Charlie has been a picky eater since he started solids, so if he actually likes a dish, it may very well be a hit with your little ones too! I’ve really been trying to get our family to eat more fish so I made this tilapia dish last week, and both Charlie and Olive ate it up — truly a glorious feat!

Tilapia is the most popular farmed fish in America. But, this New York Times piece questioned the nutritional value of farm-raised tilapia, which are fed corn and soy, so I’m going to make sure to buy only wild tilapia from now on. This is the type of thing I probably wouldn’t have thought about before having kids. But now I just want to make sure that I’m feeding them the most nutritious food possible (that I can get them to eat of course!).

I love that I only need to buy fish to make this dish because I always have the other ingredients on hand. Prep time is only a couple of minutes, so I can cook side dishes while it’s baking in the oven and get dinner on the table within 30 minutes. It’s quick, easy, tasty, and healthy!


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Ingredients:

3 tilapia filets (1 for me, 1 for Mr. Bee, 1 for the kids to split)
2 tb butter
2 cloves minced garlic
salt
pepper
dried parsley
dash paprika

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. I always do this because it makes clean-up easier. Melt the butter in the microwave (or in a saucepan if you’re less lazy than I am), mix in seasonings, and baste both sides of the tilapia filets. Charlie and Olive love garlic and herbs, so I’m not shy about being generous with them. I’ve also made this with some grated parmesan cheese on top, but I omit salt if I’m using cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Charlie had corn on the cob as a side dish, and Olive had asparagus sauteed in butter with a little bit of salt and pepper. She actually loves asparagus; Charlie does not. One of the tricks I also use to get Charlie to eat is give him this little condiment shaker filled with grated parmesan cheese. When he’s a part of the food making process, he eats much better. This dish is now a part of our regular rotation of dinners.

Enjoy!