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

[ataraxia]

I never really think to have fish (other than fish and chips) but I do like it when I have it. However, I would only tend to have frozen, breaded fish to oven bake - wouldn't know what to do with fresh fish really.

Not very sophisticated, but favourite fish 'recipe' - fish finger butty!

[JakeBullet]

We love fish and I cook it at least twice a week. DS loves prawns and a favourite meal is prawns in garlic butter with pasta and veggies.

Tuna is a big hit too as is Sea Bass.

DS is less keen on salmon but I love it so he has to suffer it once a month.

[MadameDefarge]

So, do you like fish?

I love fish. But is can be expensive fresh.


Is fish something you like eat with your children?

DS adores salmon and smoked salmon and tinned tuna.

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

Yes very aware, especially that of oil fish. Brain food! But also know girls mustn't eat more than one or two portions of tuna a week due to mercury content and its effects on fertility

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?

I love a simple poached or pan fried salmon with a hollondaise or beurre blanc sauce.

For seafood clams with spaghetti

[supermam]

It's tricky for me, as I'm vegetarian and I'm a bit scared of cooking meat & fish, though I try! I tend to stick to fishcake & fish fingers ( quality ones), but I will occasionally cook salmon in foil, as there's no smell & mess! I will read all your posts to try to increase my repertoire. Bit scary - am considering eating a bit of fish for health reasons. How can I ease myself in? Any suggestions?

[mjmooseface]

I love fish and so does my husband, so we have given our son fish to try when he began eating solids and he likes it too. I give him fish fingers and if I have fish and chips whilst eating out, I'll feed him bits of the fish (cod, haddock etc) without the batter on. We all love the fish in sauces you can get in the boil in the bags... The parsley sauce and the butter sauce ones in particular. We all love tuna, especially with mayonnaise or salad cream and sweetcorn. I remember having crab paste fresh when I went to the sea side once which was delicious! I haven't had it since, though! We all love prawns, too.

Fish does seem to be pretty expensive these days, so we don't eat it as much as we would perhaps like to, so we mainly buy it when there are deals on. I wasn't aware of the specific health benefits of eating fish but I've always known it is good for you. I just try to give my family a variety of meats and meals in the week to keep everyone healthy. All the childhood obesity news I see makes me pretty paranoid but determined to make sure we never add to those statistics! Even though we are healthy and active and have no obesity anywhere in the family as it is!

[EmLH]

DD and I both love fish. DH is not so keen, but will eat 'plain' fish like cod or fish fingers. He also liked those cook in the bag cod fillets with a rosemary and tomato sauce (I forget who they're by!) and we went through a phase of having them at least once a week.

DD and I often eat fish pie and enjoy salmon fillets, tuna pasta bake, tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches, fish and chips from the chippy, smoked haddock, hot smoked salmon pieces and peppered mackerel. I also like mini prawns, scampi and hot spicy prawns. We often have tuna steak chopped up and stir fried with noodles, veg and soy sauce.

Our fave fish dish is an easy last-minute one that we call 'fishy moosh!' It consists of smoked mackerel shredded into bits and mixed into buttery mashed potato with some broccoli, peas and spinach. We sometimes add a bit of cheese sauce but depends if I can be bothered!

When we're out at our local I'll often have the mixed fish grill as it has a lovely charred flavour that I can't seem to get at home. I also like swordfish as it's quite meaty but haven't cooked at home. Would like to do a fish curry or stew, will have to look up some recipes and be more adventurous!

[DoctorGilbertson]

So, do you like fish?

Yes

Is fish something you like eat with your children?

do fish fingers count? DS also likes tinned mackerel in tomato sauce


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

omega three fatty acids and all that? I am a big fan of this paper ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2012/11/27/ajcn.112.047142.abstract but I suspect that there are none the less some health benefits


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?

Tinned fish we eat - so we do Ok here

If you are a fan, what's your favourite fish or seafood recipe?

Ooooh, tuna pie with tinned tuna and tinned chicken soup, with mash on top

[DinoSnores]

We eat salmon about once a week. Now my son announces, "I love salmon. It is good for my brain!" (Not sure who told him that, but very pleased they did as he gobbles it all up!)

We'll use fresh salmon fillets, but I'll also buy tinned salmon to make fish pie or fish cakes.

I love smoked mackerel although it is rather salty. There is a good recipe for mackerel and broccoli pasta that I make quite a lot (it is from the BLW cookbook). I particularly like that recipe as it is so quick.

Where we are, there are no decent fishmongers and the sea is quite far away, but when we go to the seaside, I love having proper fish and chips or mussels.

[Lovepancakes]

We eat a lot of mackerel in the summer when can catch 5 or 6 in minutes and have to stop fishing or we'd have too many! Dd won't eat it but DS (2) does and our favourite way is raw and marinaded in lime juice. We also roll it in pinhead oatmeal and fry it on the beach.

