Fish for picky eaters

[Anonymous]

I can't get my two year old to eat fish. We'ved tried cod, tilapia, salmon, and tuna prepared different ways. We've even tried store bought fish sticks. Any suggestions? Recipes appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Our son likes smoked salmon instead of a filet and he also prefers shrimp and scallops squid to other types of white fish. When it comes to fish sticks he likes them crunchy on the outside but not too dry on the inside. It took a lot of different cooking styles to find what he liked. He also prefers the fish sticks we purchase at Trader Joes over all others - something different about the breading on the outside. Have you tried swordfish? That was another favorite for our VERY picky DS.

[Anonymous]

If you and DH eat fish, then continue serving it but don't make a big deal if your child doesn't eat it--s/he can simply eat the other things on offer instead. Or you can back off and stop serving it for a while. If it's any consolation, my sister and I (who were both generally good eaters) absolutely refused to eat fish in any form as kids--it's the only thing I remember battling with my mom about at the dinner table. She gave up and stopped serving it. As adults both of us like fish and eat it regularly.

[Anonymous]

My DC started eating mussels at that age.

I would order them and then offer him a taste. Pretty soon he needed his own order.

[Anonymous]

fish is GROSS and filled with mercury. Why would you give it to your child? that being said, stick with tilapia, it's mild and not as toxic as other fishes.

[Anonymous]

SWORDFISH is high in mercury levels and so is tuna.

[Anonymous]

My kids will eat so much sea bass, DH and I will be lucky if they leave any for us.

[Anonymous]

my 3 yo daughter gags at salmon and anything particularly fishy, and is generally a terrible eater, but this week i bought Hake and coated it in italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs and tried baking half of it, and pan frying the other half. she ate both types and didn't complain!

[Anonymous]

My kids both love canned smoked herring. We get it at Trader Joes. Its really yummy. We eat it on the TJ multigrain crackers that cost $1.29 and to which we are pretty much addicted.

They also like smoked salmon and whitefish salad (we get that at Costco)

My older kid (3 y/o) can put away some fresh cooked cod or salmon. I make sure its cooked really nicely - just barely done so not dry, a bit buttery, and some salt. Basically like it would be served in a fancy restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Does he like chicken strips? We buy fish fillets that look a lot like chicken tenders.

My DD was always extremely picky but used to like the frozen Gorton's fish sticks (yuck). She preferred them microwaved, so they were soft. Now that she is 7, we make tilapia in foil with lemon and butter, and she loves to help make it and to eat it. You could also try and see if he will eat sushi, although my kids will not.

[Anonymous]

When my dd was small I made calzone. For the stuffing, little spinach, cooked salmon(or what ever fish you want), ricotta cheese, and an egg mixed in a food processor. Start with a little bit of fish and increase it each time. They get use to the taste and then just give them the fish.

[Anonymous]

Ok- so I would say that if your child does not like any of the things you mentioned, you can save yourself the frustration of trying the canned smoked herring and sea bass and just wait it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC started eating mussels at that age.

I would order them and then offer him a taste. Pretty soon he needed his own order.

Yes this is what we would do, order something calimari or mussels or fish for dinner and he would eventually ask for a bite. If he got weird about trying it I would not make a big deal about it. Now at 3.5 he loves fish; eats salmon, calimari, any white fish, tuna. Basically the harder you try to get her to eat something the more she will most likely resist.