Jacky P's!
In case anyone else has forgotten about this beauty of a vegetable (I certainly had), it’s my ‘go-to’ for a quick and easy dinner and it’s as cheap as…well…chips?! Actually, I think jacket potatoes may be cheaper than chips but anyway…
It took me a while to get my children into jacket potatoes, so if this is your child, have a read of some easy tips below on how to start your child’s love of the humble potato.
GET AHEAD: Prepare all toppings and put in a tupperware
TEATIME SUGGESTION: Boiled egg and solders
Serving suggestion:
- A large dollop of long-term thinking (don’t focus on just one meal)
- A cup of cheerful conversation (no bribery, just connection)
- A pinch of salt (how you should take all food rejection!)
- Lashings of laissez-faire (the less you micro manage, the better)
Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 baked potato per child
Suggested toppings: ham, grated cheese, tuna, baked beans, sweetcorn, chopped salad
METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan)
2. Wash potato and prick with a fork or knife in several places. Put on baking tray and leave to cook for an hour and test with a knife to check if the potato inside is soft. Turn off oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes (or longer if you have time). I find by doing this, the potato inside is not dry and has a luxurious consistency to it.
Serving suggestion:
- Without expectation
- Without bribery (as child more likely to back away even further)
- Think long-term, not just on one meal
- 'You provide, they decide’ (Division Of Responsibility)
How to serve this meal to your child
Beginner: ‘My child refuses any new meals’
Start small. Always. Cook the jacket potato for yourself one mealtime (and an extra one for your child) and give theirs as leftovers the next day. Halve or quarter the potato if less overwhelming for them. In these early stages of new food, forget about the eating and focus on the other senses and making your child comfortable. Offer their leftover jacket as a food experiment whilst they are waiting for their actual meal; give them full reign to squish the potato with their hands or fork, add a topping like cheese to see what it does. Build like this for however long your child needs - this could be 20 mealtimes or more, but it doesn’t matter as the goal is happy mealtimes and there is no rush!
The great thing about this approach is that you are not cooking specifically for your child, you are giving them leftovers from a meal that you would have cooked anyway, so straightaway there is LESS expectation and pressure. It’s about creating easy opportunities to widen your child’s food list.
Intermediate eater: ‘My child may try this new dish but I’m not sure’
Make sure there are several tasty toppings for your child to add to the jacket potato or have separately. If there are interesting toppings available, it will hopefully take the pressure off to try the potato if they don’t want to. Also choose a day when you can eat together, role modelling is very powerful! Ask your child if they’d like to add toppings to your jacket potato first if that eases them into the meal.
Advanced eater: ‘My child eats most things I give them and is not phased by new food’.
Serve the 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 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!