Why do toddlers prefer processed food?!

[amayzie]

YAY!

hmm- unless someone else has some experience with it then i reckon you could try any of those! Actually.. i would put the cream cheese at the bottom of my list.. it might be ok- but i think the thinner things might be better.. What about some milk even? cream? (if you have those... not as tasty- but trying to think of things that coat like egg white...

The other thing- is your DS teething? could it be that his mouth is sensitive lately- making him not want to bite hard/chewy adult foods but prefer mushier/softer things?

[~*Nicole*~]

See, this is where I am often surprised by those who enjoy cooking...I've never made fresh breadcrumbs in my life. I've never made bread either for that matter. LOL

I have been buying panko crumbs b/c they are dairy/soy free....haha

Coating with something else and then coating sounds interesting though.

[creations]

I've never made fresh breadcrumbs in my life.

It's not a big deal.  I open the whizzer drop a slice of (pre-pack bought from the supermarket bakery) bread in, put the lid on a press 'go' for about 30 seconds and they're done.
Sometimes I use a left over pitta bread or chapati etc if there happens to be one hanging around unlikely to be eaten.

[Lemonthyme]

Panko breadcrumbs are great, make things really crispy but they're tricky to get hold of in the UK. 

To be honest, I use an egg.  Eggs aren't that expensive and why not cook enough for you and your child so you don't waste it?

[creations]

why not cook enough for you and your child so you don't waste it?

Because I'm not making full meals crumbed.  My plan is to keep my food (and DPs) as regular meat or fish and offer a piece of this to DS as per usual (which he ignores), whilst also sometimes making him a small piece of it in crumb.  It is not something I want to do but a compromise to feed him real meat and fish via the crumb disguise.
It also means when we have different types of fish for example that he will be getting a different flavour in his 'fish finger'.

[deb]

You could crumb yours with something more exotic; we sometimes do shredded unsweetened coconut with Thai seasoning as a crust, or coconut flour with Italian seasoning. And really, you could eventually make it all like that for everyone once he gets used to the textures and flavors of the different seasonings. (We have to go gluten-free here so no panko in our house. *sigh*)

[creations]

A partial success today.
I was having salmon so I made DS a couple of 'fish fingers' out of a piece.  They were more squarish than fingers, covered in breadcrumbs with cheese parsley and a little shake of bbq seasoning then fried.  The result looked nothing like salmon obviously, served with a mint mayo dip (plus a ton of veg).  He tucked in and thoroughly enjoyed it.
When it was cut open you could see the inside looked different to a fish finger and at one point some of it was almost crumbless because of the way it had been cut and then sort of broke up a bit when he was trying to stab with his fork.  I thought he was going to notice but he didn't, he just kept eating and didn't seem to mind the salmon taste or texture at all.  Prior to this he has put a piece of 'real' salmon in his mouth, moved it around a bit and then spat it out so I think this is a step in the right direction even though it was crumbed.

Not been able to get hold of any panko breadcrumbs yet, so for now it is still home made breadcrumbs.  Today's salmon was crumbed with tortilla wrap.

[Lemonthyme]

I've not managed to find Panko breadcrumbs yet.  They're Japanese so there's a small chance you could get them in an oriental supermarket or alternatively they sell them in the grocery section of Amazon!  I might get some, I keep being tempted to make Katsu.

[ZacsMumme]

I 'think' they are just white breadcrumbs with no crust so you could make Some If you had the energy  lol. http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-panko-bread-crumbs-167729

[creations]

Sara, there seem to be two varieties, one without the crust and one with, but what I read was the main difference is the crumb being larger and more flake-like.  Apparently they don't soak up so much fat so are lighter and more crunchy then regular bread crumbs.
And thanks for the recipe but I started to feel a little exhausted just reading it haha.  I do like cooking but I'm not hard-core   Besides I don't have a shredding disc for a food processor which I think is one of the key aspects to get the larger crumb.  My whizzer is really basic and just whizzes.  Does the job though.

[ZacsMumme]

Lol don't worry, I could never be bothered to make my own breadcrumbs just an option for those who may have more energy than me.
Z hates the whiz so it's a no go in our house anyway

[creations]

Perhaps you can try seasoning with things that naturally contain salt, instead of adding salt, like cheese.  And also the texture, a lot of kids like the crispiness of the breading of fish fingers.

Despite having had mixed success with crumbong fresh fish and meat before starting this thread I think the real winner has been mixing grated cheese with the crumb.  He really does seem to be going for it.
He ate real fish crumbed again a couple of days back and yesterday ate more chicken than I've ever seen him eat before, 4 'nuggets' of about 2-3cm square which is LOADS.  So I wanted to say thanks to everyone who offered their help and a particular thanks for this suggestion of cheese.

I did chicken thigh cut into pieces, dipped in flour, then tom puree watered down, then breadcrumbs with cheese and mixed herbs.  Then fried.
He loved them.

It still isn't 'real' iyswim, but i think over time I might reduce the crumb to one side of the meat/fish and perhaps wena him off the breadcrumbs.  For now breadcrumbs with cheese are a winner and at least I know he is gettng a mix of protein sources and flavours

[~*Nicole*~]

SO glad!!!

I know it's still not "real" but I would keep offering real versions and interjecting the "kid friendly" options occasionally so he has exposure and still gets some protein.

Hopefully he'll come around and be "weaned" off of the crumb.

FWIW my two wouldn't touch salmon fillets with a crumbed layer on top last night for dinner. Made me so sad.

[koe2moe]

There really is nothing wrong with seasoning with salt in moderation.  It enhances tastes and we need some salt.  Use good salt and he might just eat pan fried fish like yours.  worth experimenting.

[creations]

More success today...
Chicken wings roasted with a sprinkle of some bbq seasoning (it has a range of spices plus some salt and sugar but he's getting so little of it I don't think it can be that 'bad').  I ran out of time and didn't do him a crumb version so just served him the same as we were having plus he got a teaspoon of 'dip dip' (bbq sauce).  He helped cut some of the chicken up and stabbed it with his fork and dipped it and...ate it!  He had about 5 mouth fulls which is the most chicken I've ever seen him eat, not one bit came back out of his mouth and some of it he even forgot to dip in sauce but still ate it

I would keep offering real versions

Yes, this is my plan.  When he gets a crumb version he also gets a piece exactly the same as mine so both are on his plate.

I think we've made a lot of progress in a reasonably short time.  I'm so pleased.  I don't mind the small quantities of dip sauce with sugar in because he doesn't have anything else with sugar at all.  I watch his salt intake but I think it's fine.

It was really tempting to praise him for eating chicken today, but I didn't, I managed to hold back and just kept praise to what a good job he did of using his fork which is a relatively new and improving skill.