twolittleajs: Mini Jamie Oliver!!

Friday, 6 September 2013

Mini Jamie Oliver!!

I like to try, note the use of the word try, to make a fish based meal on Fish Friday, to ensure the family get at least one portion of fish a week. Earlier this week Jamie Oliver's new cooking show started and it featured a Sweet pea fish pie which was soon demanded by my darling husband for tea this week instead of my usual fish pie!

I've been trying to encourage Arthur to eat more, as he is going through the typical toddler "I don't like it!" tantrum practically every meal time even with his favourite foods. So I thought maybe If I trust his to help me cook tea he would eat it, as it seemed to work before.

Whilst he was asleep I measured out a couple of the ingredients and chopped the veg for him, then when he woke up, I got him to measure out the rest of the ingredients. He also had a go at peeling a carrot, which he did surprisingly well, He had fun exploring the ingredients, tasting the lemon juice, touching the fish, stealing the frozen peas!! Although I did get my own back when he grabbed the spoon from the mustard and stuck it in his mouth, the faces after were hilarious. A handy hint when cooking with a toddler, always measure out a little extra to compensate for taste tests. I think it was good for him to see the fish fillets and touch them as well, and learn to recognise what they look and smell like. His favourite jobs were pushing the buttons on the food processor and mixing.

Whilst we put the dish together, he sneakily stole the odd mouth full of sauce and potato topping, and kept trying to steal more. It can be frustrating dealing with a child eating all your ingredients whilst cooking then trying to eat it before it's finished, but he seemed to be enjoying it, so I had high hopes for tea, unfortunatly he refused to touch it at tea. I'm half considering serving all meals in a saucepan in the kitchen to encourage him to eat!