26: Feeding Twins: Balancing Nutrition, Picky Eating and Fun at the Table with Edwina Clark, RD

Edwina is a Registered Dietitian, dually credentialed in the U.S. and Australia, and a mother of toddler twin girls. She specializes in translating complex science into consumer-friendly messages and is a sought-after nutrition expert, brand advisor, and media spokesperson. A long-time advocate for pediatric nutrition, Edwina founded Baby Led Basics and wrote 'The Busy Parents Guide to Baby-Led Weaning', to help busy parents like herself introduce solids and raise healthy eaters calmly and confidently.

In this episode, Sarah and Edwina discuss the challenges and joys of feeding toddlers, including baby-led weaning, handling picky eating, and creating a positive mealtime environment. Edwina shares her experiences and tips for involving children in the kitchen, managing (international) travel with kids, and balancing nutrition with convenience!

Key Takeaways: 

• Involving kids in the kitchen helps build their confidence and skills.
• Baby-led weaning encourages motor skill development and food exploration.
• Understanding the difference between choking and gagging can reduce anxiety around baby led weaning
• Family meals at the table foster better eating habits and family bonds.
• Traveling with kids is challenging, but can offer cultural exposure and resilience.
• It's important to create a positive feeding environment. 
• Balancing convenience with nutrition is essential for busy parents.
• Offering a variety of foods helps develop a child's palate.
• Edwina shares lessons of parenting and feeding twins. 
• Parents should focus on the long-term game of nutrition, not just daily meals.

Grab the kid friendly knives!

More BLW resources:

• Ultimate BLW Ebook (20+ recipes + tips for allergens)
• Baby led weaning ideas for 7 months
• Baby led weaning recipes

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Feeding Twins
• 4:37 Introducing Solids: The Baby-Led Weaning Journey
• 8:47 Mealtime Dynamics with Toddlers
• 11:48 Navigating Picky Eating Phases
• 14:41 Favorite Meals and Food Preferences
• 19:07 Traveling with Twins: Tips and Tricks
• 25:29 Treats and Building a Healthy Relationship with Food
• 29:48 Creating a Positive Feeding Environment
• 32:51 Lessons Learned from Parenting Twins
• 34:52 Lazy Mom Dinner Ideas and Simplifying Meals

Transcript

Sarah Schlichter (00:37.892)
Welcome back to the podcast everyone. If you are a mom of twins or a soon to be mom of twins or have always wanted twins or even just wondered what that dynamic is like, you are going to love today's episode. So we have my friend and colleague on and I'm gonna go ahead and let her introduce herself.

Edwina Clark (00:58.062)
Thanks for having me, Sarah. I'm so excited to have a chat about feeding twins today. I'm Edwina Clark, I'm a registered dietitian, much like Sarah, and I have two and a half year old twin girls, Ella and Emma.

Sarah Schlichter (01:12.472)
Yes and you said they're two and a half so we're kind of right in that I feel like phase where they're probably becoming a lot more independent, wanting more autonomy, voicing their opinions more. Does that sound accurate?

Edwina Clark (01:27.348)
Lae-Anne sounds very accurate. definitely, they're definitely not shy with sharing their opinions these days. We're working on Please and Thank You, which has been a long journey to say the least, but slowly but surely we're getting there.

Sarah Schlichter (01:44.044)
yeah and i've meant to ask you this do they have so edwina is from australia do they have any accent

Edwina Clark (01:53.11)
So I've noticed they say banana instead of banana. And my husband sometimes says yeah mate to them. He's American, but he likes to say yeah mate, which he picked up probably from our Aussie friends. And so they have started saying yeah mate, which is very, very funny coming from a two and a half year old's mouth. yeah, they otherwise, you know, have little American accents.

Sarah Schlichter (02:10.916)
I love it.

Yeah.

Edwina Clark (02:21.991)
I thought it would feel a little bit weird to have kids that didn't have the same accent as me, but it totally doesn't. It very normal.

Sarah Schlichter (02:29.61)
Yeah, yeah, I love it. Okay, so take us back to maybe around the six month mark when you were starting to introduce solid. So I know you're kind of an expert in that area, but these were your first children. So what were you feeling? And what was that experience like?

