Children can be almost unbearably picky eaters.
Specifically owing to the fact that they claim to absolutely loathe certain foods without ever having tried them.
No matter how much convincing their parents may attempt, broadening their horizons would appear to be a fool’s errand.
Hence why many parents might resort to a tiny bit of duplicity.
The children of Redditor Big-Improvement-8029 claimed to hate an admittedly polarizing food.
Even though the original poster (OP) knew for a fact that they both liked the flavor of this particular food.
As a way of proving their point, the OP snuck this particular food into certain recipes without letting their children know.
A move the OP’s wife didn’t approve of one bit.
Wondering if they had gone too far, the OP took to the subreddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for tricking my kids into eating mushroom soup?”
The OP explained why their wife did not approve of the way they were feeding their children:
“My children are not allergic to mushrooms.”
“My children love cream of mushroom soup.”
“My kids hate the texture of mushrooms.”
“When my wife uses canned mushroom soup in a recipe she will strain out the mushrooms for the kids.”
“However when I use mushroom soup in a recipe I run it through the blender.”
“The pieces are so little that they have no texture.”
“The kids don’t complain about it and I don’t waste time.”
“My wife seems to think that I’m being an a**hole because I’m trucking them into eating something they have been very clear about not liking.”
“I asked if she would rather eat a fistful of raw flour or a slice of bread.”
“Preparation makes a difference.”
“I think we are both trying to make sure that the kids eat a good meal we just go about it different ways.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
The Reddit community was in agreement that the OP was not the a**hole for tricking their children into eating mushrooms.
Not only did everyone agree that the OP did nothing wrong, many even questioned if the OP was, in fact, tricking their children, or was instead solving a problem, as his children liked the flavor of mushrooms, just not the texture:
“They like mushrooms enough that they eat mushroom soup.”
“They just don’t like the texture of the cooked mushrooms so you changed the texture.”
“How is that tricking.”
“NTA.”
“I don’t like soft boiled eggs.. so I took it for longer so I don’t have a runny egg.”
“Simple.”- Aggressive_Cup8452
“As someone who has hated mushrooms with a fiery passion their whole life, when I found out my mom has always blended some up for her Thanksgiving stuffing (that I love), I admit my ego was a bit bruised.”
“Ultimately, I learned a valuable lesson; things, even foods, aren’t black and white; there’s a finely blended mushroom gray area, and that’s okay!”
“There’s no vegan/vegetarian moral issue here, and I’m glad my mom ‘tricked’ me, as I definitely would have refused to eat it as a kid if I knew, so I’m going with NTA.”- Living-Highlight7777
“NTA.”
“Texture issue is a real thing that a lot of people have.”
“Not everyone likes things in their native or cooked form.”
“You found a way for them to enjoy their favorite soup without taking out the additional nutrients of the mushrooms as well as the flavor they provide that your kids like.”
“Changing the texture isn’t tricking them and Im pretty sure your kids wouldn’t feel tricked either, they may even be excited they can have mushrooms without dealing with the texture they don’t like.”- Catcon95
“NTA.”
“My eldest was exactly the same way about mushrooms to the point school permission letters would include words to the effect of ‘My daughter will tell you she is allergic to mushrooms’.”
“‘She is not’.”
“‘If she sees mushrooms in her food, she will refuse the whole thing’.”
“Sorry’.”
“Like your child, if she couldn’t see them, everything was fine.”
“This culinary hide and seek went on till she was about 10 or 11 when she accidentally ate one at someone’s house, had an epiphany and fifteen years later they remain her favorite food.”
“Good luck hiding them and you’re doing great by not just removing them from meals because it’s the easy option. +10 parenting points!”- MiddleAgeCool
“They are not allergic, and there is no ethical reason not to eat mushrooms.”
“Are they old enough to understand that mushroom soup contains mushrooms?”
‘If so, it might be a good idea to talk to them before they find out one way or another and stop eating it because they feel betrayed.”
‘But NTA.”
‘They simply don’t like the texture, which I think is understandable.”- blueeyed94
“Oh, nooo!”
“You are ‘tricking your children’ into eating something that… apparently they don’t mind eating at all once you adjust the unliked texture.”
