Why Parents Should Save Up McDonald’s Happy Meal Boxes? Mom Reveals Brilliant Hack for Picky-Eating Kids

In a time when fast food gets delivered to homes in the blink of an eye, children’s taste buds are increasingly displaying a preference for junk foods over healthier home-cooked meals. Take the case of Weston from Long Island, New York. One day, his mom, Lauren Jorgensen (@laurengattojorgen), who previously worked as a certified Paralegal, didn’t have time to cook. So she treated him to a McDonald's Happy Meal at a local outlet. Since then, the boy turned into a “little McDonald junkie” who refused to eat any other type of nuggets or chips other than the McDonald’s one. Jaded with concern, Lauren thought of a clever trick to make his son eat home-cooked meals, reported The US Sun.

Ever since Weston developed an obsession with McDonald’s snacks, mealtimes became a struggle in Lauren’s household. “Weston used to be a fabulous eater. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t give a try. But slowly as he aged into a toddler it has become a daily struggle,” the mom once told the media channel. "I have gotten a lot of tips online on how to sneak in veggies, and dress up food into cute shapes and smiley faces yet, the answer continues to be the same 'No Momma. I don’t want to!'” Noticing his fondness for nuggets, Lauren went out on a grocery haul and shopped a variety of nuggets including plant-based, organic, breaded, dino shapes, chicken fries, and popcorn chicken. She desperately wanted her son to have adequate protein, which McDonald’s nuggets couldn’t fulfill.

In an attempt to make her picky-eating boy take an interest in home-cooked food, Lauren cooked some nuggets and chips that looked similar to the ones at McDonald’s. She then used the empty Happy Meal boxes and McDonald’s wrappings to disguise the homecooked finger foods as McDonald’s treats. At each mealtime, she would cut slices of apples just as McDonald’s would do, and once Weston would finish the apples and plant-based nuggets, she would allow him to have some fries.

"All it took was heating up the oven and 15 minutes. I sat him in his high chair and put on some Puppy Dog Pals and got to work sneaking out my secret stash,” she said, per The US Sun. "While he was occupied, I cut up the apples just like they do at McDonald’s and slid them into the bag. I blocked his view of the counter, and added the cooked shop-bought fries and nuggets to their respective red boxes.’

Lauren told Good Morning America that she was inspired to share her "McDonald's dupe" after more than 800,000 TikTokers viewed a video of her trying to feed her toddler a waffle with yogurt. After applying this little red box trick, she admitted that she sat in “silent gratitude” as her son beamed with excitement and gobbled up the meal she had made.

"Every day it's up in the air and as a parent, you want your kids to eat," Lauren told Good Morning America. "If he sees it in the little red box of happiness, maybe he'll be willing to try." She revealed that she only uses this trick when Weston refuses to try new foods. The next time, she incorporates the “Happy meal hack” for the picky-eating toddler, she would add in some grapes and carrot sticks as well.

You can follow Lauren Jorgensen (@laurengattojorgen) on TikTok for more stories about her son Weston!