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Erika Shupe *glower pout* Large Families on Purpose Part 5


keen23

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1 hour ago, 19 cats and counting said:

I'm making cheddar broccoli soup today (vitamix recipe) and I'm using two bags of frozen broccoli in it plus an onion.  

I try to put veggies in every meal (ie green smoothie at breakfast).  I had a 90th birthday party (grandmother) and Super Bowl party on Sunday so I'm feeling the junk food hangover.

This is one thing that I'll give her credit for.

I'd love to see her and Michelle Duggar on a Wife Swap style show.  She'd have a heart attack when she sees the Duggar pantry and I'd love to see her clean up their diet.

I'd watch that! Or I would if I lived in America...

Erika would also probably bring some kind of order into the Duggar kids' lives. For all the Duggars claim to use MOTH... they're nowhere near as anal as Erika. And the Shupe kids will have to get used to tater tot casserole, chicken-etti and pickles. It'd be the unhealthiest period of their lives.

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3 hours ago, princessmahina said:

I wouldn't think Erika would be too worried about their vegetable intake. With green smoothies for breakfast and a salad for lunch, they're probably okay in terms of fresh produce, especially compared to the Standard American Diet.

Ugh. I get really pissed about their "meals". I remember calculating the calories in those smoothies, and it was under 100 calories! That's not okay! 

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13 minutes ago, iweartanktops6 said:

Ugh. I get really pissed about their "meals". I remember calculating the calories in those smoothies, and it was under 100 calories! That's not okay! 

It's ok - this soup is for 8 servings each one contains 297 calories with more than your daily needs of vit. A. You also get 56% of your RDI sat. fat and 37% RDI sodium. (assuming I entered it correctly) It is rated B-

Just for interests sake without the massive amount of veggies: 271 calories, 17% (instead of 121%) vit A, sat. fat stays the same and sodium drops to 35%. It becomes a C+
 

and I think i have found a new addiction - calorie counting recipes. My dinner tonight got an A grade

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2 minutes ago, OnceUponATime said:

It's ok - this soup is for 8 servings each one contains 297 calories with more than your daily needs of vit. A. You also get 56% of your RDI sat. fat and 37% RDI sodium. (assuming I entered it correctly) It is rated B-

Just for interests sake without the massive amount of veggies: 271 calories, 17% (instead of 121%) vit A, sat. fat stays the same and sodium drops to 35%. It becomes a C+
 

and I think i have found a new addiction - calorie counting recipes. My dinner tonight got an A grade

Yeah, 300 calories is not dinner. 

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4 hours ago, usedbicycle said:

Sorry to bring up the Vegetable Cheese soup again, but Erica is so delusional. She goes on about how healthy and "chocked full of veggies" the soup is, but it only contains 1 leek, 2 celery stalks and 4 carrots - for 11 people! I use more veggies in a soup for 2. 

Granted it looks yummy but I'd be starving if I only had a small bowl of that and a glass of water. Then again, girls in my office get by on half an avocado for lunch so maybe it's just me. I'll say this though: when her boys become ravenous teenagers, she's gonna have to step up her game. During their peak growth spurts, my brothers had steak for breakfast on the regular.

Her oldest, Brandon, is almost a teen. The meals she feeds him are grossly inadequate for a 12, almost 13-year old boy. Brandon is very, very small for his age and looks quite underdeveloped. I don't think that's because of his diet (I actually think he suffers from a syndrome of some sort), but I doubt his diet helps. 

Erika's children do NOT look healthy to me, other than Karen and Melanie (who probably have the opportunity to sneak food in the kitchen). The other seven kids look scrawny, pale and underfed. They look peaked, tired, and even weak. 

I think Erika is desperately saving money for a bigger house. I think she cuts way back on the food bill to achieve that goal. She has always put her own interests first (more Olive Garden, Bob?). Plus--though I don't think she'd do this consciously--underfed kids are quieter, less messy, have less energy, and are easily manipulated with high fructose corn syrupy treats like Jelly Bellys. Kind of like restricting Happy's water so he wont' pee so much.

