A Unique Child: Nutrition - How to make the most of ... Tinned fish

Few kitchen jobs are simpler than opening a tin. And if the contents are tasty, exceptionally nutritious and a bargain, then we're on to a winner. With tinned fish, there's plenty of variety: sardines, pilchards, mackerel, tuna, salmon - each kind with its own flavour and uses, although sardines (and pilchards, which are a kind of sardine) are the most beneficial.

Nutritional value

Oily fish are so called because, unlike white fish, their oil is distributed throughout their flesh. These oils are highly beneficial. They are low in saturated, 'bad' fat, and exceptionally high in the long-chain omega-3 oils, the 'good' fat. Fish are the only rich source of these good oils in the UK diet and are essential to the proper development of the brain and blood vessels. Embryos, babies and young children have a particular need because their brains are still developing.

In addition, oily fish have a wide range of nutrients which can help protect against heart disease, eczema and asthma. It is recommended that children should eat oily fish once a week. Babies over nine months can be given flakes of oily fish such as mackerel or salmon, perhaps as finger food.

Because of the salt content, fish canned in brine should be avoided. Sardines canned in water should also be avoided, because children will probably find them less enjoyable. The texture is very firm and the bones can be hard and even sharp in the mouth.

Essential omega-3 oils

Omega-3 oils are sometimes referred to as the 'essential fatty acids' of our diet, so called because they are essential for the normal growth and development of young children and animals. They are vital to the proper functioning of every part of the body, particularly the heart and brain. Indeed, because of their benefits to brain function, they have been linked to calm behaviour and even improved performance at school.

We need a balance in our consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 oils. A ratio of 1:1 is ideal, but in the UK we now eat between ten and 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3. In fact, too much omega-6 negates the effects of omega-3, so we need to eat much more of the foods that supply omega-3.

Sardines are easily our richest source. They are also economical, strongly flavoured (so a little goes a long way) and sustainable and, being small, they're low down in the food chain and thus very low in contaminants such as mercury. They also have abundant calcium and vitamin D. A 120g tin of sardines in sunflower oil has an amazing 550mg of calcium and 5mcg of vitamin D, and sardines in tomato have slightly more.

Tuna has the least omega-3, as much of it is lost in the canning process. However, there is some benefit, and it can be a mild-tasting introduction to oily fish; it can also be usefully combined with other fish, such as salmon.

Besides oily fish, other good sources of omega-3 oils include breast milk, green leafy vegetables, walnuts and other nuts, eggs, wheatgerm, avocado, pumpkin seeds, olive and rapeseed oil, soybeans and soybean oil.

Using canned oily fish

- Scatter thin slivers of sardine or pilchard over pizzas.

- Salmon scrambled egg is scrumptious and also good served cold on bread.

- Make sardine, pilchard or salmon pate: beat into curd cheese or creme fraiche to eat on toast.

- Put slivers of sardines on finely shredded lettuce on hot toast.

- Mix pieces of sardine, avocado, tomato and shredded lettuce, and eat with French bread.

- Make kedgeree with salmon and tuna.

- Serve pasta or couscous with tomato sauce and tinned mackerel pieces.

- Make salmon-and-tuna fishcakes.

- Make sandwiches with tuna, a little mayonnaise, shredded lettuce and sweetcorn or tomato.

- For a summery salad meal, toss flakes of salmon, thin cucumber sticks, cherry tomato quarters, shredded lettuce and diced warm potato in olive oil and lemon juice; also good with hot toast.

- For a quick, delicious soup, fry curry powder and flour in butter for two minutes, stir in chicken stock and milk and boil up. Add tinned sweetcorn and mashed sardines and tuna.

- For fun, lift out the sardine's soft spine bone, discard the dark strip alongside it, and let a child crunch the bones; the soft bones in most tinned fish can be crunched or mashed and eaten as a superb source of calcium.

