Come on it isn't THAT hard to do

[homeschoolmomma1]

I am sooo sick of seeing Fundies and mostly the Duggars eat sooo bad!. I am now cooking more low cost meals for my families and I notice I hardly open a can of cream of (fill in the blank). Since I started (okay it has only been 5 days) I have yet to have to resort to TTC. I don't think that they are sooo poor that they can't TRY to eat healthier.

 

It has just bothered me awhile. I mean I just remember the early clips of the Duggars when they actually were pinching pennies (so it seemed) and although the kids were skinny that meant nothing... sodium Duggars.

 

 

(start at 2:10) (they really don't need to go shopping... but whatever Discovery Health paid)

 

I do have a question when she says "one flat of the peas" how come Jinger picked up 2? Isn't a flat one of the full boxes? Perhaps I am wrong... or it is SOTDRT

 

I am surpised Raising 16 children isn't on YouTube so I can't show that.

 

But here is that dang Cheaper by the Duggars which is pretty much a big whatever by the time they get the show

 

 

 

 

(grocery part starts about 6:15)

 

 

[GenerationCedarchip]

No kidding. When I cook out of books like More-With-Less in order to keep costs down, the food isn't that expensive, it's easy to cook huge portions and most of it is very healthy.

[Mama Mia]

:nenner: When my kids were still at home damn near everything was a) a casserole b) loaded with cheese AND c) made with cream of something soup.

Although I did try for organic and / or no preservatives artificial stuff or additives on everything but the soup. And there was always at least one vegetable included. And snacks were things like yogurt and carrot sticks, not soda and candy.

So blah on all you over achiever super mamas. I was lucky to haul my butt to work and back, referee fighting grade schoolers, track down rebellious teens and occasionally wade through a pile of clutter. ;)

And casserole was on an average day, a bad day would be drive through fast food or "make your own sand which, mom has to work "

Please tell me I'm not the only non super woman here. Please :pray:

[Muriel Heslop]

:nenner: When my kids were still at home damn near everything was a) a casserole b) loaded with cheese AND c) made with cream of something soup.

Although I did try for organic and / or no preservatives artificial stuff or additives on everything but the soup. And there was always at least one vegetable included. And snacks were things like yogurt and carrot sticks, not soda and candy.

So blah on all you over achiever super mamas. I was lucky to haul my butt to work and back, referee fighting grade schoolers, track down rebellious teens and occasionally wade through a pile of clutter. ;)

And casserole was on an average day, a bad day would be drive through fast food or "make your own sand which, mom has to work "

Please tell me I'm not the only non super woman here. Please :pray:

The Standard American Diet pretty much sucks, but it's cheap and quick. Which is why many people pressed for time and/or money eat it. Heck, if you are cooking at home, that's better than eating McFood anyway.

Not sure how cooking without cream-of-soup for five days qualifies a person to be an expert in healthy food but whatever. It's pretty well documented that the Duggars don't eat the best quality food out there but they aren't overweight, and seem relatively healthy, and 75% of the people in the USA eat the same or worse.

[freedomjesusfootball]

:nenner: When my kids were still at home damn near everything was a) a casserole b) loaded with cheese AND c) made with cream of something soup.

Although I did try for organic and / or no preservatives artificial stuff or additives on everything but the so. And there was always at least one vegetable included. And snacks were things like yogurt and carrot sticks, not soda and candy.

So blah on all you over achiever super mamas. I was lucky to haul my butt to work and back, referee fighting grade schoolers, track down rebellious teens and occasionally wade through a pile of clutter. ;)

And casserole was on an average day, a bad day would be drive through fast food or "make your own sand which, mom has to work "

Please tell me I'm not the only non super woman here. Please :pray:

I'm 29 and I don't even feed myself that well. Sometimes dinner is some quinoa/veggie extravaganza and sometimes it's a big bowl of popcorn and two glasses of wine. I hope I will do slightly better once I have kids. But I am fairly certain we will still do our usual $10.00 pizza on Thursdays

:popcorn2:

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

There is some middle ground between cooking unhealthy crap all the time and being a privileged over-achiever who makes everything from scratch after picking it in her homemade garden.

I notice that people who try to do better - at anything - than the Standard American Way are often maligned and considered somehow arrogant. It's too bad, because the status quo is not serving us very well.