You want to get your kids to do stuff? Give them bland food, don't give them enough calories, then offer then Jelly Bellys. They'll fight for the chance to obey you.

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15 minutes ago, Hisey said:

Her oldest, Brandon, is almost a teen. The meals she feeds him are grossly inadequate for a 12, almost 13-year old boy. Brandon is very, very small for his age and looks quite underdeveloped. I don't think that's because of his diet (I actually think he suffers from a syndrome of some sort), but I doubt his diet helps. 

Erika's children do NOT look healthy to me, other than Karen and Melanie (who probably have the opportunity to sneak food in the kitchen). The other seven kids look scrawny, pale and underfed. They look peaked, tired, and even weak. 

I think Erika is desperately saving money for a bigger house. I think she cuts way back on the food bill to achieve that goal. She has always put her own interests first (more Olive Garden, Bob?). Plus--though I don't think she'd do this consciously--underfed kids are quieter, less messy, have less energy, and are easily manipulated with high fructose corn syrupy treats like Jelly Bellys. Kind of like restricting Happy's water so he wont' pee so much.

You want to get your kids to do stuff? Give them bland food, don't give them enough calories, then offer then Jelly Bellys. They'll fight for the chance to obey you.

[Bolding mine]

I think you're totally right. She's mentioned giving kids cliff bars or sliced apples for lunch when they have an outing. I remember her stating that she doesn't typically bring along water because the sliced apples supposedly contain enough water to hydrate them for a few hours. :my_cry: I'd hope that if push came to shove that she would give her kids a drink of water, but you know they'd have hell to pay if they needed to use the bathroom afterwards. Her whole life revolves about being as organized as possible and the least messy possible. Its almost scary. 

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58 minutes ago, Hisey said:

Her oldest, Brandon, is almost a teen. The meals she feeds him are grossly inadequate for a 12, almost 13-year old boy. Brandon is very, very small for his age and looks quite underdeveloped. I don't think that's because of his diet (I actually think he suffers from a syndrome of some sort), but I doubt his diet helps. 

Erika's children do NOT look healthy to me, other than Karen and Melanie (who probably have the opportunity to sneak food in the kitchen). The other seven kids look scrawny, pale and underfed. They look peaked, tired, and even weak. 

I think Erika is desperately saving money for a bigger house. I think she cuts way back on the food bill to achieve that goal. She has always put her own interests first (more Olive Garden, Bob?). Plus--though I don't think she'd do this consciously--underfed kids are quieter, less messy, have less energy, and are easily manipulated with high fructose corn syrupy treats like Jelly Bellys. Kind of like restricting Happy's water so he wont' pee so much.

You want to get your kids to do stuff? Give them bland food, don't give them enough calories, then offer then Jelly Bellys. They'll fight for the chance to obey you.

Totally agree.  Erika is absolutely starving those kids into submission, exactly like restricting Happy's water intake to make her life easier, not to help anyone be healthier.  Most of the kids look underdeveloped and underfed, except as you noted, Karen and Melanie, who potentially have secret snacking time in the kitchen.   ETA: Who knows how tall they might have grown, also, if given the opportunity to listen to their bodies and eat more naturally?

I've also wondered how she could keep all the kids on basically the same diet.  The caloric needs of a 12 year old are different from the needs of a 5 year old.  Obviously and unfortunately, they don't get much outdoor time, but growth alone will make a kid hungry.  Half of their DNA comes from Bob, who is not a small guy whatsoever, but all of his sons are tiny.  

Erika is so efficient: keeping them under-stimulated and under-educated with her homeschooling, AND keeping them underfed by her small meals and restricted caloric intake.  What a way to limit their futures!  *chucklefuck* I suppose, since it's that or cry over how she's hindered their development and potential life paths.   