“Your wife needs to get a grip, and may I say how lucky you all are if this right here is your biggest problem.”
“NTA.”- YouthNAsia63
“NTA.”
“They don’t like the texture, not the flavor.”
“You removed the texture from the ingredient.”
“Your wife should praise your ingenuity.”- Curious-One4595
“You don’t serve something that the kids don’t like.”
“You and your wife just have different methods of achieving the same goal.”
“NTA.”- Broad_Respond_2205
“NTA.”
“You are going out of your way to make the meal appealing to them and taking into account what they dislike about mushrooms.”
“Kind of clever.”- hikergirl26
“NTA.”
“I absolutely loathe & detest fresh tomatoes.”
“Have done since I was a kid.”
“Love tomato soup, tomato sauce, fav drink’s a Bloody Mary.”
“All about the texture-ask if they like the soup, then tell them what it’s made of & how it’s made.”
“Useful life lesson for them.”- Scousette
“NTA.”
“I have despised chewing mushrooms ever since I was a child.”
“Eating them in big chunks is horrible for me, even though I’ve tried on many occasions.”
“Their texture just creeps me out.”
“Their flavor, on the other hand, is nice.”
“If it’s blended or pureed, I have no issue consuming them and I even find it tasty.”
“Also, dishes that require big chunks of mushrooms are ok for me as long as I fish the mushrooms out and eat the rest.”
“It just took me over 20 years to figure all of that out.”
“So I think you’re doing them a favor by adapting the meal to their needs.”- this-just-sucks
“Sir…if tricking our kids into eating something they didn’t like made us a-holes…then it is a large tent and we welcome you!”
“NTA.”- Smooth-Awareness1736
“NTA but wife is raising kids to be needlessly picky.”
“Which means they will lose out in the end.”- Glad-Conclusion-9385
“NTA.”
“This is how you trick kids eating food they might think they dislike.”
“It’s parenting 101.”- Pettypris
“They likely don’t like the texture of the mushrooms.”
“I don’t either.”
“Its fine.”
“They like what they are eating.”
“NTA.”- JuiceEdawg
“NTA.”
“They just don’t like the texture, so it’s not a big deal.”- dtsm_
“I did the same with salsa for a long time.”
“I like the taste of a particular chunky salsa brand and used it in a recipe, but my kids didn’t like the green pepper & onion bits, so for that recipe, I blended it up.”
“Once they started liking it, I began to blend it less, and now they like it straight from the jar!”
“NTA.”- vikingmama397
“NTA!”
“My kids were the same: Tell them it was mushroom soup; they wouldn’t touch it!”
“We told them it was hedgehog soup and for years, they’d beg us for hedgehog soup!”- Ambitious-Border-906
“NTA.”
“I love peanut.”
“I love satay, peanut butter biscuits, Reece’s peanut cup.”
“I cannot eat peanut butter in its natural state because I find the texture claggy.”
“Texture is quite important with food.”- Violet351
“NTA.”
“They aren’t allergic or against it for personal reasons (I am not condoning giving a vegetarian meat or someone religeous a food product they don’t eat) then there’s no harm.”
“Depending on their ages, I do think that you need to explain to them in a calm conversation that with food we should be open to retrying even foods we hate.”
“That it is ok not to like something but to know why we don’t.”
“Explain that the issue they have is with texture and that there are ways around that.”
“My partner and I hate the texture of mushrooms.”
“We eat mushrooms blended or powdered and some mushrooms types have different textures so aren’t as bad (though will never be a favorite).”
“We all need to remember that ‘I hate’ is usually ‘like that’ or ‘because of’ rather than a true blanket statement.”
“I always try things I hate if it’s done in a way I’ve not had it before.”
“I still hate fish in every form and type I’ve had though so sometimes it doesn’t work.”- never-die-twice
All parents find themselves needing to force their children to eat nutritious foods at one point or another.
Even if duplicity is always a questionable tactic, one should almost commend the OP for finding a way for their children to eat healthy food without forcing them and causing further drama.
Though one can’t help but wonder how these children will react when they learn they’ve been eating pureed mushrooms this whole time…