2 Chicken breasts revisited

[Koala]

ETA a link for those of you who aren't familiar with LL's particular brand of crazy:

vitafamiliae.com/low-maintenance-meals-for-high-maintenance-families/

Seriously, what is it with fundies and serving 2 chicken breasts for dinner??? LL has 7 children and 2 adults in her family. Here is her menu:

grilled cheese with spinach

dirty rice with bacon (saute bacon. saute onion, celery. add black beans and cooked rice. voila.)

fettucine alfredo (two chicken breasts used)

eggs, toast, bacon

lettuce wraps (use one pound of beef)

Umm, 1 lb of beef? 2 chicken breasts? For nine people? And where are all of the veggies and fruits?

Here's the rest:

pancakes (Make with a mix of coconut, wheat, & almond flour, sprinkle some flax meal in it – makes it heartier and stretches it further. This recipe has the right balance of egg to flour so that it’s not like eating quiche but it’s not a total carb-fest either.)

coconut beans & rice (cooked rice, beans, usually saute onion & garlic, add red pepper flakes & coconut milk, cilantro. I use this recipe but I don’t do it in the slow cooker.)

kielbasa sausage, potatoes, & green beans (Add chicken broth & onion flakes. Yum.)

hot dogs (We have a fire pit we like to use for company so I save this for weekends when I feel lazy and we’re hosting.) Or sliders made with a pound of ground beef and 3 cups of cooked pinto beans if I can spare the beef.

grilled chicken with salad

spanish rice with beef – 1 pound beef used, add beans to stretch further (beef, chili powder, tomato sauce, rice)

tacos

beans & rice (I learned how to cook beans from this lady’s ebook. Highly recommend.)

pasta carbonara with bacon

chicken dish (Maybe mustard chicken - my favorite dish ever, maybe chicken curry, whatever I feel like.)

almond smoothies

If I served my kids an almond smoothie for dinner they would think it was an appetizer. It would never even cross their minds that I was serving it as a meal.

To be fair, she does say she adds a veg. as she sees need.

Here is where I get pissed though:

I reached the point where I had to stretch the meals further or bankrupt us.

Umm, they just bought a new house. They just adopted one child and gave birth to another??? Why weren't they thinking of the staggering costs of food then??? Why do these people insist on having children they can not afford to feed????????????? :pull-hair:

[Rowan]

Here is where I get pissed though:

Umm, they just bought a new house. They just adopted one child and gave birth to another??? Why weren't they thinking of the staggering costs of food then??? Why do these people insist on having children they can not afford to feed????????????? :pull-hair:

Agreed. Having more children is optional. Eating is not.

[Emkay]

Umm, they just bought a new house. They just adopted one child and gave birth to another??? Why weren't they thinking of the staggering costs of food then??? Why do these people insist on having children they can not afford to feed????????????? :pull-hair:

The thing that kills me is if this wasn't a 'good Christian family,' the same people who think this is acceptable would be telling the woman she should 'keep [her] legs closed if she can't afford to have a kid.' The cognitive dissonance makes me so angry.

[formergothardite]

I seriously think that she is one of the fundies I hate the most. I can't even read her blog. She is just a horrible excuse for a mother or a human.

[Cheesemaker]

OK, so 9 people, 2 chicken breasts.

To be fair, we have a 4 person family (2 adults, one 5 yr old, one 3 yr old) and we can eat three chicken breasts for three meals, so basically one per meal.

However, these are those ginormous chicken breasts that you get now, they are almost a 1lb each.

BUT, we marinate them, sliced lengthwise, then grill, then finely slice. And, eat them in tacos or fajitas. So, for the smallish amount of chicken, you have veggie toppings (grilled onions, peppers, squash), tortillas, salad/cabbage slaw, salsa, avocados, shredded cheese, sour cream, AND we serve with beans and sometimes beans and rice.

It works great, but includes lots of other things, especially veggies, and another protein and healthy fats from avocado.

