creating a healthy lifestyle for mothers and women everywhere

Friday, November 11, 2011

Twin Food

So, I have received several e-mails asking about what I feed the twinners.

So if your not a mom, then you probably don’t care to read this.. so come back tomorrow for more some more rants.

Anyway,now that they are almost 16 months old they pretty much eat what we eat now. Give or take.. Some ends up on the floor.. or in their hair.. or even more likely.. in mine..  But with that being said.. I was actually excited to do this post because I think your childs health from the beginning is very important.  I am however just a mom. I’m not a pediatric dietician professional. I’m not going to judge you if you throw your kid a ding dong.

I aim to feed the twins healthy and nutritious foods every day. Making sure they get whole grains, protein, fresh fruits and veggies etc. I make sure to avoid any snacks that are highly processed, contain HFCS, high sugars etc.

 

As with my meals, I will admit its not exactly easy to eat clean ALL the time. But it can be. If you prepare!!

It takes preparation. I have most the food prepared in advance chicken, sweet potatoes, veggies, rice, quinoa etc.

This was just the babes meals yesterday!

Breakfast:

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I didn’t say it was pretty.

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C’mon its baby food! Quick oats heated in the microwave with 1 whole egg and a little water for 1:30. Mix in a little brown sugar and PB and they LOVE it.

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I can usually get them to take about 3-4 bites before one of them wants to take over…

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Oatmeal on him, my hands, the floor etc.

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Good job, buddy.

Lunch: Yogurt, eggs, banana.. It was a really quick lunch today. B & T love eggs!

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These little Dora yogurt cups are perfectly sized for kids and contain low sugar. It also turns into a fight with a utensil..

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Dinner:

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Chicken, sweet potatoes, avocado and mandarin oranges. B honestly could eat the WHOLE can of oranges.. she loves them! She always is signing for more when they disappear off her plate.

Now, I will honestly admit they don’t eat this neatly and organized all the time. They are one folks. Two of them and one of me. Sometimes we sit and eat on the floor. Yes, I put the plate on the floor like we are dogs and we eat on the ground Chinese style. I don’t know why but they seem to eat more when we do that instead of the fun game of standing in their high chairs and seeing how many times mom will pick up the food that gets knocked onto the floor. Then there are the times we eat lunch through samples at Costco.. Don’t pretend like you have never done it. It’s just how we roll.

Do they like everything I feed them..

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no.

But I am glad that they like mostly everything that we eat. Even if takes a little coaxing sometimes..

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Their diet also contains:

Fish, pancakes, PB and jelly sandwiches, rice, quinoa, steamed carrots, broccoli, Peas, corn, grapes, RASPBERRIES, blueberries.. they can’t get enough.

Until they were one I was pretty strict on the whole sugar thing making sure they weren’t fed sugary snacks, ice cream, cake etc. Which was pretty hard, especially around family because for some reason people found it humorous to watch their facial expressions with the taste of something. But word to the wise.. Only mom wants to do that..

Now, I’m a little bit more lenient and I’ll give them a cookie or a dum-dum, cake at a family gathering.  I just make sure to limit it and since I don’t really keep much in the house its not to bad. Also I don’t really use them as a reward for anything more like a distractionWinking smile.  Which lasts about 2.2 sec. anyway.

Snacks-

Kids need snacks.. heck. MOM’s need snacks.  But what is a healthy snack that doesn’t involve highly processed, HFCS, or sugar?

There are plenty of options! But again.. You’re the mom, you decide what you feed your children. This is just what I give my kiddos and it works great for us!

T & B love these animal crackers from Costco! Organic, whole wheat vanilla tiggers and poohs.

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Fruit Pouches:

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REAL fruit. No preservatives. No added sugars. They are quick and easy! And they are usually on sale! Bonus.

Other snacks my kids eat:

Goldfish- duh. what kid doesn’t

Muffin cakes

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String Cheese

Graham crackers (Check for HFCS)

Drinks:

This is where I actually hesitate to post this. But I’m just giving my opinion. So don’t get all defensive on my rear. Again. You’re the mom to your kid.

But here we go:

I think parents OVER do it on drinks. Yes, T & B drink Apple juice, Pear juice and Whole milk. But ONLY at meal times.

Other than that they have water in their sippy cups/bottles (I’m working on getting them off bottles.. )

A lot of moms give their kids juice or chocolate milk in their bottle ALL day long!

They need H2O folks. Not the carbonated kind with syrup.. but  good ole’ plain water! Working in the dental field I experienced thousands of cases of dental decay due to what we call “baby bottle rot” Once your baby has teeth you have to brush them, and you can’t put them to bed EVERY night with a bottle full of sugar aka- milk or juice.

There is NOTHING wrong with giving them water, they don’t need juice or milk every time they are thirsty!!

Rant over:  

P.S. They will get used to it.. I did it from the get go so T &B actually like water and don’t mind it. But if they are used to juice and milk all the time it might be a struggle for a little bit.

 

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They will jump on the bus soon enoughSmile

5 comments:

  1. Great post! Book marking!! Agree with your thoughts on juice and chocolate milk!

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  2. My little guys only get milk/juice after breakfast, and after dinner. My youngest only does Almond milk. Honestly, there is enough dairy in the american diet anyway. my two cents.
    Thanks for the post :)

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  3. Love this post! Snacks I love- cheerio's, apple sauce, graham crackers, apples, bananas, my mom's homemade all natural fruit leathers. It was amazing to me how much more aware I was of what we ate when I had to start feeding it to my perfect little child who's body had never been intoxicated by processed food.

    PS I HATE it when people try to feed my babies real food. Even when they ask because it's usually something that is a stupid question like, "Can they have some marshmellow?" Hello- NO!

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  4. Amen to the water water water!! But I guess we're weird dental assistants that know what happens to the teeth!!:)

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  5. Love this Post. I'm a working Mom and have to pack a lunch and depend on someone else to feed my kid during the day. So sometimes I don't get to choose all the time. But I try and my little one LOVE LOVE LOVES his Fruits and Veggies! He will eat a Whole Tomato over anything else and is always asking for a Nana (Banana) I also don't buy Juices very often. And the way I got my little one to drink lots of Water instead of his bottle of milk (Especially in the summer when it's hot and he needs to stay Hydrated) I let him be a big boy and gave him a big boy cup. He Loved drinking out of it himself. And hey....if he spilt any....it's just water. Now he loves drinking lots of water. How are you doing your Bottle Weening? I just barely got my little man off the bottle a few months ago.....it took longer than I wanted. Mainly because of the Working and depending on other people to help me out when watching my kid thing.

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