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The soup does look good; in fact, I may even make it (although I'd have to double it at least to feed my (much smaller than Erika's) family. 

I don't know how those kids can do much on so few calories, though. My 8 year old weighs 90 pounds and regularly will eat a 3 egg omelet with cheese and meat for breakfast, along with toast and fruit and yogurt. He gets upwards of 600 calories and that's just breakfast. 

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3 minutes ago, defraudingjezebel said:

[Bolding mine]

I think you're totally right. She's mentioned giving kids cliff bars or sliced apples for lunch when they have an outing. I remember her stating that she doesn't typically bring along water because the sliced apples supposedly contain enough water to hydrate them for a few hours. :my_cry: I'd hope that if push came to shove that she would give her kids a drink of water, but you know they'd have hell to pay if they needed to use the bathroom afterwards. Her whole life revolves about being as organized as possible and the least messy possible. Its almost scary. 

Amen. I remember back in one of the old Erika threads someone posed the question "would you rather be Karen Shupe or Joy Anna Duggar". Pretty much everyone went for Joy. 

I wouldn't last five minutes in the Shupe household.  

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34 minutes ago, Hisey said:

Her oldest, Brandon, is almost a teen. The meals she feeds him are grossly inadequate for a 12, almost 13-year old boy. Brandon is very, very small for his age and looks quite underdeveloped. I don't think that's because of his diet (I actually think he suffers from a syndrome of some sort), but I doubt his diet helps. 

Erika's children do NOT look healthy to me, other than Karen and Melanie (who probably have the opportunity to sneak food in the kitchen). The other seven kids look scrawny, pale and underfed. They look peaked, tired, and even weak. 

I think Erika is desperately saving money for a bigger house. I think she cuts way back on the food bill to achieve that goal. She has always put her own interests first (more Olive Garden, Bob?). Plus--though I don't think she'd do this consciously--underfed kids are quieter, less messy, have less energy, and are easily manipulated with high fructose corn syrupy treats like Jelly Bellys. Kind of like restricting Happy's water so he wont' pee so much.

You want to get your kids to do stuff? Give them bland food, don't give them enough calories, then offer then Jelly Bellys. They'll fight for the chance to obey you.

Absolutely seriously, is this woman entirely sane?To deprive your children of education - offensive. To deprive them of opportunity - reprehensible. To deprive them of the nourishment needed to thrive - mad or bad.

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I get so fired up about this topic! @Hisey

I didn't quote you because of space, but great post! I normally don't like to judge from photos, but Brandon (?) doesn't look healthy at all! He's way too small for his age. Either he has a known medical condition (likely not managed well because, chiropractor), or he's malnourished. I know I'm probably extra sensitive about this because I'm trying to recover from anorexia, but it makes me so angry! 

First of all, I think that the fundie lifestyle is a perfect storm for an eating disorder to develop. I would be shocked if most fundies don't have at least one child in their brood that suffers from an ed. The lack of control and autonomy, in my opinion, would certainly push kids with a predisposition down that awful path. 

As for Erika's kids, when you add in the fact that she basically starves them, I imagine some of them obsess over food. I could see them going to different ends of the spectrum (some starving, some bingeing/overeating) once they leave home (if not already). It really isn't fair! 

Think about some of the school work we've seen her post. Do you think even if she was giving them a proper education, they could really learn with barely any fats and protein in their diets? Ugh. I'm going to stop now. I get seriously worked up about this and I'm so mad I'm probably not even forming coherent sentences! Fuck you, Erika! 

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Bob doesn't look starved. He must be eating elsewhere. And not green smoothies. In all seriousness, everytime this comes up, I must say there is no evidence the kids are being starved. I just don't think Erika is smart enough to think of that as a tactic for controlling her eleventy kids.  I applaud Erika actually serving her kids vegetables, fruits, and salads. Some kids get a diet that consists of sugary yogurt, pizza, pasta, nutella and jelly sandwiches, nuggets, fries, fast food, soda, juice boxes, fruit roll ups, cookies, etc. Those things aren't good. 

