Again with the too many kids, not an adequate amount of food

[Koala]

Okay, so I've posted before that to me, LL's meal plans seem to be lacking in....something. Anyways, she's posted their menu again, and again I find myself wondering if some of these meals are really enough for a growing child. Several of them would make my kids :lol: and then ask where their real dinner was. Some of them are okay I guess, but the southern part of me is all :evil-eye: at a few of them (milkshake night, I'm looking at you).

LL just posted a pic, so I will copy down what it said here:

Monday~ Lettuce wraps

Tuesday~ Dirty rice with bacon (girlfriend is big on serving bacon for dinner) :?

Wednesday~ Milkshake night

Thursday~ Fettucine alfredo

Friday~ Eggs, toast, bacon

Saturday~ Grilled cheese with spinach

Monday~ Coconut beans and rice

Tuesday~ Sausage, potatoes, and green beans

Wednesday~ Milkshake night

Thursday~ Tortilla soup w/ chicken

Friday~ Pancakes

Saturday~ Spanish rice w/ beef

Monday~ Tacos

Tuesday~ Beans and rice

Wednesday~ Milkshake night

Thursday~ Pasta carbonara

Friday~ Veggie soup

Saturday~ Chili with leftovers

Lunches:

Monday~ Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

Tuesday~ Cheesy toast

Wednesday~ Roll ups with peanut butter and honey

Thursday~ Ham, cheese, crackers

Friday~ Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

Like I said, not all of the meals are bad, but overall, it looks like something is missing to me. I would think that they were struggling for money, but LL has been to Vegas and the beach all in the last month of so, so I guess not.

I am thinking once these kids get a bit older she's going to have a riot on her hands if she doesn't bulk up some of these meals.

[Koala]

Opps, forgot the link: vitafamiliae.com/andrew-made-the-spreadsheet-because-im-terrified-of-excel/

[ILoveJellybeans]

Milkshake night? As in, have milkshake for dinner on Wednesday?

[formergothardite]

They only give them a milkshake for dinner on milkshake night? There is a lack of fresh fruits and veggies unless she just isn't mentioning that. LL is one of those bloggers that I can't even hate read her blog. I can't stand her.

[alysee]

Milkshake night, happening once in a blue moon isn't horrible, but ONCE A WEEK, is not good. Maybe they mean smoothies? Even that's not a good dinner either, not very balanced and not very good for growing kids.

As usual she shows that she "loves" her blessings....not.

[August]

We sometimes have pancake night, but it's usually an indication that mama ain't coping. Now, crepe night, where you have main crepes filled with yummy stuff then dessert crepes filled with other yummy stuff, is another thing entirely. And I'll often do grated vegetables in thick pancake batter as part of a meal.

Milkshake night I'd assume was in addition to the meal, except this is her meal plan. Someone has to ask for clarification.

[Cerdwin]

Not big on vegetables, are they? I get the need for fairly easy to prepare food when you have kids; i have three kids too, but it's not hard to fill them up on veggies. I did an Asian version of chicken and rice tonight, with four different vegetables. It took me less than an hour from start to finish, and I went and picked a kid up from Girl Guides in that time.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Fruits and veggies look like they are few and far between. I get that fresh stuff can be expensive, esp. if it's not in season, but canned tomatoes are a great base for pasta or stew or chili, and frozen spinach is pretty cheap as well. I'm not seeing a whole lot of protein either - a bit of bacon would add flavor, but I can't imagine there would be enough for a full serving of protein. The beans would help with that. If the rice was brown rice, or the pasta was whole wheat, or the pancake flour was whole wheat, that would help a bit with the fiber and nutrition. I've done eggs for dinner sometimes (it's a protein and it's quick, so why not?).

[maybeizfundie]

I also wonder if she means smoothies. The smoothies we make here are pretty darn filling. Greek yogurt, mixed berries, and I can even sneak in a handful of spinach without affecting the taste. I guess if we were only having smoothies for dinner I would just make more than usual, to make sure the kids had enough. However....boring. :/

Could she be assuming veggies in that plan? Mine sometimes look like that. We have veggies with every supper but I only write them down if there's a specific one I'm planning for a specific night.

[gezykah]

For the price of a pound of bacon I could get a whole cooked rotisserie chicken and a bag of frozen vegetables at all the grocery stores near me. Not to say I don't love bacon but it would be cheaper, more nutritious, take less time to prepare, and be more filling if she added some chicken and veggies to the rice.

Some of these familes remind me of coworkers who create extra work for themselves trying to avoid work.

[uber frau]

For the price of a pound of bacon I could get a whole cooked rotisserie chicken and a bag of frozen vegetables at all the grocery stores near me.

Yes, but a pound of bacon can be split over a number of meals if you only add a little as a flavouring. A bit of bacon goes a long way in your lentil and onion soup.

I really, really hope what she's listed is the bare bones of a menu and that what she actually serves is rounded out to make something approximating a balanced meal. But knowing what I do about (many) fundies, I somehow doubt that's the case. :cry:

[tropaka]

yeah, I hope she's just leaving out side veggies etc because, ahem, cheesy toast for dinner (as a breakfast, okay, but...)? One night she lists left overs - left over from what?

[Hane]

Amen on the missing fruits and veggies.

