realised about iodine in white fish.

The children are less keen, my attempts to introduce it during weaning failed. They eat fish fingers, and fish and chips, that's about it so far, but they are young.

I couldn't pick a favourite - seafood chowder, cullen skink and fish curry all fight for first place.

[nannyj]

We love fish and my dd prefers it to meat really. We could be more adventurous but I don't like shellfish but we do eat trout, salmon, haddock, pollock and cod regularly. I'm conscious that its very good for us and its so easy to cook as well.

Fish pie is a favourite but we also like to pan fry or grill salmon and trout or just do a breadcrumb coating. Very easy and quick which is a plus when I'm working long hours.

[clabsyqueen]

We eat lots of fish in our house with our 2 year old. It's because of her I eat so much. I buy frozen fish fillets then defrost and cook with butter or lemon. We eat salmon white fish lemon sole haddock. I am amazed my little girl likes it so much without me making to dress it up at all. In fact she won't eat fish pie which is my favourite. We don't give her shellfish or eat any shellfish at home bits a restaurant treat for us.

[CrewElla]

My husband and I do like fish and we have it severals times a week. Our favourite is salmon fish packets cooked with a little oil, a dash of pepper, and a slice of lemon.

We struggle to get our 2 year old to eat fish though. We've been told that he eats it at nursery but he generally refuses with us.

I prefer fin fish and don't eat any shellfish at all. My husband quite likes his shellfish and wishes I did too.

[Confitdecanard]

DS (3yo) eats lots of fish. He loves tinned mackerel in tomato sauce and has it stirred into pasta or on a jacket potato about once or twice a week. We usually have salmon fillets once a week and he has fish fingers once a week. He eats more fish than meat. I started him on fish before meat when weaning and it is a habit that has stuck.

[starlight36]

DD aged three loves both fresh and tinned salmon. She enjoyed salmon from an early age in one of her homemade purées. If DH and I are eating a seafood or fish dish she will always want to taste a little bit.

We often cook fish at often and usually cook sea bream, sea bass, haddock or sole fillets simply in the oven just with a bit of lemon juice or olive oil. We put more robust flavours such as chilli and ginger with salmon or rainbow trout.

[Charcoalbriquettes]

So, do you like fish? yes love it Is fish something you like eat with your children? it's tricky.... They ae worried about bones. But they will eat fish fingers, and battered frozen fish. I prefer fish curries and fish pie Are you aware of the health benefits that incorporating seafood into your diet brings? yes... If you are a fan, what's your favourite fish or seafood recipe? risotto with mixed seafood in... Prawns, mussels and scallops. Mmmm. Wish aldi still did those seafood mix bags.

[pussinwellyboots]

We all love fish and seafood.both ds devour mussels whenever they have the chance and fish pie is a definite favourite. Plain filets of fish also go down well. We try to eat fish a couple of times a week.

[pussinwellyboots]

We all love fish and seafood.both ds devour mussels whenever they have the chance and fish pie is a definite favourite. Plain filets of fish also go down well. We try to eat fish a couple of times a week.

[VestaCurry]

We all like fish, I've been batch cooking fish pie since the dc's were weaned onto solids, so they got used to the taste, plus it was something easy to get out of the freezer once the batch cooking was done. That's still everyones favourite. I use salmon, cod, haddock and a few prawns, the white sauce has cheddar cheese added, then potato piped on top.
I do know about the health benefits, and we eat a main meal with fish at least once, usually twice a week. The dc's are ok with a whole fish on their plate, sometimes mackerel they've caught on holiday, or trout if I buy from the fishmonger.
We love fresh tuna and swordfish but have them as a treat every now and then because they are very expensive.
Fishmongers are few and far between, thankfully there's one in my old neighbourhood which I still visit. I have used online fishmongers and been generally impressed with the quality, but fish is something I do enjoy choosing myself.

[bigbutsrus1]

My two children love fish and so do I. We make sushi from raw tuna, they love smoked salmon, prawns anything. We go fishing sometimes and they help me gut and cook and eat the fish. We also love going " winkling" in the summer. We collect the winkles, take a camping stove and safety pins, cook them up and pick them out. I tend to buy expensive fish when offer but do think that when compared to joint of meat it's not too bad. Whenever tuna steak is reduced I buy it all and freeze it. It's great for sushi and noodles etc.

[LaTrucha]

So, do you like fish? Is fish something you like eat with your children?
Yes, and DH is Spanish and it's so normal for him. He is shocked at how little we eat in this country. We do worry about bones on things like sardines, and food poisoning with seafood, though and this easily translates itself into a reluctance in the children

Are you aware of the health benefits that incorporating seafood into your diet brings. Very.

If you are a fan, what's your favourite fish or seafood recipe? The children like salmon best, DH likes sardines and I like squid and prawns. We tend to like them really plain. DH is very anti-sauces as it takes away from the taste of the fish, according to him. We tend to boil it, or deep fry it very quickly, and eat it with lemon and bread and chips.

[ILoveAFullFridge]

We like fish, but I do not like preparing it. So we eat a lot of tinned fish and I always have fillets in the freezer for soup, pasta/rice sauces, or pies. And fish fingers, of course!

My dc have all liked mussels from a very early age, and I get very when waiters query their orders.

[ILoveAFullFridge]

Mind you, I get very at the thought of eating mussels - I'd sooner eat a slug! It's much the same thing. But I'm all for them being adventurous and trying things. And I have, myself eaten both mussels and slugs (well, snails, but, again, they're much the same thing.)

[yegodsandlittlefishes]

We have fish at least 3 times a week.

One night a week we have a tuna pasta bake, often with veggies like spinach added. I usually make a layer of onions, chopped tomato, tuna and herbs at the bottom and the cooked pasta, spinach, good dollop of cream and a topping of cheese on top.

Fridays are another fish night, which is usually cod from the fish and chip shop, though any white fish will do. Last Friday I bought filets of fish, coated them one side in paprika and the other in turmeric. Gently pan fried them and served with a salad on a bed of spicy whole couscous.

Then we have mackerel or salmon once a week for a lunch. It might be peppered mackerel on a salad, or poached salmon with new potatoes and peas. Often I make mackerel fish cakes or salmon parcels (put salmon in foil with slice of lemon and fresh thai spices and bake in low oven for 30 minutes).

[yegodsandlittlefishes]

Just realised I didn't really anser the questions! I like fish but the rest of the family are not so keen, so that is why I have built set meals that we will all eat into a weekly meal plan. It is exactly because of the different nutritional benefits of different types of fish that I've plannwd things this way. Our diet does lack shellfish, unfortunately, as the rest of tge family hate it. I am hoping to start making an occasional prawn dish, and often order shellfood as an extra dish for us all to try when out.

[YonilyDevotedToYou]

My DSD, who has just gone to university, is allergic to fish so we could never have it when she was home. DP and I love fish though and now have it at least once a week. We like salmon and white fish best but DP enjoys mackerel and we both have the occasional kipper! We don't really have shellfish at home except prawns but I have cooked scallops on special occasions.
I love making fish pie- just a pack of 'fish pie mix' from the supermarket poached in milk, the milk used to make a white sauce with some pepper, the poached fish returned to the white sauce and topped with mash and popped under the grill for 5 mins. So easy and delicious and it only takes about 35 mins from start to finish!

[gretagrape]

We eat lots of fish - salmon in stir frys, monkfish in curry, paella, fish pies, etc.

Our son is only 8mo but I will definitely want to incorporate lots of fish into his diet, especially as he can't have dairy so it will be a good way of increasing his fat, protein and calcium intake.