Giving birth to twins makes for twice the joy. Of course, the challenges that come from raising twins may be a bit overwhelming, but they will still be the most fulfilling and rewarding thing you’ll ever get to do. Still, the challenge that not many young mothers may be instantly aware of is the meal prep and necessary adjustments. After all, you’ll be cooking for a large family. Not to mention that your twins may have quite a different taste for food. This is not the end of the world of course, and the best thing you can do is to actually pay attention to what your kids want and ask for. This is the best recipe for success. As you try to incorporate diverse foods into their meals, there will be plenty of trial and error, but don’t focus on that. Something like that is perfectly normal. As you try your best to prepare delicious and healthy food, you’ll get the gist of it soon enough.
Make a plan
There will be plenty of mixing as you try to feed your twins homemade food. This is why you need to stick to the meal plan. Allow yourself some time to figure out what they like and what they don’t. Sometimes, the problem won’t be in the taste but the warmth, and stuff like that. Once you have an idea about their preferences, you can effectively meal plan for the whole week. This will be the most efficient as well as the most cost-effective solution to feeding a large family. As you prepare your recipes and see them clearly, you’ll also have it much easier to mix things up and make sure that your children’s diet is diverse and balanced.
The food process
Around 4-6 months is the usual time when you should put your little bundles of joy on solid food. When you’re feeding twins, constantly buying the double amount of baby food jars can end up really expensive. Making your own baby food, on the other hand, can be very cost-effective. The bonus point is the fact that you control the ingredients perfectly. Obviously, blending fruits and mixing the blend with water is the perfect start to solid food. So, what should your first choices be? Banana and avocado. You may be surprised to see avocado on this list but it tends to be one of the best foods for baby’s first solid bite. Make sure that you introduce new foods every 4 days or so, so that your children can get used to the taste and realize when they’re trying something new. This will show their reaction the best. However, don’t give up instantly if they reject the food at first. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of warming up. Aside from the initial banana and avocado, carrots and sweet potatoes are generally liked and easily accepted by small kids.
As they get older, you’ll get to clearly see their reactions to food. If luck would have it, your twins will have the same taste. But in case they don’t, worry not! There’s always a way to make things work for you. For instance, if one likes apples and the other likes pears, you can simply mix the two together. This trick won’t work for every fruit and vegetable, but there are ways to try and incorporate them. If you’re worried about your twins (or one of them) not liking green veggies, mix broccoli or zucchini with carrots, sweet/white potatoes. Their taste is mild and easily maskable in a puree but they are very healthy for a young child.
The right investment
In all honesty, your kitchen is probably going to look really messy. But, never underestimate the power of certain appliances that you may never have even thought about before having twins. For starters, a blender and a potato ricer will be your saviors. As dishes pile up, don’t hesitate to invest in a durable and energy-efficient Frigidaire dishwashers and look up slow cookers as well. A slow cooker will allow you to make tasty soups and stews for your babies. You get to mix ingredients like chicken stock, veggies, beans, rice, chicken, pastina or couscous, and still have the meal soft enough for your kids.
Prepare in advance
As you stick to your meal plan and buy only the specific groceries from your list, you’ll get to control your kids’ diet effectively, which is something you’ll dearly miss sooner than you may expect. They’ll start asking for junk food and sweets too soon. But, when it comes to proper prep, aside from meal planning, don’t hesitate to freeze your purees, soups and stews. You really don’t need expensive Tupperware for this. Actually, your dollar-store containers and freezer-safe Ziploc bags are perfectly fine. This will be the key factor to dealing with a fickle baby if it turns out that one of your twins (or both of them) really don’t like the new cuisine invention you’ve come up with. Already prepared foods that you know they like will allow you to feed the kids and get back to creating different combos.
Have fun with your culinary experiments. Even mistakes can be enjoyable when you get to learn from them and come up with new recipes your twins will actually enjoy.
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