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12 minutes ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Bob doesn't look starved. He must be eating elsewhere. And not green smoothies. In all seriousness, everytime this comes up, I must say there is no evidence the kids are being starved. I just don't think Erika is smart enough to think of that as a tactic for controlling her eleventy kids.  I applaud Erika actually serving her kids vegetables, fruits, and salads. Some kids get a diet that consists of sugary yogurt, pizza, pasta, nutella and jelly sandwiches, nuggets, fries, fast food, soda, juice boxes, fruit roll ups, cookies, etc. Those things aren't good. 

I agree. I am not saying that the food is absolutely optimal but I don't think that the children are malnourished or starving. I think they should have more cooked meals instead of salad every lunch or at least some variations iof salads but other than that I don't have that much issues with what they are fed. I don't think she starves her kids if they are genuinely hungry. She serves 3 meals and a snack most people can manage well eating like that. I grew up eating 3 meals (or almost 2 meals as I was nog big on breakfast) and usually there was no eating inbetween meals. If I was genuinely hungry I could get a sandwich but that happened maybe every two weeks. If you are served meals on regular times the body often adjusts to that. 

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2 hours ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Bob doesn't look starved. He must be eating elsewhere. And not green smoothies. In all seriousness, everytime this comes up, I must say there is no evidence the kids are being starved. I just don't think Erika is smart enough to think of that as a tactic for controlling her eleventy kids.  I applaud Erika actually serving her kids vegetables, fruits, and salads. Some kids get a diet that consists of sugary yogurt, pizza, pasta, nutella and jelly sandwiches, nuggets, fries, fast food, soda, juice boxes, fruit roll ups, cookies, etc. Those things aren't good. 

It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other, does it? There's a way to incorporate a variety of vegetables into one's diet besides smoothies and salads. I doubt we'll ever see Erika make a nice ratatouille or veggie filled stir fry. Erika is most concerned with (and likely is forced to consider foremost) scalability and affordability of ingredients. Unfortunately, that really limits her options. 

I don't think Erika is starving her kids to death but she IS using food as a disciplinary tool- and practically every parenting expert and scholar says not to do this because it leads to the things that @iweartanktops6 mentioned. We know about the jellybeans, and there's the instance where she sat an old salad in front of one of the younger boys and refused to serve him dinner until he finished his salad from lunch. Not to mention the hot sauce on the tongue (how sad that it is that she is conditioning them into associating spice with punishment!). I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

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I'm in the 20%, and went to all manner of worldview courses and such to prepare me before 'risking' attending university.  But I'm not aware of any of my Christian friends on campus 'falling away' during their time at university either.

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9 hours ago, formergothardite said:

1 leek, 2 celery stalks and 4 carrots? I would be ashamed to call that a veggie soup for 11 people. More like a hint of veggies. 

My 2 pet rabbits wouldn't even enjoy that.

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1 hour ago, defraudingjezebel said:

It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other, does it? There's a way to incorporate a variety of vegetables into one's diet besides smoothies and salads. I doubt we'll ever see Erika make a nice ratatouille or veggie filled stir fry. Erika is most concerned with (and likely is forced to consider foremost) scalability and affordability of ingredients. Unfortunately, that really limits her options. 

I don't think Erika is starving her kids to death but she IS using food as a disciplinary tool- and practically every parenting expert and scholar says not to do this because it leads to the things that @iweartanktops6 mentioned. We know about the jellybeans, and there's the instance where she sat an old salad in front of one of the younger boys and refused to serve him dinner until he finished his salad from lunch. Not to mention the hot sauce on the tongue (how sad that it is that she is conditioning them into associating spice with punishment!). I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Yes, yes, yes! It doesn't have to be one or the other. At breakfast, add some eggs as a side with the smoothie. For lunch, give the kids some chicken or fish or sandwiches* with their salads. Give them some variety! 