Edwina Clark (02:47.51)
Yeah, so a couple of years ago I wrote an ebook on baby-led weaning. It's always been something that I'm interested in and a passion of mine. I love my pediatric rotation during my internship. And so when the girls hit five and a half months, I was so excited to introduce them to food. And they started getting quite curious about food and sort of grabbing our food.

before that and so I knew that they were ready. In addition to grabbing at our food, they were also sitting up in their high chair, they could bring their hands to their mouth. They have some of those other signs that they were ready to start salads.

Sarah Schlichter (03:35.158)
Yeah, and did they both take to it right away? Like were there any key differences in either of them? Like one was way more interested, one was throwing food more.

Edwina Clark (03:47.53)
Yeah, so I have to think back a little bit about that one. They're definitely very different people and they like some foods more than others and have their own set of food preferences. I think I have one child who's a little bit messier and so she really liked to experience food, which made for some very messy and fun dinner times.

She liked to touch it and rub it into a tray and rub it all over her face and that kind of thing. And then I have another child that was a little bit more cautious and is just a little bit more cautious in general in life. But I would say both of them took to it pretty quickly. And I think one of the nice things about baby led weaning is that you really quickly see the motor skills develop. And I don't know if you've seen this with your kids as well.

They go from struggling to grab that mushy bit of sweet potato to getting their pincer grasp and being able to very competently get food into their mouth. And so it goes remarkably quickly. And I think that was something that was really surprising about the experience.

Sarah Schlichter (05:05.208)
Yeah, I know. It is like sometimes it's hard for me to even think back to my youngest who's about to be three. Like, what was that journey two and a half years ago? And it kind of just feels very quick. Cause like you said, they're developing their skills quickly. So it felt like by like nine months, I was offering him like full meals and he was all into it. But that could also be, he had older sisters that he was watching and also like some amnesia in my brain, I'm sure.

Edwina Clark (05:32.812)
Yeah, I think at the time, this is like everything with the kids, at the time, starting solids feels intimidating. Or I think my husband said to me, do we have to do this much cleaning every day at dinner? And so initially it felt really intimidating, but it quickly became second nature. And now they pull themselves up into their booster chairs and competently.

handle their forks and spoons and have no worries. But initially it can be quite intimidating, especially when you're seeing them gagging or coughing as they try to get food into their mouth during those initial stages.

Sarah Schlichter (06:19.95)
Mm-hmm, totally. remember feeling that each even with subsequent kids like my first I remember I thought she was choking so I like turned her over and I'm like hitting her on the back and I Don't think she was choking. I was just freaking out But I still always in the early stages feel a little Scared and nervous, but then once you watch them you do realize how confident they are and it's like sit on my hands and look happy and not look nervous for them because they really do follow your cues

Edwina Clark (06:50.356)
Yeah, I think so. I think it is helpful for parents to know the difference between choking and gagging because they are very different. The kids will generally gag on food quite a lot and that can be very anxiety provoking. So just knowing the difference between those two is something really important and probably can lessen the anxiety.

as people move through the experience of giving solids for the first time.

Sarah Schlichter (07:21.622)
Yes, I totally agree with that. Okay, so now two and a half. What does mealtime look like with two toddlers at the table? Are they involved? Are they setting the table? Are they helping with anything? Like tell us the dynamic now.

Edwina Clark (07:38.604)
Yeah, so I get them involved in the kitchen, and I'm sure you'll like this too, Sarah, because I know you cook a lot. I get them involved in the kitchen wherever I can. So one of the things that we did as soon as they were ready and interested was they got to mash the avocado for guacamole, and they still love doing that. And some of it does get in their mouth. I've caught them licking them.

Sarah Schlichter (08:05.7)
Hmm.

Edwina Clark (08:08.872)
potato masher several times. But yeah, we get them involved wherever we can. Things like turning the blender on and off if I'm making something, know, if I'm making pancakes and I'm whipping the batter up in the blender, they get to turn the blender on and off. Recently we actually made tortillas together and so they used cake tin to smash down the tortilla mixture and make tortillas and they

loved that. They can also do things like scoop and pour things into a bowl. And then we also have little safe knives for them. And so we've started to get them to cut soft foods. Or at least, even if they're not actually chopping for the meal, they're just chopping to give them something to do while I...