I could also see using one chicken breast, similarly sized and cooked, as an add in for a pasta dish being sufficient AS LONG as there were plenty of other things, like veggies, a salad, and a substantial amount of pasta for a meal.

You don't need tons of meat per meal. But you do need other things to round it out. I worry that what she lists is all she's feeding the family, unlike us where a meal usually consists of several elements.

[Black Aliss]

Um, don't kill me for this but I have never put chicken in any quantity in my fettucine alfredo. Cream, butter, and parmesan cheese, that's it. Green salad on the side and that's it. You don't have to eat meat at every meal, certainly not with a dish as rich as fettucine alfredo.

When you simply must have chicken the boneless (or bone them yourself) chicken thighs are cheaper and tastier than breast meat. LL, save your money and you won't have to ruin perfectly good hamburgers by cutting the ground beef with refried beans. (gack)

If I'm making a meat and veg stir fry, I'll use more vegs and way less meat than I would if I were just plopping a hunk of meat onto each person's plate. 3 oz is plenty of meat for an adult, but it makes for a pretty pathetic serving all by itself.

[Olive Plant]

I eat 2 chicken breasts for breakfast sometimes. Just me. Too much starch makes me feel crazy, and I've been feeling way better since I upped my meat and veg intake. I would feel like shit on this diet. Beans = gas and bloating, cheese and heavy cream = gas and bloating, unrefined carbs = gas and bloating. Or you could just eat wonder bread with some all-natural peanut butter and all-natural jelly. It's cheap and easy and you don't have to pretend it's particularly nutritious, even if some of the ingredients are an improvement on total shit.

On the plus side, if you're half starving your children, they won't get fat even on a diet of hot dogs and pasta. So the girls will stay nice and slim for their future spouses.

[fun2beme]

I'm an all-purpose flour kind of lady, so I may be totally off-base, but aren't coconut, wheat, and almond flours more expensive than the regular stuff? It may be worth the nutritional value to pay more for these things, but if your budget is so limited, wouldn't it make more sense to use this extra money somewhere else (like, oh, I don't know, VEGGIES)?

[Culottes]

One of the comments on her blog mentioned 2 chicken breasts for 7 as meager protein portions. She replied that they were the "big ones" from Costco.

[bananacat]

Here's what I don't understand. Why do these families insist on having meat at nearly every meal? Their money could go a lot farther if they tried some vegetarian stuff. They're trying to imitate the old fashioned farm families of the past, but they don't seem to realize that those families would have had meat only on special occasions. If your food budget is too tight, the first resort is to stop having meat at nearly every meal. It does seem like she uses beans somewhat, so she should really expand on that and go with it. I can't believe there's so much bacon. She's either spending tons of money on meat, or buying the lowest quality stuff available. No matter how much you love meat, at some point you have to decide that lentils are preferable over cheap gristly stuff. I don't even want to think about the quality of the cheap hot dogs she must buy; even the mid-price ones are sort of a catch-all. I mean, I love hot dogs but the cheap ones are so gross.

[Cartmann99]

Here's what I don't understand. Why do these families insist on having meat at nearly every meal? Their money could go a lot farther if they tried some vegetarian stuff. They're trying to imitate the old fashioned farm families of the past, but they don't seem to realize that those families would have had meat only on special occasions. If your food budget is too tight, the first resort is to stop having meat at nearly every meal. It does seem like she uses beans somewhat, so she should really expand on that and go with it. I can't believe there's so much bacon. She's either spending tons of money on meat, or buying the lowest quality stuff available. No matter how much you love meat, at some point you have to decide that lentils are preferable over cheap gristly stuff. I don't even want to think about the quality of the cheap hot dogs she must buy; even the mid-price ones are sort of a catch-all. I mean, I love hot dogs but the cheap ones are so gross.

Exactly! If money is tight, then make meals with meat the exception rather than the norm.

