help my 2.9 yr old twins are driving me mad with the fussy eating - any advice??

[nvj]

my twin girls started to become more and more fussy as they got more independent with their eating.... i don't know what i've done, must be my fault in some way but they seem to be getting worse and i don't know what to do.
for example -they used to eat loads for breakfast, cereal, toast, followed by yoghurt and fruit but now i am lucky to get anything down them. they just want their orange juice (watered down) which this morning i have refused to give them cos they haven't eaten any breakfast. i have offered them water but they don't want it. am i doing the right thing?!
lunch is a bit of a farce, one of them won't eat sandwiches at all and the other will only have jam or marmite. i can do cheese on toast for one but not the other, you get the picture. they won't eat eggs.
dinner - they have a repertoire of about 4 meals each and it is getting tiresome and exhausting. i hate making meals and then they won't even try it, i am exhausted and i dread any mealtime now to be honest. i don't let them have any treats unless they have eaten a certain amount of dinner and i am quite strict with this but i am so fed up of it all. it's really getting me down. i look at all my other friends children who eat anything and everything and wonder what the hell i did wrong. when they were babies they tried and ate everything. what happened??!they also used to have one bottle of milk at bedtime which i have recently dropped (told them Santa was taking their bottles for babies) but now they refuse to drink any milk. thought their appetite might increase but NO!

HELP!!! any advice greatly appreciated as it is seriously getting me down. i don't know what to do.

Why can't you make them the stuff they like, even if it is a bit repetitive?
What will they eat? Does it cover the main food groups? If so, I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of variety.
When you make your meals, let them see it and if they fancy something off your plate let them try it. It might become their favourite food...maybe.
I'd offer water or milk and hide the juice.
Are they well? If so, then they probably don't have too bad a diet (maybe not bad at all) but you are noticing the big change in their eating habits.

hi - i do make them the stuff they like but i try to introduce new stuff too. one of my girls is ok at trying new stuff if she's in the mood and will eat quite a variety of fruit but not much veg.
The other has quite a limited diet and range of fruit and doesn't eat any veg. i got her to eat one pea last week and that was such a drama, she nearly gagged on it. iused techniques from tanya byron's book.
she also won't eat pasta, potatoes or rice - mare!
i eat my meals in front of them (well breakfast and lunch, we eat dinner too late) and encourage them to try things from my plate but they are not interested.
yes they're well and have bundles of energy so i know they're ok but it's just very frustrating. i think because i'm not fussy at all and eat practically anything i probably find it harder to deal with.

A lot of children don't like variety! I would just give them the meals they like. Maybe this would take the stress out of the situation. And I can guarantee that your friends children don't eat everything - it just looks that way!

I suggest jst going with the flow - cheese on toast for one - marmite samdwich for the other and rotate the 4 meals they like in the evening. If they are active and happy and peeing and pooing 5 wouldn't worry!

So if you think about it, it's probably you that has the problem and not them. As long as you have different foods available to them, which you have, and try to encourage them to try things, which you do, then there's not really a problem as far as I can see.
I've had fussy eaters myself (still have some) and I know it's really frustrating but we are all different. Keep an eye on any gaps in their diet and they should be fine.

Have you tried cooking with them? My DD is fairly fussy and conservative about trying new things but she will usually eat something we've prepared together.

It sounds like a hassle but it can be fun. Things that require stirring stuff, pastry cutting etc are good. We've made mini quiches with a little face - peas for eyes, tomato for mouth etc. - or little pastry shapes, pizza, biscuits, pancakes.