Sarah Schlichter (09:04.45)
The same, same.

Edwina Clark (09:05.805)
Yeah, so there's lots of different ways to get... I think you don't really realise, but there are lots of different ways to get kids involved that don't involve putting something in the oven or putting their hand on the burner.

Sarah Schlichter (09:24.836)
Yeah, I think that's such a good point. And the kids safe knives are life changing. Like we, I've had them through all the kids and you know, I'll just have Sawyer, my youngest, can you cut some strawberries up? He loves it. And like, he's really getting so much better through the practice. And like, I can kind of turn my head. I'm not super nervous about it. And sometimes he will cut things for dinner. But to your point, I mean, it's great for them to be involved any way possible.

Edwina Clark (09:52.866)
Yeah, and it's also giving them confidence, not just the motor skill development, but also confidence to take on tasks and problem solving and navigating around challenges like having a strawberry stalk in your way as you're trying to cut your strawberries, that kind of thing. So yeah, I'm a big fan getting kids involved in the kitchen.

Sarah Schlichter (10:13.814)
Yeah. Have you had any or are you going through any picky eating phases or selective eating? Maybe there's foods they used to like or they're refusing to try new foods. Do you have any of that going on?

Edwina Clark (10:29.582)
Yeah, so I was thinking about this actually prior to our call and the girls have had various food jags. think the most notable one was last year, it was the great pasta strike of 2024. One of my kids would not eat pasta, would only eat the Bolognese sauce and just skip the pasta altogether while the other one just absolutely couldn't get enough pasta. And so we just kept offering it.

Sarah Schlichter (10:40.888)
Yeah.

Edwina Clark (10:57.998)
I make one meal. There's always something on the plate that I know both the girls will eat. I make one meal and I mean I think we're fortunate in a lot of ways they're not super, super picky. But yeah, one of my kids went through a stage where she didn't want to eat pasta. We kept offering it and she's still a little bit lukewarm on pasta but she'll definitely eat it. And so...

I think, and one of the things I've said to friends and other colleagues with kids who are picky eaters is keep going, keep trying, keep exposing them, even if they don't like it the first time. Maybe they'll like it the second time or maybe they'll like it the fifth time. But yeah, I cook one meal in our house and that's what everybody gets and there's something on the plate that they'll

They'll eat and if they're hungry they can always, you know, ask for Cheerios or something after dinner. But that's really worked for us.

Sarah Schlichter (12:01.592)
Yeah, and what does that look like? Like having other things on the plate that you know they'll eat or they'll like? Like what are some of those foods that you're offering? Safe foods, I guess, is the way to look at it.

Edwina Clark (12:12.76)
So, like I said, I'm pretty fortunate the girls are both great eaters. They're not super picky. They have things they don't like, but they'll generally try stuff and eat a wide variety of foods. So last night I made chicken and rice soup and one of the girls didn't love it. She had a little bit. She had a few pieces of chicken and some carrots, but it wasn't her favorite meal. So other things on the plate last night.

were raspberries and mozzarella, little mozzarella balls that I get from Costco. And so that's sort of an example of say foods or foods they like. But I usually will at least serve a side of fruit or a side of veggies with the main meal, which will always have veggies included in it.

Sarah Schlichter (13:05.664)
Mm-hmm. We do the same thing. Sometimes like if I'm setting the table and I my oldest is like you usually have a fruit mom Where's the fruit? I forgot. Can you go cut XYZ up? So I think it I mean they notice and I think they like having different options that to choose from knowing that they're comfortable and confident with those two But at the same time I agree with your strategy like they're not gonna be comfortable with new foods right away But that doesn't mean you should never offer

Edwina Clark (13:14.35)
HAHAHAHA

Edwina Clark (13:35.072)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, like I said, the great pasta strike of 2024 is now over. And yeah, just I think there is a lot of value to continuing to expose your kids multiple times to foods they have previously rejected.

