Jump to content
IGNORED

Meal planning with the Duggars. I fixed it for you


Buzzard

Recommended Posts

Not to mention, have we ever seen them eat a tray of tomatoes in any way, shape, or form? Frozen fruit, yes. Yogurt, yes. Salad, sometimes-especially the older girls. Pickles, obviously. That one time they brought a veggie tray on a picnic as an STFU, Internet moment. Granted, I haven't watched that many episodes of the show in the last couple of seasons, but I've never seen them eat or use fresh tomatoes for anything :?

I love snarling on what the Duggars eat, but this is a perfectly valid way of getting the best flavor out of a tomato! It is SO good. Of course, the fresher and higher quality your tomatoes are, the better. The better your vinegar is helps too (preferably balsamic). But I still ate many tomatoes from my grandparents garden this way with just salt and white vinegar and they are fantastic. Somehow, I doubt that the Duggars bother to get farmer's market tomatoes or actually eat fresh tomatoes as often as they claim, but I can't snark on the vinegar as I love it myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 67
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I eat prime tomatoes as they are, butfor not so good specimens vinegar is awesome. I'm not a fan of salting and peppering everything, but I also love tomatoes with cottage cheese. I also love tomatoes and cucumbers chopped and dressed with Italian salad dressing--add a bit of red onion and yum!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't believe for a second they are eating trays of fresh veggies on a regular basis. And wouldn't it be cheaper just to buy the veggies and chop them up instead of buying the trays?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My grandparents were farmers and my Mimi's thing was she would pick a tomato take a bite (like eating an apple) and then put a little shake of salt and pepper on and continue chowing down. She also liked tomato sandwiches where the tomato was still warm from the sun, slap that sucker on some WonderBread that had been slathered in mayo and dusted with pepper. It wasn't good unless you had to stand over the sink to catch the juice. Did I mention I have always hated tomatoes? They just look like open sores to me when they're sliced. I miss Mimi.

Wait, did that sound kinda Taryn like :shock:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the risk of sounding a tad regionalist: are Southerners the pickiest eaters ever, or is it me? I've lived in the South for 15 years and while I at least try whatever is put in front of me, this apparently makes me very unique. But the Duggars, like other Southerners I know, constantly reject food that isn't Southern or 'murrrikan enough. They make such a big deal of eating foreign cuisine, and I bet if you made then eat a plain, raw veggie they'd turn up their noses and call it rabbit food.

This of course isn't universal, but I know a lot of Norherners and Midwesterners as well and they're the ones who keep introducing me to new foods.

Could be that they're in a town too small to have anything more exotic than a Taco Bell, which is true for where I live too. But their attitudes toward food just seem so incredibly stereotypically Southern to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a note on "I used to think kids eat what you give them, until I had a weirdly picky eater":

It is normal for kids to go through picky phases. However, if you think your kid really is outside of the norm, they may benefit from actual therapy and help. There are many, many reasons for some children to be specially picky, and sensory issues are just one of them. For example, if a kid has reflux or a minor intolerance that makes them feel bad but not enough for the parents to realize, they might avoid most foods because they only want to eat those they know are safe. My mother was chronically congested as a child, her parents called her "picky" but the truth is she couldn't breathe if the food she ate took too long to chew, so she only ate those foods she knew were easy! So even if you think a medical reason doesn't apply to your kid, you may be able to get help anyway.

With that said, the attitude that of COURSE kids won't like "crazy" recipes drives me batty. Kids don't know what they're going to like until you let them try it. I admit that with a large family you want to avoid 15 wasted meals, but you can always make a novel dish as a side dish.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a note on "I used to think kids eat what you give them, until I had a weirdly picky eater":

It is normal for kids to go through picky phases. However, if you think your kid really is outside of the norm, they may benefit from actual therapy and help. There are many, many reasons for some children to be specially picky, and sensory issues are just one of them. For example, if a kid has reflux or a minor intolerance that makes them feel bad but not enough for the parents to realize, they might avoid most foods because they only want to eat those they know are safe. My mother was chronically congested as a child, her parents called her "picky" but the truth is she couldn't breathe if the food she ate took too long to chew, so she only ate those foods she knew were easy! So even if you think a medical reason doesn't apply to your kid, you may be able to get help anyway.