If Erika wants to eat the same limited diet every day, fine. But the kids are growing! They need more. 

*I realize my examples may not be affordable, but I'm not very good at feeding people, so I can't think of examples, but you get the point. ;)

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1 hour ago, CyborgKin said:

I'm in the 20%, and went to all manner of worldview courses and such to prepare me before 'risking' attending university.  But I'm not aware of any of my Christian friends on campus 'falling away' during their time at university either.

Me, either. I'm pretty sure that "statistic" is bull shit. 

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Some of my kids are really small, I mean really really small, 2 of then were not even on the growth chart until they were in the double digits. My tiniest was 17lbs at a yr, 20 at 2, 35 at 7, 60 at 12, you get the picture. When my oldest was 13 he hit puberty, and he was already my biggest kid. He shot up to 5'8" like, over night. And his 11 old brother didn't catch a growth spurt until he was almost 15, so there were several years in there where they looked like they were 5 or more year apart. Now they are both adults and about the same height. The younger one probably weighs 30lbs less than his brother though. 

So maybe this is just a touchy subject for me. But seriously, you cannot make a medical diagnosis by seeing a few pictures on a blog. 

Also, just because she boasts about all the veggies they eat, doesn't mean they don't eat other stuff too. Obviously the girls are getting enough food, and clearly Bob and Erika are too. I think it's very likely they eat other stuff, she just doesn't want to tarnish her appearance by sharing that. She had posted about them getting ice cream, cliff bars and popcorn, rolls, and homemade granola. Which are all high calorie foods. 

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2 hours ago, iweartanktops6 said:

Me, either. I'm pretty sure that "statistic" is bull shit. 

Eh, my anecdote proves nothing either way.  80% might not have been in the campus christian group.  (Possibly because they were 'around family only' christians, as previously mentioned by others.)

But yeah, I don't put much stock in those statistics.  I've heard a lot of different numbers over the years and they're generally just a single small survey.

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23 minutes ago, Anonymousguest said:

Some of my kids are really small, I mean really really small, 2 of then were not even on the growth chart until they were in the double digits. My tiniest was 17lbs at a yr, 20 at 2, 35 at 7, 60 at 12, you get the picture. When my oldest was 13 he hit puberty, and he was already my biggest kid. He shot up to 5'8" like, over night. And his 11 old brother didn't catch a growth spurt until he was almost 15, so there were several years in there where they looked like they were 5 or more year apart. Now they are both adults and about the same height. The younger one probably weighs 30lbs less than his brother though. 

So maybe this is just a touchy subject for me. But seriously, you cannot make a medical diagnosis by seeing a few pictures on a blog. 

Also, just because she boasts about all the veggies they eat, doesn't mean they don't eat other stuff too. Obviously the girls are getting enough food, and clearly Bob and Erika are too. I think it's very likely they eat other stuff, she just doesn't want to tarnish her appearance by sharing that. She had posted about them getting ice cream, cliff bars and popcorn, rolls, and homemade granola. Which are all high calorie foods. 

I also had a child who was unusually small and who achieved a normal height and weight as an adolescent. So I know what you mean, there are small kids who are perfectly healthy.

It's actually not Brandon's size alone that makes me concerned about him. There are other things. But though it's unlikely he'd read FJ, I agree that it's not right to speculate here about a young boy. 

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9 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

I'd watch that! Or I would if I lived in America...

Erika would also probably bring some kind of order into the Duggar kids' lives. For all the Duggars claim to use MOTH... they're nowhere near as anal as Erika. And the Shupe kids will have to get used to tater tot casserole, chicken-etti and pickles. It'd be the unhealthiest period of their lives.

It may be unhealthy, but at least the poor Shupe kiddos would be full.