Sarah Schlichter (13:50.848)
Yeah, is there one meal that both girls absolutely love like they will demolish

Edwina Clark (13:57.902)
Yes, so they love baked salmon in various forms. They both will eat an adult-sized portion each of baked salmon and one of them in particular barely comes up for air, which you see salmon on her plate. It's very cute, Obviously salmon has so many health benefits, particularly the omega-3s and important for their brain development in addition to being a great source of protein.

Sarah Schlichter (14:11.94)
That's amazing!

Edwina Clark (14:27.842)
But yeah, they really, really love Se7en.

Sarah Schlichter (14:30.796)
Yeah, I'm sure we have many parents here who are curious about that. Like, what do you attribute that to? Just starting early with the baby lead weaning or is it something that you guys do serve once a week so it's consistent?

Edwina Clark (14:44.118)
Yeah, we serve it pretty consistently at home once a week and I expose them to salmon during the baby-led weaning phase pretty consistently and they just really talk to it. And I think about that sometimes whether or not it was an innate theme because it was fatty and rich in Omega-3s and that's what their little growing brains needed. Or if it's just like some

some personal preference or desire for salmon. But yeah, they took to it. They got it early, they got it often, and they've taken to it and continue to love salmon.

Sarah Schlichter (15:15.566)
Mm-hmm.

Sarah Schlichter (15:25.42)
Yeah, and I think that's a good message for all the parents out there thinking like, it doesn't matter. They're not going to remember this or I'll offer it when they're two. But that consistency starting early, like giving them that flavor profile and then continuing to serve it, whether it's in different ways or they're watching you eat it or they're trying canned salmon or baked salmon or a new sauce or whatever it is, they're always kind of building that flavor profile from there.

Edwina Clark (15:52.631)
Yeah, yeah. the variety is key as well. I think you make a good point there. That it's really important to offer them different ways to experience it. So maybe they don't like baked salmon, but they like canned salmon or they like salmon patties or whatever it is. Just sort of helping them see it from a different perspective or taste it from a different perspective, I think is really, really helpful.

they can, you know, it's inevitable that they develop preferences over time. But I think, you know, during these early years, it's just important to one, do variety and two, a variety of foods and two, also do a variety of, you know, textures, shapes, preparations, sauces, that kind of thing for sort of lifelong healthy eating.

Sarah Schlichter (16:50.594)
Yeah, absolutely. And speaking of preferences, are there any distinct differences or preferences between each girl? I know you mentioned the great pasta strikes, and one of them kind of went through that phase, but is one generally more savory or one has more of a sweet tooth or tell us a little bit about that.

Edwina Clark (17:09.922)
Yeah, so we have one that eats considerably more than her sister, actually. And they're both, you know, super healthy. They're continuing on their growth curve. know, weight isn't an issue, but we definitely have one who is a little bit taller and who definitely eats more. Like one day this weekend she had four pancakes for breakfast. And so I think that's really interesting.

Both my husband and I, we are tall people so we expect the girls to be fairly tall but we've got one that's like two inches taller than her sister despite being from the same parents and born at the same time. Yeah, which is...

Sarah Schlichter (17:52.376)
Yeah, yeah, that is, I think that's such a fascinating point when parents are like, well, my kid's small because he doesn't eat enough, but there's a lot at play behind the scenes and genetically, right?

Edwina Clark (18:05.486)
Yeah, yeah and I think actually our taller child, had a bit more room in utero. She was at the top and our smaller child, who still probably will be quite tall, she was at the bottom so she had a more compact space in utero and so yeah I wonder if that is going to affect her long term. She didn't have growth restriction or anything like that but I just wonder if it...

if it starts, you know, from a space perspective and epigenetics, whether or not it starts that early.

Sarah Schlichter (18:39.576)
Yeah, fascinating. Do you have any, as a mom of twins, feel like that's kind of a badge of honor on its own. So do you have any go-to meal or snack ideas or even just like meal prep hacks or something that makes feeding twins easier, less stressful?

Edwina Clark (18:42.157)
Yeah.