With that said, the attitude that of COURSE kids won't like "crazy" recipes drives me batty. Kids don't know what they're going to like until you let them try it. I admit that with a large family you want to avoid 15 wasted meals, but you can always make a novel dish as a side dish.

I would love to get some help for my duaghter, but I am at a loss as to where to start. My ped thinks her issue is sensory because of some non eating issues that also seem to be sensory. I just want to be able to transition her to some sort of a normal diet sometime in her childhood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a note on "I used to think kids eat what you give them, until I had a weirdly picky eater":

It is normal for kids to go through picky phases. However, if you think your kid really is outside of the norm, they may benefit from actual therapy and help. There are many, many reasons for some children to be specially picky, and sensory issues are just one of them. For example, if a kid has reflux or a minor intolerance that makes them feel bad but not enough for the parents to realize, they might avoid most foods because they only want to eat those they know are safe. My mother was chronically congested as a child, her parents called her "picky" but the truth is she couldn't breathe if the food she ate took too long to chew, so she only ate those foods she knew were easy! So even if you think a medical reason doesn't apply to your kid, you may be able to get help anyway.

With that said, the attitude that of COURSE kids won't like "crazy" recipes drives me batty. Kids don't know what they're going to like until you let them try it. I admit that with a large family you want to avoid 15 wasted meals, but you can always make a novel dish as a side dish.

This! My kid had reflux so bad as a toddler/infant, we had to take him to an out of state feeding specialist, and he was considered for a g-tube. He's still somewhat of a picky eater, but his major issue is still meat--won't touch it for love or money. We have had to find soo many workarounds for that pesky protein problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to get some help for my duaghter, but I am at a loss as to where to start. My ped thinks her issue is sensory because of some non eating issues that also seem to be sensory. I just want to be able to transition her to some sort of a normal diet sometime in her

childhood.

Ask for a referral to an OT. My son has SPD and food issues are part of it. Along with the reflux, it's played havoc with his eating habits. Tne OT was our lifeline, along with the feeding specialis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to get some help for my duaghter, but I am at a loss as to where to start. My ped thinks her issue is sensory because of some non eating issues that also seem to be sensory. I just want to be able to transition her to some sort of a normal diet sometime in her childhood.

A lot of times what helps is to have the child try foods that are very very similar to the ones they already like. I teach special Ed, and I have some very picky eaters. One thing I do is let them explore new foods before they taste them (its a tad wasteful, but it also helps). I had a student who would eat only orange goldfish and Cheerios. In order to help her branch out, I started by giving her the two foods that she will eat and giving her a plate of food to "explore" (touch, smell etc). With her, I started off with froot loops since they have a similar look to Cheerios. For the first week, I had her touch the FL and praised her whenever she interacted with the food. I also encouraged her to work on just touching the food to her tongue (not chewing or swallowing) to get her to experience the taste. Eventually, she worked up the courage to eat the food. Then we started with the multi-colored gold fish. She still has a limited palette, but by trying lots of new and similar foods, I am slowly getting her to branch out. I also make sure to praise her for experimenting with the new food. Another thing I do is talk to her about rewards. For example: if you eat one froot loop, you can have 2 extra minutes of computer time after snack. My goal is to keep the experience positive with lots of praise and rewards so kids develop positive feelings about trying new foods.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love snarling on what the Duggars eat, but this is a perfectly valid way of getting the best flavor out of a tomato! It is SO good. Of course, the fresher and higher quality your tomatoes are, the better. The better your vinegar is helps too (preferably balsamic). But I still ate many tomatoes from my grandparents garden this way with just salt and white vinegar and they are fantastic. Somehow, I doubt that the Duggars bother to get farmer's market tomatoes or actually eat fresh tomatoes as often as they claim, but I can't snark on the vinegar as I love it myself.

