How to add Fish to your Child's Diet

This week we put together this little Mimi's Bowl intro to fish, with our partner dietician Bianca Parau. Hope you find this helpful. 

Weaning

Bianca recommends starting with white fish, then oily fish and finally shellfish. Introduction of fish and shellfish is dependent on atopy (allergy risk), so if there is a history of allergy, talk to your medical care professional and put in place a specialised plan.

When I started weaning my daughter white fish was one of the first proteins I tried, I would steam it until completely cooked through and blend with some of her favourite vegetables, you can thin the liquid with a little boiling water, or stock (home-made or no added salt stock). This will freeze really well too, so just divide into a multi portion silicon tray and cool, then freeze. Once frozen pop the cubes into a zip lock freezer bag and label, then you have puree on tap for when you need it. 

Why Fish?

Fish is also very quick to cook and a great freezer standby for a mid week supper. I am always trying to get more fish into our weekly diet, so I hope this will inspire us all to cook up some fish this week. Look for fish too which is sustainably caught and if you have a local fishmonger, or supermarket with a fish counter talk to them about what’s good and fresh. 

🐟White fish: cod and haddock are great first fish to try, they blend really well into purees and are a good source of protein. Move onto fish fingers, fish pie and fish cakes (all firm family favourites and there is plenty of recipe inspirtaion on my feed)

🐟Oily fish: Salmon, mackerel, trout, herring – at least 1x serving per week. Wild Alaskan salmon is the healthiest salmon available and has the highest amount of omega 3, whereas most Atlantic salmon is farmed. Salmon from the right source is rich in protein, and contains selenium, antioxidants, is high in B vitamins and great for your joints too 💪🏻

🐟Tuna: (fresh) is a great omega 3 rich fish but recommended 1-2 servings per week, due to mercury content. If buying tinned tuna, it’s advisable to stick with tuna in spring water (brine is generally more salty and therefore higher in sodium) or in sunflower oil & go for the skipjack, which is lower in mercury

🐟Shellfish: introduction of shellfish is dependent on atopy (allergy risk) – Bianca recommends starting with prawns before trying other types of shellfish 🦐

Quick and easy recipe Idea, this week: Tuna Dip & Breadsticks ~ just 3 ingredients

This blog post was written in conjunction with paediatric dietitian Bianca Parau. Bianca offers expert advice and nutritional guidance to children and their families. Her NHS clinical role at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital includes a specialist multidisciplinary feeding clinic, for children with eating problems, often resulting from a history of gastrointestinal problems and food allergy

visit https://www.lavie-nutrition.com for more information