The rest of the time I try to remember fish but don't enjoy cooking it! My very favourite to eat is whitebait and I like that the bones give you calcium and no doubt other nutrients too.

We also eat sushi a lot when out and about as DD and I are wheat intolerant so it's our replacement for a quick sandwich.

I would like to know more about different sustainable fish as quite ignorant.

[youaremychocolatecake]

My 4 year old loves fish, he prefers it to meat. We have always made a point of feeding him exactly what we eat (within reason) so as well as the odd fishfinger sandwich we also often have home made fish pie, salmon fillets, fish cakes, mackerel pate, mackerel on toast, grilled sardines, trout in puff pastry, good old fish and chips and I have also purchased children's ready meals of fish pie for convenience. He's not too keen on prawns but we are working on it.

[NettleTea]

Both my kids LOVE fish, so its something we really like to eat regularly, and we all enjoy seafood too.

DS loves salmon in every variety
DD loves seabass, she cooks it herself on a griddle
I am a big fan of squid and lobster

[loubielou31]

I love fish but rarely buy it or therefore eat it.
There's the ubiquitous fish finger and the occasional tin of tuna but that's it on a regular basis.
I think fresh fish is expensive and frozen is often dry. Also it make the place stink when you cook it.
Fish pie with trimmings and leftovers is a real treat.
I am aware of the health benefits and that we don't really eat enough fish or seafood in this house.

[elizaco]

I would love my children to eat more fish, but they're just not keen - not even a fish finger! Fish is definitely the food I'm least confident in cooking though, so perhaps if I could prepare it better, they may eat it!!

[Fillybuster]

Caveat: we don't eat shellfish for religious reasons, so all my answers related to fishy types of fish!

Our family is pretty much fish-powered during the week! We do eat meat, but once once or twice a week, mostly at weekends, so tend to rely on fish a lot.

I always have salmon and white fish fillets in the freezer, and the children will have fish for supper 3 or 4 times a week. Mostly its quick stuff like teriyaki salmon (or 'salmon on sticks' as it's known in our house) done under the grill, or a salmon or tuna pasta bake. The kids will happily eat fish that looks like fish, so dinner might also be white fish (trying to use basa and coley rather than cod and haddock) oven baked with some roast veg.

There's a few great MN recipes (like Rainbow Pasta, featuring pesto and salmon) that make a regular appearance, and tinned tuna is a general favourite.

I have 3 freezer drawers full of smoked salmon, gravadlax, smoked mackerel and so on...I tend to stock up on the really big packs of smoked salmon when it's half price in the shops (like now!) as we can easily demolish a pack or two in a single sitting and it keeps for ages.

DH and I will have very large very rare tuna steak and chips as a 'special treat' dinner whenever we get the chance, and I regularly knock up masala spiced salmon during the week.

I cook a whole salmon every couple of weeks when we're entertaining - either just wrapped in foil with lemon juice (a la Nigella) or en croute with ginger and raisins (yum...). I'll make fish cakes with any leftovers, although I don't get the chance to regularly.

All of us love fried fish balls (chopped white fish, mixed with seasoning and salt, dipped in matzo meal and deep fried...taste way better than they sound!) and all 3 dcs have surprisingly advanced tastes when it comes to chopped herring, pickled herring, smoked salmon, gravadlax, hot smoked salmon, smoked mackerel and marinated anchovies. DH is probably the least brave one out of all of us!

Fish fingers feature regularly, and fish and chips from our amazing award-winning local sporadically. I make my own fishfingers when I get the chance (with a beer batter) but the children are just as happy with 'leading brand' ones.

On office days (like today) lunch is always from Itsu. DH and my favourite restaurants are Japanese and the local fish specialist!

Basically, we love fish

[YellowDahlias]

DH and DD don't eat meat so we eat a fair amount of fish/seafood in our house.

Favourite recipes are fish chowder, fish pie, grilled salmon and tinned tuna in sandwiches or on jacket potatoes. DD also loves fish fingers and fish cakes. She's also a fan of squid and prawns and will eat crab on occasion.

We probably eat fish or seafood at least four times a week at either lunch or dinner.

I'm conscious we probably need to eat more oily fish but it is harder to find fresh mackerel or other oily fish in my local supermarket and there are no fishmongers close by.

[vestandknickers]

My children all love fishcakes made with fresh fish, sweet potatoes and then bread crumbed. They like salmon the best, but have whatever is cheapest on the fish counter! They also both love fish pates. They have them on toast or on top of baked potatoes.
We don't eat fish much as a whole family because fresh fish is expensive, but I do make sure the children have it as often as possible. My DH and I both loved tinned sardines which are dead cheap but unfortunately the children won't touch them.