Edwina Clark (18:57.96)
Yeah, so I think some people, some parents, obviously wanting to be very conscientious parents and do the best for their child, they get sort of hung up about having to make everything from scratch and never relying on convenience foods. And we in our house, I make a lot of meals from scratch, but I also rely on healthy convenience food like

convenience foods like applesauce pouches and yoga pouches and Cheerios are examples of some of the convenience foods we have in our house that are, yes, they come in a packet, but they have lots of nutritional value. We also do things like mini mozzarella balls or babybel cheese. The girls love those. And so I think the point is that, yeah, I mean,

Cook from scratch as much as you can, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. And there are lots of healthy, convenient options, particularly for things like snacks, that provide a lot of nutrition value. And yeah, you don't have to do it all. You can take some shortcuts.

Sarah Schlichter (20:16.74)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah, I think that message is so important and I'm 100 % in agreement with you. I kind of wanted to expand upon that because I know you do travel with the girls. You've traveled internationally a few times. So have you used kind of some of those tips like relying on some of those healthier processed snacks or is there anything you're doing differently when you're traveling with them?

Edwina Clark (20:42.806)
Yeah, so I always travel with an arsenal of snacks and we have done, as you know, I'm Australian, so we have done a variety of very long trips with the girls and some have gone better than others. But so I have, I usually travel with a lot, a lot of snacks and you know, on a plane, typically we do have quite a few pouches that we'll use. We also have things like, you know, whole grain crackers, Cheerios.

What else have I packed? I've actually packed them lunch boxes before. And so our last trip to Australia, you know, it's a 14 hour flight. Their lunch boxes have little, what are they called? Ice packs in the bottom. And so I could pack them, you know, a full meal and some cold foods as well. And I think that that worked really well for us because they are.

They are hungry and although I always pack tons of snacks, they are sometimes more carb heavy and being able to have some more protein-rich options or just a little bit more variety has been really useful. It's been really useful having the refrigerated lunchbox.

Sarah Schlichter (22:02.828)
Yeah, that's a great point to just bring that. And I feel like maybe there's some comfort with familiarity, like we take this to school every day or daycare or we've eaten out of it before. But I agree at some point, like my bag of non-refrigerated snacks feels we're doing the same thing over and over. These are the same snacks, like let's get you something different or let's get you some staying power, some protein in a different way.

Edwina Clark (22:29.314)
Yeah, yeah, no, it has been a game changer for us. And, you know, up until the, up until February, I breastfed the girls. So there was always that supplement up until they were two, there was always that supplement. Now, since they've fully weaned our next trip to Australia, there isn't going to be that, that supplement. so thinking, I'm going to be thinking more strategically about, you know, what I put in their lunchbox and how I can keep them.

over the course of a six hour flight to Los Angeles and then another 14 hours to Sydney.

Sarah Schlichter (23:06.67)
Mm-hmm, yeah. I feel like you're a pro in that. We did that trip last year and honestly, like, they surprised me. I think one flight was much easier. I think the way there, there was the excitement. The way home was not so fun. But yeah, I feel like with your culture and that's something I guess they'll get used to because you're gonna go see your family and everything, so.

Edwina Clark (23:24.557)
Yes.

Sarah Schlichter (23:33.794)
Yeah, I feel like you'll have it down pat. You can have like blog posts and all of this advice to share about everything you've gained from doing that flight so many times.

Edwina Clark (23:44.056)
Yeah, mean, think it, and again, other parents have said to us it that like, I don't know how you did that. you know, it's something travel is something that we value. Obviously, we value going to see my family, but we also value it from from a sort of like culture and exploration perspective. And we've taken the girls, they've been to Europe a couple of times. They've been to, you know, probably half a dozen countries at this point.

And I know that's a very fortunate position to be in. However, it's something that we think is important. We want to give them exposure to different cultures. And so the way we think about it is that the flight, it can be a little bit uncomfortable, particularly if you have kids on your lap, but you get through it. You somehow manage, you get through it. And then, you know, maybe you have a week, maybe you have several weeks of like,

interesting fun activities and exposure to new places and it's probably worth it. It's worth it to go through that, you know, a bit of discomfort on a 14-hour flight, you know, for us to, for the girls to see their grandparents in Australia and for me to see my oldest closest friends. So yeah, I think while it can be, it can be tricky and it's intimidating.

you get through it. And parents, think, are inherently tough. And so if you want to travel, you can plan ahead and remember that you will get through it.