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38 minutes ago, Anonymousguest said:

Some of my kids are really small, I mean really really small, 2 of then were not even on the growth chart until they were in the double digits. My tiniest was 17lbs at a yr, 20 at 2, 35 at 7, 60 at 12, you get the picture. When my oldest was 13 he hit puberty, and he was already my biggest kid. He shot up to 5'8" like, over night. And his 11 old brother didn't catch a growth spurt until he was almost 15, so there were several years in there where they looked like they were 5 or more year apart. Now they are both adults and about the same height. The younger one probably weighs 30lbs less than his brother though. 

So maybe this is just a touchy subject for me. But seriously, you cannot make a medical diagnosis by seeing a few pictures on a blog. 

Also, just because she boasts about all the veggies they eat, doesn't mean they don't eat other stuff too. Obviously the girls are getting enough food, and clearly Bob and Erika are too. I think it's very likely they eat other stuff, she just doesn't want to tarnish her appearance by sharing that. She had posted about them getting ice cream, cliff bars and popcorn, rolls, and homemade granola. Which are all high calorie foods. 

I absolutely agree with the bold. I think I said something about that in my post. I probably just shouldn't have mentioned Brandon. However, excluding the part about her son's size, she has been pretty clear about her food patterns with the kids. She put the information on the Internet, so in my opinion, it's fair game for us to talk about if we choose. Respectfully, I would like to point out that the foods listed above, are not exactly meal food or anything with substantial nutrition. Ice cream is a dessert and I'm sure it's quite limited in their home. I mean, they are rewarded with a single jelly bean. Cliff bars, popcorn and granola are snacks. And are not high in calories. Rolls are sides. 

I understand your sensitivity about your kids' sizes. My brothers and me are all pure muscle and have always been stick-thin (even before I was sick), so I understand that genetics play a role. I also know there's a chance I'm overreacting some, because of my own issues with food. I certainly have baggage there, and very strong beliefs about food with kids. But, I don't think I'm completely out of left field or anything. I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong, but I do think there are major issues with control in that house. Why wouldn't it extend to food? I would be inclined to think so, even if she hadn't provided evidence, honestly. 

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3 hours ago, Anonymousguest said:

Some of my kids are really small, I mean really really small, 2 of then were not even on the growth chart until they were in the double digits. My tiniest was 17lbs at a yr, 20 at 2, 35 at 7, 60 at 12, you get the picture. When my oldest was 13 he hit puberty, and he was already my biggest kid. He shot up to 5'8" like, over night. And his 11 old brother didn't catch a growth spurt until he was almost 15, so there were several years in there where they looked like they were 5 or more year apart. Now they are both adults and about the same height. The younger one probably weighs 30lbs less than his brother though. 

So maybe this is just a touchy subject for me. But seriously, you cannot make a medical diagnosis by seeing a few pictures on a blog. 

Saying I "think he has a syndrome of some sort" is not a medical diagnosis. And (as I said above) my concern was not just based on his weight and height.

With that said, I am uncomfortable speculating about minor children and probably shouldn't have done so.

Nonetheless, I think serving 100-300 calorie breakfasts, and salads for lunch, provides inadequate nutrition for growing brains and bodies. I think those kids are fortunate in that they get decent meals when Bob is home and on their frequent trips to Grandma's. 

But Erika does not provide them with good nutrition, doesn't even seem to try. Like when they go camping. She says Bob likes to cook a full hot breakfast the first day. Then after that, she serves protein bars (!) for breakfast. Before a full day of hiking/canoeing/playing! She seems to think that just because the nutrition numbers on the protein bar look good, that provides everything the kids need. Healthy eating is much more than meeting the daily minimum requirement of this or that. Jeez, I dislike cooking and do it as little as possible, but even I would be ashamed to serve a "breakfast" like that.

3 hours ago, Anonymousguest said:

 

 

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