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Posted by on Nov 8, 2012 in Reviews/Giveaways | 31 comments

Fuss Pots and the recipes that might just work

At three and a half years old, Curly Girl is still a fussy eater. I thought she might have grown out of it by now but I was wrong. Sure, she’s increased her repertoire of foods and she’ll even try new things from time to time but it’s still a limited menu and she’s still not eating the same meals that we do.

Her favourites? Fish goujons/fingers, Chicken pops, McCain Smiley faces, banana pancakes and her Mummy’s homemade rosti with cheese, sweet potato and carrot. Yep, apart from the rosti I pretty much suck at getting her to eat healthy meals.

So when one of Annabel Karmel’s team contacted me and asked if we wanted to try out her new Fuss Pots meals for fussy eaters I was delighted and tempted but frankly not expecting much luck.

The Fuss Pots are available in Sainsbury’s and are suitable for c.4-10 year olds. The new range of dishes have been designed to tempt the taste buds of even the fussiest eaters. The recipes, based on Annabel’s bestselling books, in easy to use microwaveable pots include Chicken Korma, Chicken ‘N’ Rice Nasi Goreng, Spaghetti Bolognese with Hidden Veg and Kickin’ Chicken Chow Mein.

We were sent two vouchers to try the meals and we were also sent Karmel’s new recipe book – . We popped to Sainsbury’s to pick up the meals and the ingredients for some of the recipes. Then I said a little prayer and we got started.


As the Fuss Pots meals are quite different from anything Curly Girl will happily eat at the moment I thought I’d first try a recipe that would be familiar to her – home made fish fingers with Atlantic cod and breadcrumbs (I used honey panko breadcrumbs as I’d already bought them for the next recipe). The process was actually very easy, just cut the cod fillet into strips, coat them in flour then beaten egg then the breadcrumbs and fry lightly on all sides until golden. And wow they were delicious! Super crunchy, succulent in the middle and utterly scrumptious. Heck, I’d eat them for my dinner. I cut them into chunks and held my breath as Curly Girl sat down to her lunch. She looked at them. Frowned. And then tucked in. HURRAH!!!

Next came home made chicken nuggets. I’d defrosted some chicken breasts the night before for OH and I and there was one left in the fridge so I cut it into 1 inch chunks and soaked it a mixture of buttermilk, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and lemon juice for a couple of hours. Then just like the previous recipe I dipped them in flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs and fried them gently until they were golden on all sides (you can also oven cook them but time wasn’t on my side that day). They passed the taste test on all fronts, juicy and crunchy, but the chicken was still quite solid for Curly Girl and she needed the pieces cut up fairly small before she’d actually finish chewing and swallow. But you know what? She ate almost all of them. Her first positive experience of chicken breast that hadn’t been messed with in a factory. WOOP DE DOOP!

So now we were on a roll. Next we tried the Anzac biscuits. Curly Girl helped me measure out the ingredients and she stirred them all together for me (with only a small amount of spillage) and this was the result. We added some chocolate chips to the recipe for some extra yumminess. Deeeelicious. In fact so good that OH ate most of them! Curly Girl had a taste while they were warm and seemed to like them but then went off them when they were cold. I think perhaps they were a bit too crunchy for her.

And last but not least, so far, is simple recipe for french toast. I’d made eggy bread for Curly Girl a hundred times but for some reason I hadn’t made french toast. They’re pretty similar to be honest, fully of eggy goodness but with sugar and cinnamon thrown in for good measure. What’s not to love eh? Curly Girl had a few mouthfulls before turning her nose up which is good going for her with something new. Of course I had to polish off the rest – would have been rude not too *ahem*. Definitely going to try this recipe again, I reckon it could become a weekend tradition along with my banana pancakes. Well, if you can’t have a blow-out breakfast at the weekend, when can you?
All in all  gets a big thumbs up from me. I’d definitely recommend it to parents of fussy eaters and non-fussy eaters too! Just getting Curly Girl to try eating something new is a feat in itself and these recipes are simple to make and taste delicious. We’ll be trying out some of the more adventurous meals over time.
As for the Fuss Pots? Well as tasty as I thought they were, Curly Girl decided they were a step too far for now. *Sigh* Small steps, small steps…

Giveaway
I’m delighted that Annabel Karmel has offered one of you lovely lot a copy of along with some vouchers to try her new Fuss Pots range at Sainsbury’s. All you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the simple instructions. Winners will be drawn at random next week. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer and the all-important small print: Annabel Karmel has offered me one copy of her new Recipes For Fussy Eaters book and some vouchers for her new Fuss Pots range to be used as a giveaway prize. I received no other compensation. This giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 or over, one entry per household. There is no cash alternative. The winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen, again at random using Rafflecopter. You DO NOT have to subscribe to Bod for tea or like my or follow me on as part of your entry.

