Mom's clever 'take-out' trick is the ultimate hack to get kids to eat homemade food
Diabolical? Yes. Genius? Also yes.
This hack would work on adults as well.
Honestly, what parent hasn’t told a little white lie to their kids here and there to make life easier? Especially when it comes to food-related things, whether that be sneaking in a veggie or two into “safe” meals, making healthy snacks seem a little more fun and novel by mimicking charcuterie boards, or in one mom’s case, concocting an elaborate ruse to make homemade food look like takeout.
Mom Alex MacLaren is clearly a good cook, making anything from chicken cacciatore to blueberry banana loaf to fancy Greek salad. And yet, even she has a hard time getting her kids to eat her restaurant-worthy meals. That is, until she started telling them it was from a restaurant.
In the video below, we see MacLaren’s ploy in action. “We ordered in food, this is an Italian place. They sent us a lot of food, you guys!” she announces while unpacking a brown paper bag.
@mac.larena 🚨 NEW SERIES 🚨 Takeout but made at home 🤭 #easyweeknightmeals #momlife ♬ original sound - Alex ✨ we use what we have ✨
MacLaren goes full method on this, having the beans, tortellini minestrone soup and chicken dish with rice in their own legit to-go trays. And the kids, well, they eat it up. Literally.
“Who wants soup and who wants chicken?” we hear MacLaren ask, to which the children cheer “Me,” “Chicken!” and “I want the big one!”
In an interview withToday, MacLaren shared that she first got the idea a few months prior, after ordering takeout containers from Amazon to pack her daughter’s lunches. It worked so well for lunch, she figured it had to be a nifty dinner hack as well. And she was correct. MacLaren has only played this trick a small handful of times so far, but it’s worked every time.
Like below, where she convinces the kiddos that they are eating from a Greek restaurant, compatible with garlic pita bread. For a second there’s a close call when one of McLaren's kids says “Wait, that’s the same container ...” but she quickly evades, replying, “All the restaurants use the same containers.”
@mac.larena Replying to @Shira the plot thickens 😅 #easyweeknightmeals #momlife ♬ original sound - Alex ✨ we use what we have ✨
Needless to say, many, many fellow parents are pretty amazed by this scheme.
“Mommy marketing wins again,” one viewer quipped, while another said, "It’s all about the rebrand.”
Another even joked, “Those kids are masters at being gaslit. As a human, be ashamed. As a mom, you’re my hero!!!!”
Apparently, MacLaren isn’t the only mom to have this rebrand idea. One person shared, “I do this! My son loves Chinese but not when I make it. Little does he know, I have been making it and just putting it in takeout containers. He eats it the same as when we order in.”
One viewer asked the question sure to be on many of our minds: “how do the kids not see MacLaren cooking up this “fake out take-out”? In a follow-up video, MacLaren quells our curiosity by revealing the basement she secretly plugs her crock pot in. Now that’s commitment.
@mac.larena Replying to @Jess nothing to see here 😉 #takeoutathome #momlife #easyweeknightmeals ♬ Originalton - Matway
Yet another even admitted, “I fear this would work on me as an adult.” which is so true. There’s something about food “magically" landing on your doorstop, practically gift-wrapped, that makes it feel much more special than having to slave over a hot stove. Of course, the oils and flavor enhancers don’t hurt, either.
As far as her feelings about lying to her kids are concerned, MacLaren admitted to Today that “gaslighting is a pretty big part of my parenting strategy,” adding, “Why are we overthinking everything?” And perhaps she has a point. Sometimes the ends really do justify the means. Especially when it comes to getting kids to eat their dang food.