[patsymae]

:nenner: When my kids were still at home damn near everything was a) a casserole b) loaded with cheese AND c) made with cream of something soup.

Although I did try for organic and / or no preservatives artificial stuff or additives on everything but the soup. And there was always at least one vegetable included. And snacks were things like yogurt and carrot sticks, not soda and candy.

So blah on all you over achiever super mamas. I was lucky to haul my butt to work and back, referee fighting grade schoolers, track down rebellious teens and occasionally wade through a pile of clutter. ;)

And casserole was on an average day, a bad day would be drive through fast food or "make your own sand which, mom has to work "

Please tell me I'm not the only non super woman here. Please :pray:

No, you're far from alone. Hey, for a while I made all this stuff I thought was really healthy and then my son started begging for canned ravioli, fish sticks and canned corn. Single mom with two jobs--finally I thought, why am I killing myself--that's what he wants, go for it. He's 38 now, 6'3 and perfectly healthy.

Plus, some people really hate to cook, much less garden.

I think maybe it's just that J'chelle is so holier than thou that makes people want to pick on what she feeds her family. Even me.

[justmissedquiver]

:nenner: When my kids were still at home damn near everything was a) a casserole b) loaded with cheese AND c) made with cream of something soup.

Although I did try for organic and / or no preservatives artificial stuff or additives on everything but the soup. And there was always at least one vegetable included. And snacks were things like yogurt and carrot sticks, not soda and candy.

So blah on all you over achiever super mamas. I was lucky to haul my butt to work and back, referee fighting grade schoolers, track down rebellious teens and occasionally wade through a pile of clutter. ;)

And casserole was on an average day, a bad day would be drive through fast food or "make your own sand which, mom has to work "

Please tell me I'm not the only non super woman here. Please :pray:

I feel ya sister! you are not alone.

[Arete]

I come at this from a totally different experience. We had a garden and made everything except bread from scratch because money WAS tight. Canned food and junk food was unacceptable because it wasn't considered real food and would take money away from real food. Our family however did refine "one pot wonders" on weekdays. It's just that the stock and veggies were fresh or frozen. That and the pressure cooker was our friend.

There was no Suzie Homemaker in our family, and believe it or not, when we were young we really resented we did not eat like a lot of our neighbors.

[Muriel Heslop]

I come at this from a totally different experience. We had a garden and made everything except bread from scratch because money WAS tight. Canned food and junk food was unacceptable because it wasn't considered real food and would take money away from real food. Our family however did refine "one pot wonders" on weekdays. It's just that the stock and veggies were fresh or frozen. That and the pressure cooker was our friend.

This idea floating around that "all fundies eat nothing but tater tot casserole" is false anyway. SO many that I read do ALL THE THINGS from scratch -- wheat berries (if they even eat wheat), extensive gardens, organics only, etc. The fundies I've known IRL wouldn't touch TTC with a 10-foot pole. If anything, I'd say a lot of fundies are suckers for following every bit of internet advice from "doctors" such as Mercola et al.

[Lainey]

Every time a thread like this comes up, I think about how you can take my cream of mushroom rice from my cold, dead hands!!! It's really lovely with pork chops and broccoli. One of my favourite meals.

[patsymae]

I come at this from a totally different experience. We had a garden and made everything except bread from scratch because money WAS tight. Canned food and junk food was unacceptable because it wasn't considered real food and would take money away from real food. Our family however did refine "one pot wonders" on weekdays. It's just that the stock and veggies were fresh or frozen. That and the pressure cooker was our friend.

There was no Suzie Homemaker in our family, and believe it or not, when we were young we really resented we did not eat like a lot of our neighbors.

One of my cookbooks, basically a guide for cooking for poor people, has an intro in which the author, from the Maritimes in Canada, says her father used to hide his lobster and homemade bread sandwiches at work because it was so embarrassing not to be able to afford bologna and white bread.

[Ariel]

I come at this from a totally different experience. We had a garden and made everything except bread from scratch because money WAS tight.

That's the thing that boggles me. The Duggars have a ton of land, and so much available free manual labor via kids. They should have a kick-ass garden. They also have the massive kitchen to can/preserve all the stuff they don't eat fresh.

[treehugger]

Every time a thread like this comes up, I think about how you can take my cream of mushroom rice from my cold, dead hands!!! It's really lovely with pork chops and broccoli. One of my favourite meals.

