Opposite eaters

Does anyone else have twins that like completely different foods? How do you handle it for meals?

Piper will eat almost anything, but doesn't love fruit. She gladly tries anything we put in front of her, and likes medium spicy food. She tends to like creamy foods, carbs, and soups. Her recent favourites are hummus, quinoa, beef barley soup, and red peppers. The only "foods" Piper refuses are milk and lettuce, but she's a light eater so each bite needs to provide something of value.

Cricket, on the other hand, is a typical picky toddler. She loves all fruits and would gladly live on mango, strawberries, mac-n-cheese and whole milk. She doesn't want to try anything new, even if it's a combination of two foods she likes. Take mashed potatoes and ground beef, for example. Separately she'll eat them, but together they equal poison. She's actually a very good eater in terms of quantity, but her range of choices is so limited. And, she has the world's lowest tolerance for spice. The girl practically cries if there's even a hint of heat in her meal. I was an incredibly picky eater as a child and Cricket seems to be taking after me.

I'm at a loss for what to do for meals. They'll both eat the easy preschooler meals like mac-n-cheese, fish sticks, tacos, and spaghetti with butter and cheese. But once I exhaust those possibilities, I basically have to cook two meals - one for DH, Piper and me, and one for Cricket who likes a smaller range of foods.

So what to do? Have any of you dealt with opposite eaters? Do you have any tips? Meal suggestions?

 

Luke is super picky & will eat only a handful of foods. He is really good with fruits & raw veggies, but not so good at most other things. I will usually just make dinner & give him a bit of whatever we are having, then add some fruits & veggies to his plate along with a piece of bread with butter and a couple of slices of cheese. I do insist that he take at least 1 bite of whatever I am serving but if he doesn't like it at least I know he is getting some nutrition from the other food & I am not actually cooking a separate meal for him.

 

What has worked with all of my children (except Sabrina), is to just make dinner and let them decide to eat it or not. If they don't, fine. But that's it. There's nothing else. They may go to bed hungry, but it doesn't take too long before they realize you mean business and they'll eat at least some of dinner, even if they totally avoid the side of broccoli or whatever. My oldest was super picky, and I was starting to do this, but worried about it. My pedi assured me that it was the best thing to do and that she wouldn't suffer from it at all.

With Sabrina, I just can't. She's so tiny, that she needs every calorie I can get in her. She's better now than she used to be, and I do require her to have a "no-thank you helping" of everything, just like everyone else. But I try to make sure there is something that she'll be happy with for dinner. And if she's not hungry at dinner, she's allowed to put it in the fridge and have it later. She has vision issues that we're discovering may contribute to her crazy night-owl schedule, and she'll often eat dinner at 9:30 or 10, that she wouldn't at dinnertime.

I obviously don't have all the answers, but I think with most kids you don't have to worry about them starving. Maybe if you have something that's a little spicy, pull a small amount out for her before you add the heat. But other than that, I hate feeling like a short order cook, so I make 1 meal and it's what we all eat... or don't... it's up to them. Unless it's Sabrina, and then who knows?

 

Same thing here. One very picky and one who will eat just about anything. It's very difficult at times. Lorien is beyond picky. No veggies, no pasta, no rice and things she seems to like one day, she decides she hates the next. The latest to leave her list of likes are hotdogs. I have almost always prepare a different meal for her than what dh, me and arwen eat. it's super frustrating, but i was the same way and I just hope that she comes out of it one day. I feel like I offer her the same 5 foods for every meal. But, as long as they have some nutritional value to them, I guess it's okay for now. I've tried the, you eat we eat or eat nothing at all and well, she chooses nothing at all and that just doesn't work for me. Especially since she tends to get overly emotional when she goes to long without eating something.

Anyway, you are not alone is my point.

 

My girls like opposite foods one likes carbs and starches and the other likes more veggies and chicken. They both love fruit. My son is picky at times, he may eat something one day and the next time I serve it he says he doesn't like it. I make one meal for everyone. It usually has the base which is the meat or pasta that everyone is to try and then then the sides I make sure that my girls will eat at least one of the two sides I am serving (like mashed potatoes for the one and the other will eat cooked carrots). My son won't eat either so I usually have apple sauce or some type of fruit that he likes also on the table. If there is a meal that I know my kids won't eat but I am in the mood for something else I will make them something like if we are having egg plant rollitini I was also have baked ziti or something or have chicken nuggets if the don't like the meat.

 

This is pretty much what we do. My guys are opposite eaters too, and I worry that in the future one will have a weight problem while the other is skinny. Nate eats significantly more than Jack but is pickier; go figure! But right now he's smaller than Jack, so I let them eat what they want and try not to stress about it.

Anyway, I do what Becky does and make meals that have a little something for everyone. They are allowed to pick and choose what they eat, even if it's just bread and milk; there are worse things than having just bread and milk for dinner! I always have a starch (bread, noodles, potatoes, rice, etc.), a veggie and/or fruit, and a protein, and they eat what they want.

It's really hard to not worry about them getting what they need, but I find that the more I stress about it, the worse they eat. And I don't have time to cook or even think about separate meals. I do plan things that I think they would like, but we only make 1 meal. Thinking about it, I guess the key is lots of side-dishes! :laughing:

Good luck!

 

I don't have opposite eaters, but I have one (Amy) who is merely picky, and one (Sarah) who eats almost nothing. I can't say I've solved the problem, but my personal limit is that I won't actually COOK two (or three!) different things. I make one "meal," but then also offer a lot of extras like plain bread, plain pasta, fruit, shredded cheese, etc. Also, if she really "can't" eat anything on the table, Sarah is empowered to go get herself a yogurt from the fridge.

It's still a pain in the neck to get all that stuff on the table, and I keep wondering whether I should just put my foot down and say, "This is dinner, eat it or don't." But so far, I haven't been willing to deal with the screaming that would ensue.

We also don't do the one-bite rule. I think we should, but again, the screaming.... :escape: