Latest news with #AlexMacLaren
Irish Daily Star
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
'Genius' mother's clever hack for getting picky kids to eat home-cooked meals
A clever mom has gone viral for her savvy method of getting her kids to eat home-cooked meals, earning praise from netizens who are hailing her tactic as "genius". In the age of social media, it's common to see a plethora of "hacks" for just about anything, ranging from tips to extend the life of produce to tricks for keeping their cars safer or even strategies to open soda cans. While some of these hacks may be met with skepticism or outright disapproval, others garner acclaim for being truly innovative solutions. A mother on TikTok recently shared one such ingenious strategy, where she divulged her secret for convincing her fussy children to eat the meals she prepares. Read More Related Articles Drivers urged to keep one vegetable in car to stop windows from fogging up Read More Related Articles You're opening soda cans wrong – game-changing hack will save your nails Alex MacLaren shared a series of TikTok videos featuring her meal preparation, but the video where she serves the food to her children truly captivated the audience's attention. MacLaren revealed her hack for getting her kids to eat her food that fans are calling "genius." Her video is captioned: "Tell my kids we got takeout, but really, I just packed food I cooked in takeout containers." In the clip, MacLaren can be seen unpacking the home-cooked meal, neatly packaged in restaurant-style takeout boxes, from a brown bag while informing her unsuspecting children that they're having delivery. "We ordered in food, this is an Italian place," she tells her children off-camera. "They sent us a lot of food, you guys!". Assisted by her husband in the deception, she then reveals to her children the night's menu: beans, tortellini minestrone soup, and chicken cacciatore with rice, with the sauce already poured over the rice. She asks her children if they'd prefer soup or chicken, and their enthusiastic responses of "Me, Chicken! and I want the big one!" fill the room. The mother of three revealed to TODAY that her kids, aged 3, 6, and 7, are more thrilled about restaurant food, which inspired the whole charade. "If my oldest thinks she's getting a sandwich from Subway, she would eat it, but if I made it, she'd say, 'What is this?'" MacLaren confessed. She also disclosed that she began ordering takeaway containers from Amazon for packing lunches and discovered the trick could also be used at dinner. She admitted to having fooled them thrice, pretending the homemade meals were freebies from restaurants in exchange for social media promotions. MacLaren also addressed some negative feedback she's received. "I've gotten comments like, 'You're lying to your kids,' but gaslighting is a pretty big part of my parenting strategy," she stated. "Why are we overthinking everything?". However, many others applauded her method, with comments on her TikTok video hailing her as a "hero. "Those kids are masters at being gaslighted. As a human, be ashamed. As a mom, you're my hero! ! ! !" one person commented. "It's all about the rebrand," another chimed in. "Now this is a parenting hack," added a third. "Every day, a mum on here proves the point that with kids, it's all about marketing and packaging." One user commented on the homemade feast, expressing a preference for the 'takeout' experience even if they knew it was made at home: "If I were your kid, even if I knew it was homemade, I would still want the 'takeout' experience. It all looks so delicious. That said, are you adopting?".
New York Post
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
I gave my excited family ‘takeout' for dinner — but I'm shocked they didn't discover my secret hack
Call it culinary catfishing. Getting persnickety kids to eat a home-cooked meal can feel like pulling teeth. But one enterprising parent devised an ingenious way to get hers to eat the foods of her labor sans complaint — by packing up the vittles to make them think it's takeout. 'We ordered in food, this is an Italian place,' fibbed Alex MacLaren in the video, which currently boasts over 2.9 million views on TikTok. 3 'Takeout for a family can be expensive, so we don't order in often,' said MacLaren (pictured). Tiktok/@ The clever parent then busted out containers tortellini minestrone, chicken cacciotori with rice, and homemade cheesecake. 'Who wants soup and who wants chicken?' inquires MacLaren, as the kids clamor for their dinner. The youngsters happily tucked in, completely oblivious to the fact that their meal was homemade — like a reverse version of 'Mrs. Doubtfire's' titular character pawning off gourmet takeout as her own cooking. MacLaren told Newsweek she was surprised her family swallowed the tale hook, line and sinker — as she'd 'actually made this meal a few times before.' 3 MacLaren winks at the camera after pulling the wool over her offspring's eyes. Tiktok/@ 'They all liked it, but since they've eaten this before I wasn't surprised about that,' she said. MacLaren that her kids aren't 'overly picky' — despite having their preferences — but thought the bait and switch would be fun as her children get so excited when they order takeout. 'Takeout for a family can be expensive, so we don't order in often,' she lamented. 3 MacLaren serving her kids home-cooked Italian under the guise of restaurant delivery. Tiktok/@ Commenters were amazed over McLaren's hack. 'As a human, be ashamed. As a mom, you're my hero!!!!' enthused one fan. 'This definitely would have worked on me as a kid. I love it,' said another. 'I fear this would work on me as an adult,' quipped a third. 'My mother would do this to me when I was younger!' one exclaimed. 'Until I realized the 'takeout' my dad brought home was the same food I caught my mom making in the kitchen.' MacLaren says hopes to deploy this false advertising trick in the future — but acknowledges she'll have to choose her shots wisely. 'Since at least one of my kids is usually home with me at any given time, I don't know how often I'll be able to make a fake-out take-out without them noticing,' she said. 'I'll definitely try it again when I get the chance, though.' This hack is especially timely given the skyrocketing costs of delivery orders. A September Finance Buzz experiment found that ordering a meal off Grubhub, Doordash, UberEats and other delivery firms can cost almost double what it would to go out and collect it yourself — largely due to the number of fees, suggested tips and other costs that come with delivery in the modern age.