That sounds just like my husband. He LOVES cream of anything soups - and, I have figured out how to make cream of tomato soup from scratch (it's delish) but I have not yet figured out how to make cream of mushroom anything yet. I'm working on it ;). We are trying to eat healthier - now that one of us stayed home with the baby it is easier. When we both worked our diet was atrocious. :embarrassed: It's better now, but every now and then I get the craving for popcorn suppers and cake :lol:

[nelliebelle1197]

There is some middle ground between cooking unhealthy crap all the time and being a privileged over-achiever who makes everything from scratch after picking it in her homemade garden.

I notice that people who try to do better - at anything - than the Standard American Way are often maligned and considered somehow arrogant. It's too bad, because the status quo is not serving us very well.

I agree. I work more than full time, help my husband with his business and have a couple of active kids. We eat out a bit but everything at home is fresh, organic and good, especially meat. I make pizza dough, bread and desserts. And I do have a garden that supplied piles of cucumbers, lettuces, herbs and tomatoes this summer.... :shifty-kitty: I am lucky to be in the bluest, crunchiest part of Georgia where I can access good stuff and even fancy takeouts at reasonable prices.

I figure the kids get enough junk out, so home needs to be good.

[nelliebelle1197]

That sounds just like my husband. He LOVES cream of anything soups - and, I have figured out how to make cream of tomato soup from scratch (it's delish) but I have not yet figured out how to make cream of mushroom anything yet. I'm working on it ;). We are trying to eat healthier - now that one of us stayed home with the baby it is easier. When we both worked our diet was atrocious. :embarrassed: It's better now, but every now and then I get the craving for popcorn suppers and cake :lol:

1. Lainey, see my post in the Generation Cedarchip's recent TTC thread about my family's chicken recipe! You will want it.

2. Treehugger, this type of mushroom gravy does sub well for CoM. This is not the recipe I use (I think mine is Bon Apetit) but this similar:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy- ... index.html

[Someonetocall]

It is hard and it isn't hard. I try to prepare food which is healthy but I have a hard time because I don't menu-plan. I found menu planning frustrating because, at the time, my husband and I hadn't been living together for 6months and his PTSD diagnosis wasn't even formalized. This thread reminded me why I stopped. I will be starting again tomorrow. The frustration of him turning his nose up at food is less than the combined frustration o thinking of what to make and then him turning his nose up.

Also, in re: CoM - I remember explaining to my husband that stroganoff means CoM on ground beef (with onions and spices and maybe peas if I want peas) on egg noodles. It could mean from-scratch white sauce, whole beef and fresh pasta when he made it. Not that I can't make those things but I make it how my mother did because I like how it tastes; and with his hit or miss hunger, I'm not putting that kind of effort into a meal only to be told he's too sad to eat.

[homeschoolmomma1]

Hey I have NOTHING against Casseroles and Cream of whatever soup. It is that the Duggars claim to eat soooo healthy and then you see a cart full of potato chips... yet Jim Bob has 2 things of cookies and he is the one splurging. I am sorry I feel that is messed up. I don't think people need to eat 100% healthy but I also think they and may be everyone could do better. I am learning I need to watch it. Once you get older sometimes your body isn't as nice to you. Jim Bob even has said that

[Rescinded and Mended]

No, you're far from alone. Hey, for a while I made all this stuff I thought was really healthy and then my son started begging for canned ravioli, fish sticks and canned corn. Single mom with two jobs--finally I thought, why am I killing myself--that's what he wants, go for it. He's 38 now, 6'3 and perfectly healthy.

Plus, some people really hate to cook, much less garden.

I think maybe it's just that J'chelle is so holier than thou that makes people want to pick on what she feeds her family. Even me.

Patsymae, your son sounds like my husband. I'm actually a pretty great cook, but my husband and son aren't too fond of leftovers. That, and the husband loves fish sticks and canned ravioli. I figured that I could waste time and money cooking lots of tasty, elaborate food recipes that ultimately won't get eaten, or I could give in, simplify it, and keep healthy fruits and veggies around for when they both want them. Thankfully, the healthy snacks get eaten, and I make the more elaborate, tasty recipes on my timeframe. I freeze them in batches, and if my two guys want it, they can get it from the freezer. Everyone's happier!