[dairyfreelife]

I'm an all-purpose flour kind of lady, so I may be totally off-base, but aren't coconut, wheat, and almond flours more expensive than the regular stuff? It may be worth the nutritional value to pay more for these things, but if your budget is so limited, wouldn't it make more sense to use this extra money somewhere else (like, oh, I don't know, VEGGIES)?

Yes, which sucks for those going without gluten. White flour, white bread, plain white sugar are all cheaper. Not sure where LL lives, but meat's not exactly cheap. It's like $10/2.25lb of hamburger, which was one meal for seven people and she has nine, though they could probably stretch the meat to feed everyone well for a meal, that's still not cheap. At least she's adding beans to supplement. Lentils are also a nice non-meat protein that's quite cheap.

However, I disagree with the OP on there not being any veggies or fruits since she mentions spinach, onion, celery, green beans and lettuce. She doesn't mention sides in the posts you quoted, so she could likely be having veggies there and I don't usually eat fruit with supper, but during the day as snacks, so that could also be the case. Just trying to be fair, though I obviously don't know if she is doing that at all. Benefit of the doubt. Not to excuse to her for the rest of the post though since her statement that she's going bankrupt is hogwash when she's buying coconut milk, meat for almost every meal, and almond flour. If you can't afford basic needs of food and shelter, it's best to stop having children until you can do so again.

[jenny_islander]

I'm an all-purpose flour kind of lady, so I may be totally off-base, but aren't coconut, wheat, and almond flours more expensive than the regular stuff? It may be worth the nutritional value to pay more for these things, but if your budget is so limited, wouldn't it make more sense to use this extra money somewhere else (like, oh, I don't know, VEGGIES)?

Yes, but you can't be as conspicuously virtuous with a $6.00 bag of vegetables as you can with a $6.00 bag of almond flour.

Do any of these kids have the digestive or immune system issues that would require special flours? Does Kelly?

[ari_belle]

Yes, but you can't be as conspicuously virtuous with a $6.00 bag of vegetables as you can with a $6.00 bag of almond flour.

Do any of these kids have the digestive or immune system issues that would require special flours? Does Kelly?

That's what I wondered. My ex was celiac and intolerant of a lot of other foods, so maybe that's why.

[uber frau]

Yes but she's still putting wheat in there so I doubt she's worrying about celiacs or anything like that. The only possible bonus that I can see would be that it might bump down the GI and keep them from complaining of hunger for longer. It might be worth the 6bucks for expensive flour if means they don't bother her about mid-morning snack.

[walnut]

What is so godly about not offering enough food for your children and leaving them half hungry after meals? Those poor children. This is so outrageous.

[treehugger]

I'm thinking the fancy GF flours have more to do with the newest fundie diet fads to keep doormats skinny for their headships and to prevent excessive cerebral (and other) development in their broods than they do with any digestive issues.

ETA: I am not saying that gluten-free diets will prevent proper development - but the nutritionally void diet fads that seem to be making their ways around fundie circles very well could.

[jenny_islander]

Yes but she's still putting wheat in there so I doubt she's worrying about celiacs or anything like that. The only possible bonus that I can see would be that it might bump down the GI and keep them from complaining of hunger for longer. It might be worth the 6bucks for expensive flour if means they don't bother her about mid-morning snack.

Yes, let's not forget that these doofus menus are, like Kelly locking away the food, designed to keep her children docile and obedient by keeping them weak from hunger.

I mad a pot of potato and carrot curry with a little beef in in the other day. Served it with rice, yogurt bought on clearance, and a watermelon for a cheap dinner. I thought of Kelly's kids as mine took seconds. Have they ever gotten seconds?

[ILoveJellybeans]

I'm thinking the fancy GF flours have more to do with the newest fundie diet fads to keep doormats skinny for their headships and to prevent excessive cerebral (and other) development in their broods than they do with any digestive issues.

ETA: I am not saying that gluten-free diets will prevent proper development - but the nutritionally void diet fads that seem to be making their ways around fundie circles very well could.

