Parents reveal the messy kitchen chaos that can’t be seen in those perfect Instagram foodie pictures
Food bloggers unveil the truth behind their impeccably presented social media snaps in the most honest way
OUR Instagram feeds are often filled with perfect photos showing smiling children and impeccably presented plates of food - but in reality that's definitely not the case.
Five parents who've been working in collaboration with have revealed the what's really going on around the room by widening the lens.
The first mum and lifestyle blogger to attempt a baking session with her baby Emma was Bridie By The Sea.
When asked what the secret to her perfect pictures was, she replied: "Hard work. Every meal is completely unpredictable – some can go amazingly well, while others… not so much.
"It took two of us to distract Emma and coax her out of having a complete meltdown.
“Despite the absolute chaos we had caused in the kitchen, it was a success. It’s all about balance – enjoying the moment together regardless of mess and chaos.”
Next up was mum Elfa, who admitted she often feels the pressure to make everything look pristine but also acknowledges this isn't always possible.
The CaliforniaMumInLondon blogger explains: “I mainly ignore those pressures, it’s tough enough being a mother these days. I don’t want to add to anyone’s feelings of inadequacy.
“While I will sometimes share the better photos and not share the utter mess of my life, I like my blog and social media to be a fairly accurate portrayal of my family life.”
When else took her sweet pancake snap, only her son Dubz was around because his sister was throwing a strop and didn't want to take part.
The photo shows two tasty scotch pancakes with blueberries on top, but in the zoomed out shot you can see the chaos plain flour can cause.
Food blogger They Grow So Quick also took on the task of whipping up a healthy breakfast with her five and three year old sons.
"Anyone who has ever cooked with kids knows that the reality often involves mess, spillages, nibbling at the ingredients and even tantrums – it is definitely not Instagram perfect!” Emma admits.
“Yes, they made some mess with the ingredients, but it was easily wiped up and they ended up with a healthy breakfast which they devoured. We will definitely be making these again.”
The immaculate Instagram image shows a fruit based breakfast but in reality the kitchen worktop was covered in honey and loose blueberries.
Budding Smiles blogger Hannah and her two-year-old son Toby cooked up a storm making a delicious cauliflower pizza.
“Before I had children, I had images of me and my little angels sat at the table mixing ingredients, laughing over the flour making clouds, each of them having a spoon of cake mixture to lick clean and lots of fun sprinkling toppings on fairy cakes. I repeat… before I had children," Hannah explained.
“Picture perfect scenes of beautiful culinary creations are undoubtedly beautiful and in many ways inspiring, but as a less-than-Pinterest-perfect mama, they sometimes leave me feeling deflated and lacking in the creative department.
“While ‘perfect’ pictures inspire; they don’t always tell the full story.”
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But it's not just mums who blog about parenting, Working Family Food blogger Jack also juggles being a doctor and a dad.
The aim of Jack's recipes are to be healthy and take less than 30 minutes, “I enjoy composing my dishes to look good and I spend time taking photos from all sorts of angles to get just the shot I think shows off the dish’s attributes," he says.
“What you won’t see in my photos is the stack of mixing bowls, sticky utensils and scatterings of flour, splashes of milk or drips of sauce that have gone into making the dish.
“Would including the chaos and debris of reality make the food less appealing? Would there be less ‘likes’?
“Going forward, I will still put up photos I think ‘sell the food’, however don’t be surprised if a few shots of a toy-strewn living room or a child covered in his own dinner also make it up – this is the reality. Please don’t judge too harshly!”