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

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  • city

    thanks for sharing.

  • http://twitter.com/caroleheidi Carole Holland

    This book is firmly on my christmas list already. I keep thinking T is going to grow out of her fussiness but she doesn’t. If it isn’t cheese, spaghetti hoops (must be hoops, every other shape is refused), chicken dippers, plain pasta or sweetcorn then the answer is no. I am beginning to despair and could do with some help!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/Peedie Irene ‘Peedie’ Wares

    What a lovely blog, wish I found it sooner! My LG isn’t really that fussy yet (I count myself lucky but I’m sure it’s yet to come, she’s 13 months) She just loves her food. Although I will say if she can’t pick it up she isn’t interested. So finger foods are key. I add pasta to soups, fruit to yoghurts and potatoes are a god send! And I don’t interfere then, I just let her crack on with it (sitting next to her of course)

  • http://www.bod-for-tea.blogspot.com/ bod for tea

    Aww thanks for your kind words Irene!

  • Emily Hamilton

    My 11 month old is very fussy, but will always eat pasta and sauce – I get the annabel karmel baby pasta that’s just the right size for him to eat, add a bit of whatever sauce we’re having with ours, and grate a bit of cheese on top.

  • http://www.redrosemummy.com/ Red Rose Mummy

    My little boy loves pasta sauce so I blitz vegetables into it. He doesn’t realise they are there and eats up well.

  • laura banks

    mash my veg into the mash potatoes

  • http://twitter.com/Healthychart Fussy Eater’s Mum

    This is terrific! I suspected at the start of this post that the recipes in the book were going to be more popular than the Fuss Pots. It doesn’t matter who is pre-cooking the food, if it has to sit on a shelf in Sainsbury’s then it probably is not as healthy as the food you cook from scratch.
    Try minced chicken next time you make those nuggets as they will be easier for Curly Girl to eat.
    I can’t enter the comp, but I’ll post on my fb page to promote it for you!

  • http://www.bod-for-tea.blogspot.com/ bod for tea

    Hello lovely! Yes you’re right, and she is suspicious of anything with a sauce in any case, but I’m so impressed with the recipes and having her eat home-made versions of shop bought food is a real improvement for her. Great advice re the minced chicken – but I also want to get her used to the texture of meat as a prelim to trying her with beef and lamb soon :D Thanks so much for offering to promote the giveaway too x

  • Andrea Clark

    I find grating a little cheese over my daughters food helps, even ketchup works as a last resort.

  • Susan Hoggett

    Risotto with a mixture of mushrooms

  • http://twitter.com/olivia280177 olivia kirby

    My little ones are quite fussy but they both love fish pie. If I don’t have time to do a big one, I bake a salmon fillet, mash it in with some potato, cooked peas, and sprinkle cheese on the top. They have it with broccoli and carrots normally.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Samantha-Ripley/633088624 Samantha Ripley

    Spaghetti Bolognaise is my daughters favourite, Shes got fussier with food as shes got older, now aged 6 i dont want her passing her picky eating habits on to her baby sister, i find that if i get her involved in making the food or growing it shes much more likely to eat it

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Caroline-Kelly/888320570 Caroline Kelly

    My daughter isn’t too bad at trying new foods but goes through stages where she’ll love something one time and then I’ll try it again a week or so later n she’ll turn her nose up. I always try introducing one new food at a time to a dish I know she’ll like. And for some reason star shaped sandwiches are always eaten whole whereas normal sandwiches never go down that well!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Viv-Allman-Neal/852305580 Viv Allman-Neal

    i have always retried stuff that the girls haven’t liked at a later date… after a couple of times they either like it or leave it, i do this as i was a fussy eater and refused to eat broad beans….. i was told i wouldn’t leave the table until i ate them…i love them now. they are my favourite.. so i always try more than once.

  • http://twitter.com/HappyHomebird Happy Homebird

    I make homemade chickpea burgers & add finely chopped veg to them, herbs & garlic – he eats them no probs.

  • Eleanor Jones

    Risotto with bacon and peas :)

  • Rachel Chico

    Spaghetti – my daughter hardly eats anything – she will eat spaghetti though so i blend vegetables into a tomato sauce and mix it all together

  • louise m

    cheesy chicken and happy faces.. with brocolli!

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