Thats terrible :o

Are they intentionally trying to prevent brain development in their kids????

[treehugger]

Thats terrible :o

Are they intentionally trying to prevent brain development in their kids????

I don't think it is intentional - but there are several cases of nutritional neglect that make me worry. Mostly involving young girls. We have Lauren of Sparkling fame whose daughters only "graze" for meals and who has a 6 year-old vegan daughter. Everyone else (all very young girls) eat vegetarian (and mostly raw) - and she seems to put very little thought into their meals - I do not recollect her ever mentioning supplements for any of the girls. sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=1771

Another case (and one that I think is far more common) is discussed on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17615

It seems that the blog post discussed on the thread has been taken down - but basically, a mom put her 15 year-old daughter on a very limited diet to help her lose weight (even though the teenager looked perfectly healthy). I have a feeling that is pretty common among the fundies we discuss. After all, a girl doesn't need to have any intellectual development - she just needs the perfect body for the mens!

[jenny_islander]

And let's not forget that a lot of these fundies define bodies that are on the spectrum of normal development as inherently sinful and shameful. If you happen to develop the kind of figure that even a potato sack can't hide, it's your fault. If you were a good Christian girl, you wouldn't have sinful breasts and hips.

Keeping girls underfed tends to give them more "virtuous" figures, as well as delaying the onset of puberty, which, as we all know, is the time of life at which a woman is nothing but a troublesome cunt until she can be put firmly under the control of a headship. :pull-hair: Looked at another way, she's an unpaid drudge as long as she's still at home, but as soon as she goes to become an unpaid drudge for her headship, her parents have to look around for other sources of free labor.

[dilannsmom]

Exactly! If money is tight, then make meals with meat the exception rather than the norm.

If money is tight, stop having babies!

[Mama Mia]

I'm thinking the fancy GF flours have more to do with the newest fundie diet fads to keep doormats skinny for their headships and to prevent excessive cerebral (and other) development in their broods than they do with any digestive issues.

ETA: I am not saying that gluten-free diets will prevent proper development - but the nutritionally void diet fads that seem to be making their ways around fundie circles very well could.

That doesn't make any sense at all. People add coconut and almond flour because they are higher in protein and fiber. Often people will mix a little almond and/ or coconut flour in with their regular (wheat) flour for a nutrition boost. Coconut flour is also fairly high incaloriesAlso while a bag of coconut or almond flour is expensive, if it is mixed in with regular flour it lasts a long time.

How would adding those flours make someone skinnier or prevent brain development?

[Mama Mia]

If money is tight, stop having babies!

I love meat, and tend to have a really lousy diet, but even I know that it really isn't healthy to have meat be the focus of your meal planning.

[treehugger]

That doesn't make any sense at all. People add coconut and almond flour because they are higher in protein and fiber. Often people will mix a little almond and/ or coconut flour in with their regular (wheat) flour for a nutrition boost. Coconut flour is also fairly high incaloriesAlso while a bag of coconut or almond flour is expensive, if it is mixed in with regular flour it lasts a long time.

How would adding those flours make someone skinnier or prevent brain development?

Oh, there is nothing wrong with adding the flours. I used them when I was on a GF diet (baby was gluten intolerant and I was nursing) - but, I know several fundy families who have gone GF because they believe all wheat and gluten is terrible for them and the cause of obesity in North America. The problem with their diets is, they eliminated all the grains and didn't bother to find appropriate substitutes. After all, coconut and almond flour are not grain-based flours and have different nutritional values. Also, because coconut and almond flour is so incredibly expensive, they not only cut a huge food group completely out of their diet, they also stopped eating as much. After all, you have to pay for fancy flours somehow. While I don't have a problem with adults doing what they will with their diets - I have a problem when major food groups are cut out of children's diets for not good reason and without a great deal of thought. (I'm not saying this is the case here, just that I know of several families where this is the case - and I always wonder when a large family suddenly decides to buy expensive foods with money they don't have).