[firawla]

We do eat fish although the children's favourite is fish fingers! We also eat salmon, haddock or cod and prawns. We all like fish generally, but still to these common or popular types mainly as the children are happier to eat those

[JanetAndRoy]

My DC like fish.
Fish fingers (both home-made and those quick from the freezer orange stick) are teatime favourites.
I do a quick fish pie too, adapted from Jamie Oliver.
They love prawns, salmon steaks, tinned and fresh tuna, smoked mackerel, mussels & cockles, and as a treat breakfast the children love smoked salmon trimmings with scrambled egg.
I try to serve fish once or twice a week.
We live in a coastal town with a great fish festival every year and we can even buy fish fresh off the boats from the beach.

[Helspopje]

We love fish in our house. It is our main protein source o the recent increases in price have meant that we've had to be a bit inventive and consider subsituting species.

Typical fayre in our house is cullen skink, white fish (cod/coley/pollock/other) with a herby, pesto or parmasan breadcrumb crust, salmon en croute, smoked haddock and white sauce and fish pie. We love mackerel too either fresh grilled/griddled or smoker of peppered with salad.
We're lucky enough to have a fish van come around our weekly which we buy a lot from as, as the daughter of a fisherman, supermarket fish tastes wierd.

My 3 year old loves prawns above all things and will happily eat a half pint of them, shelling them as she goes and my 7 month old tucks into hunks of flakable fish with gusto.

[HorseyGirl1]

I like fish but to be honest a bit expensive for us. We tend to pounce on the reduced fresh fish at the supermarket and then use it that evening. We don't freeze it although I'm sure it would be fine to do so. Love, love love frozen prawns and seafood selections. Toss them into jars of curry or pasta sauces for quick and tasty tea. If you have a jar of something and some frozen prawns you always have a dinner in minutes. Also absolute fav is a lemon seafood pasta. Combine a tub of Philly or similiar-a-like with a fish stockcube, a little water, lemon zest and then stir in some prawns, seafood mix and crab sticks when the sauce is smooth and toss in hot drained pasta and some lemon juice. Heaven! Fish Pie is a firm fav in our house too - big dish is made then divided into portions and froze. We have fish at least once a week. And of course Fish Supper anyone? ;-)

[Dededum]

Love fish, I don't eat meat and slowly we are eating more and more fish. DS1 totally on board but still have to do sausages for DS2. We love salmon, smoked salmon, prawns, mussels, squid, octopus, cod.

For Christmas lunch we are having seafood linguine and duck for DS2.

[isitme1]

My ds is 3 and has severe food aversion.
Hes tube food via tube in tummy (gastrostomy)
I was at my parents house a few months ago and mum made dad some smoked salmon.
Well ds was rather surprised to see something pink.
He managed to lick the fish.

So I took a chance and bought some from supermarket.

I cut the salmon while it was still raw into little shapes with a cookie cutter and put them in the oven for a while
He ate all of the shapes!! (They were tiny bear shapes)

I saw some chicken nuggets shaped as animals which he also took a few bites out of. Which was brilliant.

I would love to see raw fish shapes which we could cook at home. For example a few cod shapes, salmon and haddock. With nothing on. Something to be apart of a main meal.
Ooo I can see it now. They could be seasonal (christmas trees for this time of year, love hearts for valentines day, easter egg shapes etc)

[violetwellies]

I love smoked salmon and kippers and smoked mackerel, I like fried roe, prawns, scampi, scallops andshrimps. I quite like tinned salmon, tuna and anchovies. I cant abide squid or anything rubbery, and grandad uses it to bait the lines the smell is foul.
DH wont eat 'bottom feeders', or tinned fish (catfood).
So when were on our own DS will eat anything fishy, yelling in Liddle 'I want that, I want that' until I gave in (a large bag of frozen pollock).
Grandad was unimpressed and fed us locally caught cod to provide balance.
DS requests fish as a favorite - he is two.
I worry about mercury levels in some fish and the ethics of farmed fish and dredged scallops in particular.
Absolute favourite locally caught lobster, forget dressing it up, just boil lobster smash it up and eat the meat dropping the debris on newspaper.
Quite like crab salad as well.

[BoyMeetsWorld]

Personally, I love fish & could merrily live on nothing but. So obviously I started DS on it as young as possible - I think the first things I gave him were poached salmon with rice, cod in cheese sauce and fish pie. He used to love salmon when he was a baby...lucky as that's my favourite. Only recently, aged 5, he's started to become more fussy and is suddenly saying he only likes white fish but I will persevere. The most common fishy meal we have in our house is smoked salmon trimming tagliatelle.

[CheeryCherry]

As a vegetarian I did try to give my dcs fish when they were younger as I was well aware they would have a lack of brain cells if I didn't!I made white fish pies occasionally even though the smell made me feel sick. I cooked the odd piece if salmon. But I mostly made tuna pasta, using tinned tuna which they loved. However I was devastated years later when I found out tinned tuna is rubbish for nutrition, it needs to be fresh tuna. But I guess I tried