Blessing #109 - "It's barbecue" and other motherly lies

Brandon is a very picky eater. I have tried every tip I've come across to make him eat better, but so far I've been unsuccessful.

As a child, I was a very picky eater, and my mom's rule was "just eat one bite."  Today, I still have flashbacks of the gagging sessions every time I see a lima bean. 

Guess what Mom?

I still hate lima beans.  They still make me gag! (Sorry, I just threw that paragraph in for my mom.)

Anyway, B is picky too, and getting him to eat can be very difficult. 

Lately though, Brandon has been more adventurous and has been trying roast beef, cube steak, and pork loin.  Why?

expert parenting from me...no

force feeding...no

my culinary skills...well, maybe, but probably no

Brandon has been eating different types of meat because I've been lying to him.

Let me explain, Brandon loves his Poppy (my dad), and by default B loves anything that Poppy loves.  When we found the motorcycle boots in Goodwill, the first thing B said was, "Motorcycle boots! My Poppy has a motorcycle!"

I've blogged before that my dad is a barbecue connoisseur, and because Poppy loves barbecue, Brandon loves barbecue.  When we go to Georgia, B loves to go to all the barbecue restaurants, and even has his own opinion on which one is the best (Zeb's).

The lying began as we ate roast one day.  I shredded B's piece to make it easier for him to eat.  He had never eaten roast voluntarily before, but on this day, he looked at the roast and said, "awww barbecue!"

If I were a better mother, I would have stopped and explained that the meat was roast and not barbecue, and probably used the opportunity to teach him touching life lesson or at least a lesson on the finer points of barbecue.  However, in my shame as a mother and barbecue lover, I said, "Yes! That's barbecue!"  The name change worked, and B ate a ton of roast that day. He bragged that it was the best barbecue ever, and I simply said, "Why, thank you." 

A few weeks later we had pork loin, and I shredded B's piece again.  As soon as he saw it, he yelled, "barbecue!"  Again, I didn't tell him any different, and he ate a bunch. 

Knowing the barbecue method has been successful, I used it on Saturday to get him to eat cube steak.  When B saw it, he said, "What is this?" I paused wrestling with my conscious, "It's barbecue!" He was excited and ate three servings. 

 In the past, I would have considered my behavior blasphemy against barbecue, but right now, I'm using what works.

Yes, my five year old thinks that any meat chopped up is barbecue, but I'm not about to tell him any different any time soon.