Introduce new foods to your kids during vacation!
You know how something in a different language sounds so exotic, fun and inviting? A Frenchman could be swearing you up 'n down and you'd be like, “oh swoooooon!” Well, that is, if you don't understand French!
For little kids, it's the same way. You've probably called celery, raisins and peanut butter “ants on a log”, or a a piece of bread with an egg fried in the middle “toad's eye.” Though, no matter what silly names I came up with for spinach, they would just shove it under their bread or hide it in their napkin. And it's not like I can really scold them, because well, I used to do that too. But then I thought, “well maybe it's because I'm not cooking it right.” And yeah, lo and behold, I was fryin' up spinach just like my Mom did, exactly the same way that I didn't like it as a kid (I have no idea at what age I changed my mind about spinach, because I love it now!)
A few months ago, we took a family vacation to Club Med Punta Cana. While en route, squeezed between an obnoxious, loud child AND a bored, whiney child (yes, unfortunately both were mine), I decided that I was going to be smart about this vacation and take advantage of every single opportunity to introduce the kids to new foods or re-introduce them to the stuff they normally didn't like.
Oh, sneaky me…it worked.
Spinach became “espinaca”
Asparagus became “espárragos”
Fish became “pescado”
Cauliflower became “coliflor”
Brussels Sprouts became…okay, I admit that didn't work very well. I don't care if you dip those babies in Godiva chocolate, they still will not eat them.
The kids were so distracted by all the fun they were having on vacation and the concept of the free-flowing buffet, that I was able to do my Jedi-mind trick and get them to eat their espinaca. All of it. The talented chefs in Punta Cana created a Pescado con Espinaca, which was a pan-fried fish with a creamy spinach topping that was so luscious and moist.
But don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of tricking your kids to eat broccoli by hiding it in your gingerbread cookie recipe or stuffing cauliflower into your banana bread (trust me, it's been done and there are a few cookbooks out there with these recipes if you really want to traumatize your kids.) There's no hiding in this method. My kids knew full well that espinaca was on top of that fish. They just didn't associate espinaca with “blech…yucky spinach” that I normally make at home. Of course, if your kids are like 13 years old, this isn't gonna work that well, but this is a perfect technique for the little ones, from 3 years old to oh…maybe about 7 years old. You know, the ages when negotiation without involving monetary exchange is still possible.
When did I finally fess up to the kids that espinaca was spinach? Well it took a couple of tries before I got Club Med's Pescado con Espinaca recipe just right at home. The kid remembered the dish, loved it and then I kinda snuck it in towards the end, “wasn't that fish with spinach delicious?” They didn't even think twice about the language change.
Pescado con Espinaca
Fish with Creamy Fresh Spinach Sauce
This is my adaptation of one of the dishes that we had at Club Med Punta Cana. I don't think it's a traditional dish of the region, but it sure got my 4 and 5 year old loving espinaca. Salmon works great in this recipe, and I can usually find it on sale at one of my markets. You can substitute 1 (10oz) package of frozen spinach for the fresh spinach. When using frozen spinach, you'll want to defrost the spinach first, drain and then use your hands and squeeze all of the water out of the spinach and discard the water. Frozen spinach holds lots of water, which would only dilute the sauce if you don't remove it.
serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 fillets salmon (or fish of your choice)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup milk
2 (9oz) packages of fresh baby spinach, chopped
1/4 cup grated guyere cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Heat a large frying pan with olive oil until hot. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and fry until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, depending on thickness. If your fish fillets are more than 1” thick, you may want to cover the pan after you flip the fish.
Remove the fish onto a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Return the same pan to the stove and turn the heat to medium high. You should have enough oil in the pan, if not, add an additional 1 teaspoon of olive oil. When hot, add the garlic and fry until fragrant about 15 seconds. Add the red and yellow bell peppers to the pan and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Dish out and keep warm.
Return the cleaned frying pan to the stove and heat over medium-high heat with the butter. When the butter is bubbling, sprinkle in the flour, whisking. Cook for 2 minutes, until the mixture begins to smell nutty. Slowly pour in the half and half and the milk and continue whisking until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Add the spinach, mix well and cover for 1 minute. Add in the guyere cheese and season with nutmeg salt and pepper.
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