Sole with rice and veggies

It might seem like an odd combination, but this one is very delicate and has very little fishy taste kids might not like. In fact this is how I got my son to like to eat fish, well some time ago now. So if a child doesn't like to eat fish, this might be the one to try. At the beginning I was mixing it with rice so it was almost undetectable (assuming that child likes rice :-).

- Sole filets (I like sole, but any white, more delicate fish would do, I use fresh fish filets)

- frozen peas and carrots, a handful or 2 (If he/she won't eat it use frozen corn instead)

- milk to cover fish 

- 1 cup rice, 2 cups water

- 1 cup total of grated sweet potato and yellow zucchini, can be green, but yellow blends in and won't "scare" the picky eater 

- salt to season

Start with rice so everything is ready at the same time. Just mix in the pan: rice, water, shredded zucchini and sweet potato, season with salt, bring to boil. After it starts boiling reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Lest stand few minutes and fluff with fork. Might want to add a tsp of butter (optional) and other seasoning besides salt if your child likes.

Place fish filets and peas and carrots in a pan, cover with milk and cook on medium low heat. The fish has to cook on low heat, otherwise the milk starts to foam a lot and bubble too much. Cook covered for about 10 minutes from the moment it starts simmering. I don't add salt to fish. I don't add any seasoning here. Milk and pas make it a little on a sweet side.

Pasta with spinach and ricotta

Another quick and simple family dish. Pasta with spinach and ricotta can be served just as pasta dish itself or with fish. Salmon (steamed or simmered in butter) is best match here.


For the sauce:
- bag of fresh baby spinach, I always make it using fresh, but I guess you can try with frozen too
- 1 tsp butter
- 2/3 cup of ricotta
- 1/3 cup of milk
- pinch of grated nutmeg
- salt 
- pepper

Start with boiling water for pasta so everything is ready at the same time.

Melt butter, add a bag of spinach and saute on medium-low heat about 5 minutes, or just until it wilts, when spinach is cooking mix ricotta and milk with a pinch of nutmeg. It should be smooth, no lumps. 
Add ricotta mixture to spinach and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, just so it heats but it doesn't boil, to prevent clumping. Season with salt and pepper, mix with cooked pasta and serve.

One pot steamed salmon and veggies

I have to admit, this one is pretty plain, but I like it and my child likes it even more, great finger food too, so it's a keeper. Only for lunch though as it is too plain for my husband.

It's all done in about 15 minutes in one pot. 

I use pot with steamer insert for this one to keep it to one pot. Place in steamer insert : some frozen broccoli florets, few sliced baby carrots, salmon fillet. Boil whatever pasta shapes are your child's favorite. As soon as pasta starts boiling, place the steamer insert with fish and veggies over boiling pasta and cover. It should all be cooked within the time your pasta is cooked - usually about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I overcook my pasta  little bit as it is easier to eat for the child than al dente.

After it's cooked I divide it to plates, lightly butter pasta and veggies and drizzle just a little honey or maple syrup on fish and veggies, then on my plate I add some squeezed lemon juice and pepper on fish and veggies. Only use salt in water for pasta.

This is very light summer dish. I would also really recommend to try to play with how it is arranged on a plate, here we were playing with all sorts of circles again and that really did the trick to have fun healthy meal.