Sarah Schlichter (25:08.888)
Yeah.

Sarah Schlichter (25:19.096)
Yeah, I'm of the same opinion we value traveling to and like, yes, there's some things that are going to be way harder with kids. And I think you maybe take each decision as it comes and weigh the pros and cons, but there's also this side of me that's like, I don't want to put everything on hold when I have kids. Like, I can't do all of this later in life. I can do some of it now and take them along and...

let them embrace the culture and see the challenges and how we react to them because someday hopefully they'll have kids of their own and you know be going through some of the steps but I think resilience is important and flexibility too are some of the lessons learned from these things.

Edwina Clark (25:59.372)
Kat, resilience and flexibility. It's interesting because you kind of see, even from a young age, how much flexibility they build from travel. At my parents' house, they get used to a new bedroom, a new bed, and it takes them a couple of nights to get over the jet lag. Typically, they're over it before we are.

Sarah Schlichter (26:25.06)
Mm-hmm.

Edwina Clark (26:27.682)
Before you know it, they're sleeping through the night and they're just fine. So yeah, it's a bit of a disruption to the routine. But they do, I think you're absolutely right, they do build resilience and flexibility.

Sarah Schlichter (26:41.284)
What is your take on kids and treats? So how are you approaching sweets? Are you offering them as desserts? Do you offer them throughout the day or on weekends? What does that look like in your house?

Edwina Clark (26:56.492)
Yeah, so we don't actually have any hard and fast rules. Generally, I try to provide them with a variety of sort of no added sugar or low added sugar options as the base of the food that they get. However, they do get chocolate, they do get ice cream, they do get other treats. They like a croissant on the weekend.

Yeah, I'm happy for them to have that. I would rather them have that than it be restricted and then them go over the top when it is available to them. So my attitude about it is I want them to have a healthy relationship with food growing up. And I think for us at least, some of that is sort of learning to navigate, you know, the world of treats and foods that

are sort of like more fun foods versus strictly healthy foods and knowing, you know, when you've had enough. And I think we provide some treats and we offer them and let them have some treats, not just because they're fun, but also to help them navigate treats, you know, in the larger world as they get older and know when they've had enough and.

when they're full and when to stop.

Sarah Schlichter (28:25.814)
Yeah, yeah, and two and a half. mean, yours are still so young, too. So I mean, we've kind of taken a very similar approach and our our kids now like, I think when they ask for treats, they're asking also for like an experience like

let's do our movie night experience because we know like we'll get pizza and sometimes we'll make homemade ice cream or after soccer the other day we went to get fro yo and it was fun because we were all doing it together so I try to like tie it into experiences too and I don't know I'm totally with you about I want them to have a great relationship with food and I don't want them to feel like

I can only eat this if I go to my friend's house, hence I have to eat so much that my belly hurts because I'm never gonna get this at home type mentality and I also try not to stress about it too much.

Edwina Clark (29:06.19)
Mm-hmm.

Edwina Clark (29:20.322)
Yeah, and I also think there's so much, you probably know from your own childhood, there's so much nostalgia and there's so many memories associated with getting ice cream on a hot day or celebrating a birthday with cake and I don't want them to miss out on that.

Sarah Schlichter (29:40.272)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, so true. I remember last year when my two-year-old for his party, he was like, I just want cake. I'm like, all right, buddy, what kind of cake do you want? Like, you can have cake, you pick it out. But they do, and they'll remember that and kind of the family memories that go with it too.

Edwina Clark (29:46.605)
Yeah.

Edwina Clark (29:57.346)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like the idea of like pairing it with an experience or it becoming an experience that's sort of like memory building for them.

Sarah Schlichter (30:08.778)
Yeah. Are there any other things or tips you would have for parents who to set up a positive feeding environment at the table? So you kind of talked about you have one meal and you also have safe sides for them. And then maybe kind of this outlook on treats, like they're not restricted. And if they come up or if they're part of the meal, they are if they're not, they're not. Are there anything else? Any other tips you would share with parents?

