Recipes for fussy eaters

KATHERINE Ryan knows all too well how savage kids can be, particularly after her toddler said her food tastes like “dirt”.

“He said, mummy’s cooking is disgusting. Her cooking tastes like dirt was a real blow,” the Canadian comedian recounts of her toddler, Fred.

Ryan, has three children – Violet, 14, from a previous relationship, Fred, two, and Fenna, 15 months, with her childhood sweetheart and partner Bobby Kootstra.

Fred is her most difficult child to wrangle at dinnertime, and she’s gone to desperate lengths just to get him to try her food.

“I’ve made a deal with him – I’ve said you can taste it and if you want to spit it out, you’re allowed and you won’t be in trouble. Just put it in your mouth and taste it and see if you like it. Then he’ll be like, OK, and he’ll allow himself to take a bite. 

And even if he spits it out, everyone in the kitchen goes, ‘Really well done, Fred. Wow! Great. Did you see how Fred tried that? That was really cool’.

“So basically, I’m raising a toxic male and rewarding him for absolutely nothing,” Ryan jokes.

She adds: “Fred’s taught me a lot about life, about men, about myself.”

London-based Ryan had her first child when she was 25, and says having two more over a decade later was a completely different experience.

Now she’s 40, she its to having “less energy” than before, but adds: “I’ve learned this time that every child is so different and you have to reserve your judgement. Violet just happened to be this wonderful, amenable, happy all the time and do whatever I said and eat whatever I fed her type of child.

“And then my son came along and Fred is a tricky customer – he is such a fussy eater and such a high-maintenance guy in general, that I have had to pivot a bit as a parent, especially at mealtimes.”

And that’s not the only thing that changed for Ryan.

“I have a husband now, so it’s not just all up to me. My husband is such a softy and he will feed Fred pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner, because that’s what Fred wants, but I really have to dig my heels in and be like, no, that’s not appropriate. 

At some point, we need to offer him other sources of nutrition and branch him out.

When it was just Ryan and Violet, she says: “We were eating out a lot, or I was getting takeaway a lot, and I wasn’t proud of that. It didn’t make me feel confident that my daughter was getting the right kind of nutrition, that I was getting the right kind of nutrition. Our choices were really limited.

“Especially around 2019, when my husband came into our lives and my daughter started to get bigger and be able to cook herself, I really wanted to prioritise family mealtimes.”

Initially, the two younger kids were eating around five, Violet would eat on her own when she got back from school and social commitments, and Ryan and Kootstra would finally have dinner around 9:30pm.

Ryan worried that Violet was missing out on “really useful, essential conversation that accidentally comes out around the dinner table”, so now the schedule has changed a bit, particularly as the family uses Gousto recipe boxes.

They’re now “making dinner just the once – when Violet is home, she sits down with her brother and sister and eats at five. When she’s not home, we have dinner already ready, so we’ll sit with her for a bit before we do bedtime, bathtime, and then we’ve eaten ourselves. I think in the modern world, we lose sight of how important it is to have a traditional family dinnertime.”

Ryan says Gousto’s new Bluey-inspired range of meal boxes helps cut through the chaos of dinnertime, engaging the little ones in what they’re eating – particularly as they’re superfans of the CBeebies show.

“Involving [Fred] in the preparation of meals is what helps him feel safer about trying a variety of food,”

Ryan explains – and some of the meals she’ll dress up for adults later, for example adding pine nuts to a cheesy asparagus and tomato orzo dish.

We’re all doing our best, especially when you’re juggling children and your relationship and your time for self-care and work. I am not under any delusions that my job is a job – I know people have it a lot harder than I do.

Particularly around feeding kids, all you can do is your best.

“But if it doesn’t go your way, don’t stress – because I have put my kids to bed without dinner. Not by choice, but just because they wouldn’t eat something. I’ve offered them a few snacks and they still drink milk and they still keep growing.

“So worst-case scenario, toddlers seem to be able to exist on a pack of raisins a day – don’t stress if they’re not eating, because that will make them more stressed. I think it’s great to offer a variety of healthful, delicious options. Then if they don’t want it, if you have a meltdown – they’re definitely not going to want it the next time.

“My only advice to parents is to stay as calm as you can, as often as you can.”

Bluey-inspired Fish goujons with mixed fries and curry ketchup

THIS is fish and chips – but not as you know it.

Not only is it inspired by beloved BBC TV show character Bluey, it’s all made at home – and everything’s baked, not fried, making for a much healthier meal for the family.

Ingredients (Serves 2) 

15ml Henderson’s Relish 

2 basa fillets 

160g blanched peas 

½tbsp curry powder 

1tsp ground paprika 

60g panko breadcrumbs 

1 sweet potato 

30ml tomato ketchup 

1 white potato 

Method:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C (fan)/gas 7. Peel and cut your potato and sweet potato into fries – these are your mixed fries.
• 2. Add the mixed fries to a large baking tray (or two!) with a drizzle of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt and give everything a good mix up. Put the tray in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the fries are tender and starting to crisp.
• 3. Meanwhile, slice your basa fillets in half lengthways. Slice each half into two pieces (roughly the size and shape of fish fingers) so that you are left with four basa strips per person.
• 4. Add a handful of flour to a plate and a splash of milk to a bowl. Add your panko breadcrumbs to another plate with your ground paprika, a generous drizzle of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. Coat the basa strips in the flour, tap off any excess, then add it into the milk and finally press it into the breadcrumbs firmly to evenly coat all over.
• 5. Add the breaded basa strips to a separate baking paper-lined baking tray (or two!) and put the tray in the oven for 12-15 min or until golden and cooked through – these are your fish goujons. Tip: Your fish is cooked once it turns opaque and flakes easily. Boil a kettle.
• 6. Whilst everything is cooking, combine your tomato ketchup in a bowl with your curry powder, Henderson’s Relish and a pinch of salt – this is your curry ketchup.
• 7. Once everything is almost ready, add your blanched peas to a pot, cover them with boiled water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Cook for one min or until they’re warmed through, then drain and return to the pot with a knob of butter.
• 8. Serve Bluey’s fish goujons with the mixed fries, peas and curry ketchup to the side. Taste for seasoning.

BBQ Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

HERE’S a midweek meal the whole family will love.

If little ones aren’t overly adventurous with food, leave out the smoky butter and sliced spring onion and add plain butter instead.

Ingredients: (Serves 2) 

2 pieces of British chicken breast 

15ml Henderson’s Relish 

150g canned sweetcorn 

1tsp ground smoked paprika 

1 red pepper 

1 spring onion 

30ml tomato ketchup 

16g tomato paste 

1 white potato

 Method:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C (fan)/gas 7, then take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air. Chop your potatoes into small bite-sized pieces, then deseed your pepper (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and dice finely. Trim, then slice your spring onion and drain your sweetcorn.
• 2. Combine your tomato ketchup, tomato paste, Henderson’s Relish, most of your ground smoked paprika (you’ll use the rest later!) and two teaspoons of sugar in a bowl. Add 140 millilitres cold water and a pinch of salt and give everything a good mix up – this is your BBQ sauce.
• 3. Add the chopped potatoes to a baking tray (or two!) with a drizzle of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix up and put the tray in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and crisp.
• 4. Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add your chicken breast portions and cook for three minutes on each side or until golden.
• 5. Once the chicken has browned, remove the pan from the heat and add the BBQ sauce. Return the pan to a medium heat, cover with a lid and cook for a further 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your Heeler-style BBQ chicken.
• 6. Meanwhile, heat a pot over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced pepper with a pinch of salt and cook for six to seven or until softened (add a splash of water if the pot is looking a little dry!) Once softened, add the drained sweetcorn to the pan and cook for a further one to two minutes or until the sweetcorn is warmed through – this is your pepper and corn salad.
• 7. Add a knob of butter to a bowl with the remaining ground smoked paprika. Add the bowl to the microwave for 20 seconds or until the butter has completely melted – this is your smoky butter.
• 8. Serve the Heeler-style BBQ chicken with the pepper and corn salad and crispy potatoes to the side. Top the salad with the sliced spring onion and smoky butter.

Cheesy Asparagus with Tomato Orzo 

THIS is a veggie dish even the fussiest of eaters will love.

Ingredients: (Serves 2) 

120g asparagus spears 

1 brown onion 

40g cheddar cheese 

125g cherry tomatoes 

1 garlic clove 

150g orzo 

15g pine nuts 

50g soft cheese 

11g vegetable stock mix 

Method:

• 1. Boil a kettle. Peel and dice your brown onion, then peel and finely chop (or
• grate) your garlic. Chop your cherry tomatoes in half, then trim the woody ends off your asparagus. Tip: Alternatively, bend the woody ends of the asparagus until they snap!
• 2. Dissolve your vegetable stock mix in 500 millilitres boiled water – this is your stock. Grate your cheddar cheese finely.
• 3. Heat a large, dry, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) over a medium heat. Once hot, add your pine nuts and cook for two to three minutes or until toasted and lightly golden. Tip: Watch them like a hawk to make sure they don’t burn! Once golden, transfer the pine nuts to a bowl and reserve the pan.
• 4. Return the reserved pan to a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for four to five minutes or until beginning to soften.
• 5. Once slightly softened, add the halved tomatoes and chopped garlic and cook for a further four to five minutes or until the tomatoes have softened. Once softened, add your orzo and cook for one minute, stirring to coat the grains.
• 6. Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Tip: Stir the orzo occasionally to stop it from sticking. Once cooked through, stir through your soft cheese and one third of the grated cheese (you’ll use the rest later!) and cook for a final two to three minutes – this is your creamy tomato orzo.
• 7. When the orzo has seven minutes left, heat a separate, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the trimmed asparagus and cook for an initial three minutes, then sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese and cook for a further three minutes or until the cheese has melted and begun to crisp up on the bottom – this is your cheesy magic asparagus.
• 8. Serve the creamy tomato orzo in a bowl with the cheesy magic asparagus to the side (crispy side up). Top with the toasted pine nuts and a generous grind of black pepper.
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