I agree- nothing wrong with enhancing the flavor (not masking it!), especially if it gets the little ones to eat it. It's MUCH healthier than the Southern staple sandwich of the summertime- the tomato & mayo on white bread. I love them with good tomatoes, a tiny bit of mayo and a generous sprinkle of black pepper...and some fresh basil leaves if I am feeling fancy. However, I dont eat them every day or even every week. They are just too good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the risk of sounding a tad regionalist: are Southerners the pickiest eaters ever, or is it me? I've lived in the South for 15 years and while I at least try whatever is put in front of me, this apparently makes me very unique. But the Duggars, like other Southerners I know, constantly reject food that isn't Southern or 'murrrikan enough. They make such a big deal of eating foreign cuisine, and I bet if you made then eat a plain, raw veggie they'd turn up their noses and call it rabbit food.

This of course isn't universal, but I know a lot of Norherners and Midwesterners as well and they're the ones who keep introducing me to new foods.

Could be that they're in a town too small to have anything more exotic than a Taco Bell, which is true for where I live too. But their attitudes toward food just seem so incredibly stereotypically Southern to me.

I live in the Deep South..aka "heart of Dixie. I can see your point and I pretty much agree. I actually made friends with a co-worker because we enjoyed different types of food and most people only ever wanted to eat faux-Mexican, meat and three, burgers, or BBQ. We ended up being lunch buddies just because everyone else was so picky and limited as to where they would eat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's an interesting thing that happened the other day. I had ripened a papaya on the windowsill, and peeled and sliced it for a snack. Oldest took one bite and said, "It tasteâ€iz like when the dentist puts his gloves in my mouth." Turns out, the enzyme in papaya is harvested to make latex. So maybe there's something more to this than just being stubborn? ;)

wow that is interesting! i did not know that about papaya! maybe she has heightened/sensitive taste buds and things are stronger to her than to most of us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:lol: :lol: Thanks, Buzzard. I really did laugh out loud reading that.

I didn't find out until I was an adult that I am alergic to celery. I never remember it served to me as as a child. Odd. I'm also one of the 10% of people who loathe cilantro with a deadly passion. It tastes like soap. That is now thought to be a genetic thing also and linked to smell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:lol: :lol: Thanks, Buzzard. I really did laugh out loud reading that.

I didn't find out until I was an adult that I am alergic to celery. I never remember it served to me as as a child. Odd. I'm also one of the 10% of people who loathe cilantro with a deadly passion. It tastes like soap. That is now thought to be a genetic thing also and linked to smell.

A friend of mine has described cilantro as tasting like chewing on metal. And she's a total foodie -- teaches cooking classes at the co-op and will eat almost anything. Except cilantro. LOL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A friend of mine has described cilantro as tasting like chewing on metal. And she's a total foodie -- teaches cooking classes at the co-op and will eat almost anything. Except cilantro. LOL.

Can you ask your friend about coriander -- the cilantro seeds. That spice doesn't bother me at all.

I'm not a picky eater either today. I love variety and all spices other than cilantro. We had a bland and Duggar-like diet when I was a child but that was partly because we were an English missionary (fundie-lite) family living in Africa. Garlic was thought disgusting. I suppose the lack of celery isn't that all that odd now I think about it. Raw foods and salads were regarded as contaminated and risky to eat. Lettuce had to be washed in many changes of boiled water -- and all drinking water had to be boiled for 20 minutes. A lot of work. When I left home I went wild on spicy foods and salads. I detested vegetables as a child but like them today, probably because I eat fresh or selected frozen vegetables, not canned, and don't boil them to a pulp!