Edwina Clark (30:35.49)
Yeah, so we don't have TV and we have minimal distractions, so no toys at the dinner table. We always eat dinner at the table. Breakfast they could eat at their little table in the living room. But we always have dinner together at the dinner table. as you probably know, there's a whole lot of research to support the importance and the value of family meals. Kids tend to eat.

more nutrients, they more fruits and veggies, they are less oppositional and aggressive when they eat meals at the table with the family. They report having a better relationship with their parents. I don't want to call it a rule, but this is something that's a habit for us, having dinner at the table all together, sitting down.

Now they're strapped into their booster seats rather than their high chairs. I think, yeah, no toys, no TV. It's generally time for us to sit down and be together, although, and I'm sure other parents experience this, we get lot of requests during dinner time. I need water, can I have more of this? My leg is itchy, I need a wipe.

Sarah Schlichter (32:00.175)
Mm-hmm.

Edwina Clark (32:01.134)
So we are up and down, but for the most part we're sitting at the table having dinner.

Sarah Schlichter (32:05.782)
Yeah, totally. We've tried to kind of, you know, when we will say our prayers or grace and I'll usually have one kid say it because at their schools they say something different but they've all come to learn each other's from saying it at the table. But there's just some things I try to let go because I'm like they're little. How long are they going to sit still? Like one will be like blowing bubbles in their cup while we're saying grace and I'm just like, okay.

deep breaths. But then once we start eating, I try to, if there is a request, I was like, well, mommy's sitting down eating her meal right now. we can get that once I'm done, or if you would like to go up and get that, but it's, it's just so hard to handle. I don't really have an answer for it because I think just however it works for your family, they're still, they want some control. Maybe, maybe that's part of it.

Edwina Clark (32:53.12)
Yeah, and I think also they just they don't I mean right now they are really little they're mostly in that parallel play. You know they don't have a lot of sort of understanding about you know the people around them and the feelings they're feeling. Their brains aren't developed enough to for that and so yeah we similarly we say sometimes you know I'm eating my dinner now but I'll do that in a second for you.

to sort of help them, you know, understand other people's perspectives and grow into being sort of a considerate person as they get bigger and their brains become more formed.

Sarah Schlichter (33:38.892)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I have to remind myself like they're not gonna learn patience unless I teach it to them So sometimes it's okay to pause and they have to wait for a couple minutes So I try to tell myself that and I feel like that helps a little bit,

Edwina Clark (33:45.048)
Mm-hmm.

Edwina Clark (33:52.75)
Yeah, absolutely. Patience is definitely a learned skill, it is not innate.

Sarah Schlichter (33:55.301)
No, I'm still learning. Well, speaking of patience, I mean, do you think parenting twins has shaped your professional perspective as a dietitian or your view on work or anything like that?

Edwina Clark (34:00.654)
Same.

Edwina Clark (34:14.094)
100%. Absolutely. I am ruthlessly efficient with my time now because I have much less of it to spend on work than I did previously. so, everything is pretty structured, I would say. But I'm also like, you know, if this is something that I don't enjoy or doesn't provide value or isn't like a good use of my time, I will cut it.

So I think, yeah, just being ruthlessly efficient and prioritizing and only doing, to keep in mind like what's important, not just from a work perspective, but what's important in life and letting some of the other things fall away is maybe the biggest lesson that I've learned as a twin mom. also think that I was an organized person before, but organization is just...

It's really important. It helps things run smoother if I have a plan for dinner and I don't come home with two hungry girls from daycare and look in the pantry and be like, am going to serve these hungry kids? yeah, I ruthlessly efficient with time, being really, really organized, particularly around all the girls.

Not just in my own workday, but around the girls stuff, like making sure they have drink bottles, making sure that we have snacks. We're in the midst of potty training at the moment. So make sure we have all the potty training gear whenever we go out. Yeah, all that kind of stuff. think that has really been reinforced since we had the girls.

Sarah Schlichter (36:06.5)
Yeah, makes complete sense. Do you have a favorite lazy mom dinner? Maybe it is one of those dinners where you didn't think ahead and they're home hungry or you're just not feeling cooking like a intricate meal. Is there a lazy meal that gets the job done?

