Salmon With Bacon & Peas
If your child wouldn’t eat this kind of meal, please see below for how to introduce them to it slowly. My kids generally eat salmon, bacon and peas but are still not sure on new potatoes, so I’ll also probably serve some chips alongside it too or maybe some bread on the side.
Recipe for Roast salmon with bacon and peas: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roast-salmon-peas-potatoes-bacon
Lunchtime suggestion: tortilla wraps with any leftover chicken from Monday’s Caesar salad
How to serve this meal to your child
Beginner: ‘My child refuses any new meals’
I normally recommend serving any new food as leftovers the next day or as a starter to your child, but fish is never great reheated, so to begin with, serve alongside a fish finger or something else easy to shove into the oven at the same time. Don’t expect your child to eat it straightaway, these early stages are all about the exposure to new food and if you can offer it in a zero pressure setting, then even better. It’s about creating easy opportunities to widen your child’s food list. Adapt the recipe by not adding the mint and white wine vinegar in the early days. Get your child involved in the cooking process if possible, even slicing the potatoes or getting the peas out of the freezer, it’s about building up slowly. Offering pleasant distractions such as squeezing lemon over the fish may get them interacting with the new meal slightly.
Intermediate eater: ‘My child may try this new dish but I’m not sure’
Choose a day when you can eat together so at least they can see you eating this new meal. Offer other components your child usually eats so there is no pressure. Add chips, a jacket potato or mash depending on your child’s preferences. It doesn’t matter if your child doesn’t touch the new meal, it is all about your child getting used to seeing new food and taking it in and also seeing you eat it to give them confidence for future meals.
Advanced eater: ‘My child eats most things I give them and is not phased by new food’
Serve new meal and if they unexpectedly do refuse it, the best advice is not to panic and don’t feel bad. It’s just one meal. Say non-confrontational words such as ‘you don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to’ and and see if they can try a bit in their own time. If they don’t, it is best to move onto the next mealtime and write it off and try another time!