Fussy eaters: 5 dishes to try

Five-veg pasta
Finely chop onion, mushrooms, quarter of a red pepper and courgette and lightly fry in vegetable oil until soft. Stir in a tin of chopped tomatoes and slow cook for about 15 minutes. Blend to a smooth sauce and stir into cooked pasta.

Beginner’s fishcakes
Get frozen coley portions (mild tasting like cod and a good price), oven bake in foil then flake into small pieces and mix with buttered mash potato and cooked peas. Roll into child-sized patties on a floured surface. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes then shallow fry until well browned. Serve with veg or beans.

Sausages with supergravy
Add this tasty gravy to sausages and mash for veg-tastic nutrition points. Chop onion, courgette and mushrooms and shallow fry until the onion goes transparent. Stir in a dessert spoon of plain flour then add a litre of boiling water mixed with a stock cube. Bring to the boil then simmer, stirring well. Blend until smooth.

Coddled eggs
Kids love making these! Grease ramekins, sprinkle in a favourite filling like chopped ham, grated cheese or sweetcorn, then crack an egg into each pot. Get an adult to pour about 3cm boiling water into a roasting tin then place the ramekins in, taking care not to let the water wash into the pots. Bake in an oven on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool a little and eat from the pot.

Homemade hamburgers
Nutritious, easy homemade ‘fast food’. Buy as good a quality mince as you can and mix it so its fat is evenly combined with the meat. Roll into patties and let them sit for about 30 minutes. Grill or fry the patties until well cooked – allowing the meat’s own fat to help you rather than adding oil. Serve on toasted burger buns.

Savvy tip
Keep portions small. If your child sees too much food he or she will find this too daunting.  It’s better to have them ask for more!

Pass it on – Real mum’s can’t-fail dinners
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