- Although all parts of tinned sardines are sterilised and edible, I find that sometimes the 'trail' (intestines) can slightly spoil the flavour. If the sardines are opened down the front with a fork, the trail can easily be removed.

Sustainable fish

Happily, sardines and pilchards are sustainable, so can be served with a clear conscience, as can Alaskan Pacific salmon. Go easy on tuna, however, which is under threat, whatever it may say on the tin. Also, as a very large fish it's more at risk from contamination.

Chief nutrients in tinned fish

                           Sardines     Sardines       Pilchards     Tuna    Salmon
                             in oil        in tomato     in tomato     in oil  

                                    
Omega-3 oil (g)          *             2.11            2.97        1.22      1.85
Monounsaturated        4.7            3.4             1.5           2.2       3.5
fat (g)
Polyunsaturated          4.8            3.7             2.3          4.5         2.4
fat (g)
Potassium (mg)         430           410             420         260         300
Calcium (mgs)           550           460             300           12          93
Iron (mg)                  2.9            4.6             2.7           1.6         1.4
Zinc (mg)                   3.0           2.7             1.6            1.1        0.9
Iodine (mcg)               23             *               64            14          59
Selenium (mcg)            50           37              30             90         25
Carotene (mcg)          trace         142            142           trace       trace
Retinol (mcg)               11             9               8              *           35
Vitamin D (mcg)           7.5            7.5             8            5.8         12.5
Vitamin E (mg)            0.30           0.53          0.70           *         1.50
Niacin (mg)                 8.2             5.5             7.6           16.1        7
* not listed
Retinol and carotene together form vitamin A
Source: The Composition of Foods by MacCance and Widdowson

GET COOKING

The Essential Early Years Cookbook, published by the Pre-school Learning Alliance, includes a wide range of recipes for young children

Sardine Bolognese Serves 10
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
4 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 green peppers, de-seeded and chopped
300g mushrooms, finely chopped
8 x 120g canned sardines
2 x 400g canned chopped tomatoes
50g tomato puree
2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
900g spaghetti

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions until soft. Add the carrots, celery and green peppers and cook for about 15 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further five minutes.

3. Stir in the drained sardines, chopped tomatoes, the tomato puree and the mixed herbs and continue cooking gently for another five minutes or until the final ingredients are thoroughly heated through.

4. Meanwhile, place the spaghetti in a large saucepan of boiling water and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente, basically so it has a slight bite but is not too soggy.

5. Drain the spaghetti and add a sprinkle of olive oil to keep it from sticking.

6. Stir in the sauce and serve.

This bolognese sauce works surprisingly well with sardines in place of minced beef. The sardines are a good source of protein and provide plenty of omega 3 fats, needed for brain development.

Nutrient analysis per serving

Energy (kcal): 412

Protein (g): 30.9

Fat (g): 15.1

Carbohydrate (g): 38.5

Fruit and yoghurt bars Serves 10
Ingredients
75g unsaturated spread
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
175g rolled oats
50g sunflower seeds
100g dried apricot pieces
100g dates
100g raisins
4 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degsC (325 degsF) or Gas 3.
2. Lightly grease shallow rectangular cake tins.
3. Melt the unsaturated spread and honey in a large saucepan.
4. Stir in all the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Turn out into the cake tins and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Cut into bars to serve.
Nutrient analysis per serving
Energy (kcal): 286
Protein (g): 7.2
Fat (g): 9.5
Carbohydrate (g): 4.2

To order

The Essential Early Years Cookbook (£19.95 for Pre-school Learning Alliance members, £25.95 for non-members) includes nutritional guidance, practical affordable recipes, information on planning balanced menus for young children, a best-practice checklist and advice on cooking with children.

Also new from the Alliance is Feeding Young Imaginations - Nutritional guidance for the under-fives. Priced £3.75 for members and £4.95 for non-members, this short guide covers the basics of healthy eating for young children.

To order either title, tel: 020 7697 2595, e-mail: info@pre-school.org.uk or visit www.pre-school.org.uk.