Ask our expert: My kids love to see spring lambs prancing around the farm fields but I can't get then to eat it? Any tips? Lisa Penwick, Leicester

Beverley Glock writes: This really depends whether your children refuse to eat it because they associate it with the lambs prancing around in the field or whether they refuse to eat because they have tried it and genuinely don’t like it.

A few years ago a friend of mine was out for a walk in the countryside with her 5-year-old son when they saw a field with sheep and lovely, fluffy lambs. The small boy asked the question that my friend has dreaded for a long time: “Mummy, are they the lambs we eat for Sunday lunch?”

Now, my friend had always promised herself that she would never lie to her children. But she had an internal debate about ‘Do I tell him the truth and have to make vegetarian meals forever, or do I forsake my values and lie?’

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She decided to tell the truth. The small boy immediately ran over to the field, climbed on the stile and yelled: “I’m going to eat you!” She breathed a sigh of relief and then began to worry about whether her son may need therapy in later years.

My eldest daughter, on the other hand, had a slightly different reaction to finding out that lambs and roast lamb were the same thing – she won’t eat it. She has tried it and dislikes it, but it is the only food she is allowed not to eat. I’m not letting her get away with anything else.

When she goes to my best friends’ house for supper – which is a regular event – she always eats the chilli, she just doesn’t know that it’s made with lamb mince as that’s what my friend always uses. She has never asked. If she did I would tell her. At the moment I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.

Lamb does tend to have quite a strong flavour and can be rather fatty so once children get older you may have more luck with it. In the meantime, just encourage them to try it, and cook it in different ways: try thin lamb chops grilled until the fat is crispy, we had these on holiday in Greece and my children loved them.

One of my favourite lamb recipes is to use cubes of very lean leg of lamb marinated in tandoori paste mixed with natural yoghurt, lemon juice and fresh mint. These are barbecued and served in warm pitta bread with crunchy salad drizzled with more live yoghurt and mint sauce.

You can also replace beef mince for lamb mince in spaghetti bolognaise or chilli to give the dish a slightly different flavour. Home-made lamb burgers are also a great hit at barbecues, all you need is lamb mince, chopped mint, grated onion and carrot and an egg to bind it together.

Lamb and beef mince can be swapped over in most recipes, Shepherd's Pie uses lamb mince and Cottage Pie uses beef mince. I'll keep giving my children different meats and dishes and as their tastes change they will decide which foods they like.

Got a question about children and food? Use the comment box below to post your question for our children's food expert Beverley Glock

For more information visit: www.splatcooking.net and www.beverleyglock.com

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