Tips to Turn Your Kids into Seafood Lovers

October is National Seafood Month, and we want to share some great tips for how to get your kids to eat more seafood.

Fish and seafood is packed with high-quality protein, vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fats, and it’s no secret that it’s good for us. Both adults and children can benefit from eating seafood at least twice each week.

Now that kids are back in school, and schedules are full of carpools, homework, and activities, seafood is an especially attractive option for busy weeknight dinners. It’s so much faster and easier to prepare than most other proteins. Serving fish and seafood regularly for dinner is the best way to turn your kids into seafood lovers for life.

The Seafood Nutrition Partnership, a nonprofit group that educates consumers about the health benefits of seafood, recently asked moms across the country to share some of their tips for getting their kids to love seafood. Here are some great tips that helped many moms turn their kids into Seafoodies:

1.  Make it look fun. For younger kids, this can simply be a meal that’s visually appealing, like a sandwich shaped like a fish. Older kids can get involved in prepping, mixing and matching colorful fish and vegetable skewers.

2.  Dip it. Seafood, the perfect dipping device! Most moms said dipping sauces like ketchup, ranch dressing, tartar sauce, or barbecue sauce are a great way to get their kids to try seafood.

We couldn’t agree more, which is why we created Rubio’s Kid’s Dippers menu items. Our Fish Dippers features hand-battered wild-caught, sustainable Alaska Pollock fish fillets and seasoned fries, served with Ranch dressing or ketchup to dip – and they’re 100% kiddo-approved.

3. Top it. When you prepare fish, brush on some sauce for added flavor. Great options include an orange maple glaze, some pesto sauce, or lemon herb and butter sauce. If your kids love tomato or fruit salsa, or even guacamole, they also make delicious seafood toppers, and they add even more nutrients to the plate.

4. Add it to a favorite food. Try topping a pizza with some baby shrimp (get the frozen ones to keep it easy), stirring in some tuna to mac and cheese, or grilling up some halibut for fish tacos. When you add seafood to foods your family already knows and loves, it’s easy to create healthy variations on family favorites.

5. Keep trying! Moms agree, seafood on the menu doesn’t happen overnight – it’s a bit of trial and error. What’s important is to get rid of preconceived notions about what your kids will like or dislike and offer up seafood in different ways with different flavors. Another way to successfully integrate seafood into a child’s diet is to offer it on a consistent basis. Kids are more likely to shy away from something that’s unfamiliar, so aim to make it familiar and a regular part of the dinner rotation.

And last, but not least – Put it on YOUR plate. Kids often model their parent’s behavior, so be a role model by eating the foods you want your child to eat and make Rubio’s a regular stop in your routine.