Okay, so there are a few things I lie to my kids about. My longest lasting "lie" is about Chuck E. Cheese. My boys (ages 6 and 8) think you can ONLY go to Chuck E. Cheese if its someone's birthday. I'm going to keep that lie going as long as possible, as I think the food there is awful.
Speaking of food...I'm all about the lies for healthy choices. Thanks to Hungry Girl (the book and the website), I've found recipes that allow me to substitute items for high calorie ones. For example, the boys never knew the French fries I made were actually butternut squash. (They noticed something was different, but couldn't really tell.) I also switched to turkey burgers without them batting an eye. Lying about what they are eating has been something I've done more than just a few times. It's how I got them to eat shrimp and seafood. ("Mom, what is this?" "Chicken." That is the standard answer at my house.)
Well, here's a picture of my favorite, most delicious switch of all. Hungry Girl's daily email sent this one to me. It's cake. Chocolate cake! Yum! It's what's in it, though, that might surprise you. This cake was made with only two ingredients...Chocolate Cake Mix and PUMPKIN. Yes, pumpkin. Mix the cake mix and one can of pumpkin together, and you've got a low-calorie cake. One slice of cake is only 170 calories vs. 300+ with all the egg and oil mixed in. The pumpkin works like the oil and the egg, but it cuts out all those calories and fats. I promise you, if you make this, you will not taste the pumpkin. I made my first "pumpkin" chocolate cake the other day, and the boys finished it off by the end of the night. I made my second one today, at the request of my kids. Dylan couldn't wait for it to come out of the oven. And, yes, they have no idea that pumpkin is hiding inside it!