[HoneyBunny]

30 years of marriage and neither my husband nor I have ever bought, cooked with or eaten a can of cream of anything, even the lower fat kind. We've eaten plenty of crap food, just not that crap food.

Sorry, I just had to share. This thought occurred to me for the first time as I was reading this thread.

[YPestis]

I think eating healthy takes effort in this modern day and age. We no longer have to make our food from scratch, and we have easy and cheap access to delicious food. Plus, after a long day at work, it's just so tempting to buy boxed food ready to serve. I just feel the Duggars have the means and the man power to eat so much healthier but they choose to stick to their very unhealthy diet out of ignorance and laziness. I don't know why people keep on talking about skinny the Duggar kids are. Active children will be thin because they can burn off so much of what they eat. However, they can still be malnourished, and their metabolism will catch up with them once they reach adulthood.

Children today aren't fat because they eat Mcdonald's so much as as because they are sedentary. The Duggar kids are eating crap and they will carry that poor nutritional habit into adulthood. I've seen people in their 30's experiencing high blood pressure and borderline diabetes after decades of junk food binges. They no longer know how to eat healthy, nor do they enjoy eating healthy. It's an uphill battle for those with poor eating habits to change after decades eating oily, greasy, sodium-laden foods.

I hope to raise my kids to get used to eating real food with fresh produce and fruits, and eschew fast food and too much processed stuff. I don't want them to have to learn those habits when they're 50 and their doctor starts putting them on a dozen meds. There's a medium between going all gourmet and eating like the Duggars. The key is moderation and developing healthy, daily habits. I see little of that with the Duggars.

I hate to cook but I'm learning to do so now that I'm married. One thing I have found is when I try to do the easy route and buy processed and canned foods, my stomach complains. I grew up eating fresh veggies and meals cooked from scratch every day and my parents almost never bought canned goods. After a few days of frozen pizza and canned whatever, I ache for some REAL stuff. It's hard for me, an admitted cooking phobe who loves eating fresh food.

I've taken to learning to cook from scratch, but nothing elaborate. Cooking from scratch does not mean gourmet meals or long hours over the stove. It does take more work and I detest the prep for it. However, there's only so many ways I can eat out of a box before I start craving real stuff. I guess I have my parents to thank for that. Heck, maybe someday I'll even learn to like cooking.....

[oil]

I think the Duggars dont eat too much junk be cause they arent fat. If they eat a lot of carbs then they eat small portions be cause carb make you fat.

[Ms Jess]

I think the Duggars dont eat too much junk be cause they arent fat. If they eat a lot of carbs then they eat small portions be cause carb make you fat.

No. Carbs do not make you fat. Consistently eating more than you move makes you fat. There can be other things that play into it -- hormonal imbalances, eating disorders, or other health issues -- but one macronutrient is not responsible for obesity.

[Muriel Heslop]

Hey I have NOTHING against Casseroles and Cream of whatever soup. It is that the Duggars claim to eat soooo healthy and then you see a cart full of potato chips... yet Jim Bob has 2 things of cookies and he is the one splurging. I am sorry I feel that is messed up. I don't think people need to eat 100% healthy but I also think they and may be everyone could do better. I am learning I need to watch it. Once you get older sometimes your body isn't as nice to you. Jim Bob even has said that

Well, I have never seen them "claim to eat soooo healthy", only cheap -- and that's what they do. Like a lot of people. It wouldn't surprise me to see a revamp of the Duggar parental diet once the children fly the nest.

[jenny_islander]

Hey I have NOTHING against Casseroles and Cream of whatever soup. It is that the Duggars claim to eat soooo healthy and then you see a cart full of potato chips... yet Jim Bob has 2 things of cookies and he is the one splurging.

Yes, this. Healthy, wholesome, clean lifestyle . . . with nasty stuff like that TTC recipe, where two measly pounds of ground meat are drowned in HALF A GALLON of barely diluted condensed soup? That has Tater Tots soaking in it? :ew: Trying to live on a diet like this gave me migraines and horrific zits.

It's also a waste of time and money, as I wrote in the other thread. If you have to feed umpteen people and you can't just order food, you really need to put all of your ingredients in one pot. But if you want your kids to get their important vitamins, you have to fix a separate vegetable dish to go with the TTC. Fiber to prevent constipation? If you didn't get some high-fiber vegetables, that's yet another side dish. Come on, this is basic time management and thrift. So much for being keepers at home.