Edwina Clark (36:22.938)
Yeah, so we have a couple actually. When we were going through baby lead weaning, some nights, you know, I think it's with baby lead weaning, it's all about exposure and helping them learn to eat. And so sometimes, you know, we would give them peanut butter or avocado on toast sticks and, you know, little pieces of cheese and that kind of thing. We kept it really basic if we were in a pinch. Now, they need a bit more.

because they're relying more heavily obviously than relying completely on food for their nutrition. And so I have frozen chicken tenders from Costco in the freezer that are always there. I have frozen falafel as well that are always there. And so sometimes we'll put together like a snack plate, which will be falafel and hummus and cheese and then some fruit and veggies and things like cucumber sticks.

And that for dinner, that's my super or lunch on the weekends. So that's my super low-key meal. Another thing we do, we do chicken tenders and then we'll add things like hummus and crackers, cucumber slices, or they love cherry tomatoes, they love grapes. And so yeah, those things usually just require a quick wash. And then...

Sarah Schlichter (37:45.956)
Mm-hmm.

Edwina Clark (37:48.642)
We just air fry the chicken tenders and that becomes their meal.

Sarah Schlichter (37:53.847)
Yeah, and honestly, like those meals are some of the fun ones. We do something similar, like a snack board type meal. And for the protein, I'll use like chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, sometimes beef sticks, or like little cheese quesadillas. And just, I feel like that is enticing and fun for them. So doing stuff like that, even though it might feel like you failed or, you know, there could be that negative mindset in your head. It's like, I didn't have to spend.

So much time cooking dinner tonight and it was a hit.

Edwina Clark (38:24.918)
Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great point. I think that's, Hannah, I need to stop for a sec.

Sarah Schlichter (38:31.096)
Yeah.

Sarah Schlichter (38:37.06)
Take your time.

Edwina Clark (38:39.086)
So back to the snack one. I think that's a great point. And I think one of the things that's really stressful for parents is when they think that it has to be more than that for their child to eat healthily or, you know, be well nourished. And I think you can keep it really simple. You know, there's a lot of nutrition in peanut butter toast.

Sarah Schlichter (39:05.988)
Mm-hmm.

Edwina Clark (39:06.209)
There's a lot of nutrition in cheese quesadillas with fruit on the side. so, you know, just giving yourself permission to sort of stick to mostly whole foods, but keeping it simple, I think takes a lot of the stress out of preparing family meals when you allow yourself to do that.

It just takes a lot of the stress out of being a parent and trying to do good by your children. But it's totally okay to keep it simple. And yeah, I encourage parents to think about ways in which they can take shortcuts without completely compromising the health and nutrition of their kids.

Sarah Schlichter (39:56.855)
Yeah, agreed. I think that's a great way to end it. Just reminding parents it doesn't have to be extreme. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. If it's overwhelming for you, it might not be maintainable and kids pick up on other cues. So I think finding that happy medium, having some easy nights for dinner is a great mix to kind of throw in, especially if, you know, seasons of life or busy seasons are upon you.

Edwina Clark (40:23.406)
Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, they don't have to have seven different veggies on their plate every night. You're playing the long game here. They're going to eat for the rest of their lives. And so just thinking about playing the long game and thinking about the week or the month in its totality and the variety of foods that you're giving them. I think zooming out a little bit can be really, really helpful.

and can ease some of the guilt that parents experience around feeding their kids.

Sarah Schlichter (40:58.796)
No, absolutely, that was so well said. So we will close out the episode with that. And Edwina, can you tell us where people can find you? Maybe your baby-led weaning book, if they want to learn more about that as well.

Edwina Clark (41:13.228)
Yeah, so my Baby Lead Weaning book is on babyleadbasics.com. You can also find it on my website, edwinaclark.com. And I have a variety of different resources on both sides for parents going through Baby Lead Weaning. I will say with the Baby Lead Weaning book, there are also some tips for some older kids too, and sort of evolving the way you feed your kids beyond Baby Lead Weaning and as they get a little bit older.

Sarah Schlichter (41:43.64)
Great, well we will have links to all of that in the show notes, so easy access for anyone listening and thank you so much for your time today.

Edwina Clark (41:52.002)
Yeah, thanks for having me. It's always a pleasure to chat with you, Sarah. And I'm so glad that I got to contribute to this episode.

Sarah Schlichter (41:59.684)
Yeah.