Secrets of Fiibs?

It all started this morning when I made MissM a smoothie for breakfast.

None of us are breakfast eaters, tho of course we all know it is the most important meal of the day. I struggle to be a breakfast role model, sitting with MissM while she eats as I am just no in the mood for food five minutes after I've woken up. Let me wait an hour or so, and take me to a cafe and I'll thoroughly enjoy a cooked breakfast, or give me a buffet in a hotel and I'm suddenly starving.

MissM doesn't do too badly; her breakfast selection ranges from cereal (Crunchy Nut like G), or French Toast (one way to get egg into her as she thinks fried eggs are for dinner and scrambled go with bacon), toast with either smoked salmon, or cheese and tomato or strawberry jam (we love the St Dalfour brand, if you haven't tried it, you must) or a couple of pots of yoghurt.

She's a 'bit bored' with these and asked me to think of new things for breakfast. Gotta love the faith she has in my culinary skills.

Yesterday I remembered we had a blender - so I offered to make a smoothie.

I thought, here's my chance to sneak in a few good things without her knowing. Foods that will give her energy and sustainence til her 11.15am break at school. I dropped in a raw egg, a packet of probiotics (which she used to drink with juice but now reckons tastes yukky), Greek Style yoghurt, a banana, milk and orange juice.

She gulped it down!

Mama this is the best smoothie ever. What's your secret ingredient?

OH NO!?  What do I do.

If I tell her the truth she'll never drink another home made smoothie again and if I lie .... well, what's a white lie between mother and daughter when it comes to nutrition.

So, I did what any mum would do and fibbed. I told MissM a tiny weeny little white lie. Afterall it's for her own good - "it's a secret honey"to which she responded, I know one is love, but what's the other?

AWWWWWWW my heart melted. One is love. How sweet is that?

When MissM left to go upstairs to get ready for school G, who was sitting at the kitchen table finishing off a report asked me what my secret ingredient was.

Now here is where it became tricky. You see, a few years ago, all in the name of encouraging a healthier diet at home, I added secret ingredients to G's schnitzel one dinner.

Jessica Seinfeild, Jerry's wife, published a cook book that was making headlines at all the playgroups, and Montessori's across the world - even Oprah raved about  it.

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids Eating Well.

It had all sorts of mummy-sneaky recipes to get vegetables and 'grown up' foods into little bodies.

So like every other first time mum who home cooked practically everything for her first born, I bought the book with a vision of being as organic and wholesome as possible.

Things like beetroot chocolate cake, banana and linseed muffins, home made muesli's and breads and so much more. I thought, if I could sneak, or rather add Deceptively Delicious things to the food we ate, it would get vegetables and salads into my two (G does not eat either .... never has, never will. End of story)

There was a recipe for schnitzel with a few extra ingredients which I thought Id' try ..... pureed spinach, organic plain yoghurt and linseed.

The coating was a little bit greener than usual, but I thought I'd pretend I spilt LOADS of Italian herbs into the mixture and rather than wasting it continued cooking.

No way was I going to fool G. He ate it. Said it didn't taste as delicious as my usual schnitzel (there and then I knew I was busted)  and asked me what was different about it. I gave him the rehearsed Italian Herb story. He said I should have thrown it away and started again as it was only herbs and flour.

While we were clearing up together, he hugged me and thanked me for dinner. I'll never EVER forget what he said next. He whispered in my ear that he loved me and that I was to never ever lie to him about what's in his food ever again.

Now it sounds way more serious than it was, but it cut me to the core. Soon enough we both laughed as I knew I'd been busted, and he knew his whisper and accusation was rather  dramatic. I remember crying and laughing as he accused me of lying to him, which I guess I did was awful.

This morning the story came back to haunt me as G smiled at me and said, so now you're lying to our daughter about her food just like you did to me with the schnitzel all those years ago.

NO WAY did he remember!

NO WAY was I being accused of that again ..... I am merely looking out for their well being, ensuring as often as possible they are eating as well as I can afford to provide for them.

I didn't lie to her at all ..... I simply didn't tell her what was in it, cos she'd never drink it again if she knew.

When he saw how devastated I was with his joke he apologised but it made me think - is it OK as a mum (or dad) to fib/lie/bend the truth/omit the facts for the good of our kids?

I think it is, tho what happens when/if they ever find out? Do we loose their trust?

How old are you before you understand their are different kids of lies, and some are way more acceptable than others?

For now a little white lie over breakfast won't hurt anyone other than me as G teases me.

With friendship
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