I'm sure you all know that the Duggar casseroles are pretty much straight out of the Campbell's cookbooks of the 1950s and I was born in the 50s. Campbell had a great advertising campaign aimed at the 50s "housewife."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow that is interesting! i did not know that about papaya! maybe she has heightened/sensitive taste buds and things are stronger to her than to most of us.

My ped. always says- "why do we assume that other people experience food the way that we do?" If someone says that a blueberry tastes bad, then it probably tastes bad to them. I have another daughter who pretty much feels that all fruit and fruit flavored candy is completely disgusting. She tries it. She hates it. She loves her veggies, meat, breads, crackers and some cheese, but fruit- no thanks. I don't worry about her because while her diet is limited, it is healthy. My little one, on the other hand, eats apples, toast, peanut butter crackers, pretzels, and vanilla pediasure. Oh, and McDonalds happy meals of course. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ask for a referral to an OT. My son has SPD and food issues are part of it. Along with the reflux, it's played havoc with his eating habits. Tne OT was our lifeline, along with the feeding specialis.

can I ask what kinds of things the OT did? i am seriously considering your advice. Also, how old was your son? I wonder if I should wait unitl my little one is older. The toddler years are so difficult food-wise anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This book comes to mind (perhaps because I've read it about fifty thousand times)

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTDSljhHo82Vdt2bHxcd9P4gCcFOO7s6hlnoVUUwhIGziUSY70fqw

The parents get very worn out by the end, then it all ends well.

Had no idea about the Southern limited palate. My kids won't eat many of the Israeli staples (hummus is a no-no, no parsley, no salads) but still have a fairly reasonable repertoire. Of course if one likes a food the other won't. Both are equally against fish in any shape or form. I hope they outgrow it, Headship wouldn't touch fish when we first met, now he's a sushi afficionado.

I can't imagine the patience going into introducing a kid with severe food issues to new foods. :clap: to anyone who has ever had to deal with this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:lol: :lol: Thanks, Buzzard. I really did laugh out loud reading that.

I didn't find out until I was an adult that I am alergic to celery. I never remember it served to me as as a child. Odd. I'm also one of the 10% of people who loathe cilantro with a deadly passion. It tastes like soap. That is now thought to be a genetic thing also and linked to smell.

I have to ask - what is your stance about cinnamon? my dad maintains a 10-ft safety distance from both cilantro and cinnamon, and I think he has the same reaction to fennel or anything annisee. I love cilantro and cinnamon, can't stand fennel.

Another food on which people can be divided on is guava - some people hate it, other people love it, others love the taste but not the smell, and vice versa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I taste the latex in papaya too, I don't think I'm have particularly sensitive tastebuds. I did have lots of dental work starting from a very young age and have an aversion to that taste and smell though. Only other foods I have issues with are bell peppers and ham.

I think some of the issues has to be from all the canned, salty, sugary and fatty foods. All that stuff seems to taste the same and trying to introduce something new into that must be more of a shock than an already varied diet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, a referral to an OT can be in order if your kid is excessively picky. Low muscle tone can also be a cause of pickiness, I believe, but that can be determined later. There are just so many potential causes here!

Of course if one likes a food the other won't.

God, isn't that always the way? I make the lunches in the house for everybody, and I spend months juggling who likes peanut butter and jelly and who likes cream cheese, or which one prefers mustard with her turkey and which one prefers mayo, or who wants egg and who wants tuna fish. And just when I finally get into a groove, they come to me and say that the one who liked peanut butter, eggs, and mustard now likes cream cheese, tuna, and anchovies, and the other one likes peanut butter, sardines, and mustard, and neither of them likes mayo OR eggs, and I have a whole tub of mayo in the fridge and another in the pantry and I COULD SCREAM. Just yesterday they told me they'd been routinely dumping their pastrami, for the past six months, and here I thought they LOVED pastrami because they never brought it home! But they couldn't just tell me?

And my sister won't eat bread if she has a choice. Sigh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.




×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.