They're obviously carnivores, so I notice the low quality of most of the animal protein they consume: cheese, bacon, ham, sausage--full of saturated fat and sodium. No fish, no chicken, no lean red meats.

And no salad! How do people LIVE without their green leafies?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I wonder what kind of beef she means when she says Spanish rice with beef? Probably one lb of ground beef.

[Clementine]

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese sandwiches and roll ups with peanut butter for lunch...? Where's the protein and vegetables? (Yes, I know that there is protein in peanuts, but a thin layer of bp spread on a piece of bread can't provide that much.)

[SoybeanQueen]

Milkshakes could be a fun family thing once in a while. My mom makes amazing milkshakes, and I'd be all over those for dinner!

Pancakes... again, not bad on their own, but it's all carbs if that's the whole meal. I love pancakes. Adore them. I serve them for dinner sometimes, too, but with some protein and fruit. Hopefully she just isn't listing the whole menu. If that's really the total that she serves, yeah, it's lacking.

Of course, I'd probably just write "pancakes" or something similar on our menu, too. Everyone here would know that other items will be served alongside.

[Evilbad]

She probably means smoothies. We do smoothies too sometimes for breakfast or lunch. You can make them pretty balanced if you add the right stuff. Nothing wrong with that.

We also do breakfast for dinner at least once a week because my son has a crazy football schedule and we're running around until about 8:30 PM most nights.

I don't really see anything wrong with the menu but I have to ask, what does mom not "Coping" have to do with pancakes?

[Childless]

That menu is seriously lacking. No child should ever have a milkshake as a meal. A meal consists of protein and veggies at least. Especially for children. Adults can skimp and get by as their bodies are no longer growing. Children do not have that luxury. It's why children are more susceptible to malnutrition.

Fast, healthy meals are easy to come by. Tonight, we're having blackened tilapia with lightly sauteed zucchini and yellow squash. The whole process from beginning to end is about 20 to 25 minutes.

[Koala]

That menu is seriously lacking. No child should ever have a milkshake as a meal. A meal consists of protein and veggies at least. Especially for children. Adults can skimp and get by as their bodies are no longer growing. Children do not have that luxury. It's why children are more susceptible to malnutrition.

Fast, healthy meals are easy to come by. Tonight, we're having blackened tilapia with lightly sauteed zucchini and yellow squash. The whole process from beginning to end is about 20 to 25 minutes.

We do baked zucchini and squash all of the time! Love it!

[Diana]

The dinner ones dont look bad to me, but i usually have light dinner (some times i even dinner chocolate milk) BUT thats because principal meal here is lunch... and that lunch in her menu looks even ligther than the dinner, more like something i would eat for merienda (a snack in the evening).

They are lacking a good meal in the day, how they are not hungry? or its because their principal meal its breakfast, or maybe they eat a lot of snacks along the day? :think:

[rward]

Dear Baby Buddha, that makes me want to weep.

I recognize those meal plans. My husband developed MS 5 years ago and until very recently, those were our meal plans. Cheap, nutritionally void, very little in the way of vegetables (usually frozen broccoli and corn, and canned green beans), virtually no fruits. 1 lb of bacon spread across 3 meals for flavor. Eggs on a regular basis because they're cheap protein. Breakfast for dinner because breakfast foods are cheaper. Heavy on the PB (no J, that's expensive) sandwiches for lunches. No snacks.

We're now having to learn how to actually eat. It's not easy going, let me tell you. Yesterday, we had a salad with grilled chicken, homemade salad dressing, peanuts, raisins, homemade croutons and feta (for him, I'm allergic to dairy.)! It was exciting!

Those kids will have such issues someday.

[formergothardite]

The dinner ones dont look bad to me, but i usually have light dinner (some times i even dinner chocolate milk) BUT thats because principal meal here is lunch... and that lunch in her menu looks even ligther than the dinner, more like something i would eat for merienda (a snack in the evening).

They are lacking a good meal in the day, how they are not hungry? or its because their principal meal its breakfast, or maybe they eat a lot of snacks along the day? :think:

They are probably hungry. This woman isn't fit to parent a pet rock. The way she treated her adopted daughter immediately after she adopted her was horrifying. I wouldn't be shocked if she wasn't bothered by her children going hungry.

[AnywhereButHere]

Yeah, some of them don't look too bad, but combined with the less than substantial lunches, it's not great. I was also thinking at first that she just listed the mains and didn't bother putting sides on or maybe that she added peas or something to the alfredo, but then I saw green beans one night, so I guess the others are veggie free? And what do they do for breakfast?

In all fairness, anyone (mainly my husband) looking at my breakfast "menus" would be horrified. My son and I aren't particularly jazzed about breakfast, so this morning was black coffee for me and 3 slices of cold cut ham for him. :embarrassed: Any day I can get him to eat before lunchtime without going 10 rounds is a win for me. We do make up for any nutrition lapses in the morning though with lunch and dinner.

[fun2beme]

I'm also hoping veggies were assumed but not stated. Even if the kids don't like them (as most don't), shouldn't they get used to the idea of at least seeing veggies offered with each meal to know that's the norm? Way too carb heavy, though.

Also - off topic but for those who eat squash, is there an easy way to cut acorn squash before cooking? I LOVE squash and am willing to pay extra for pre-cut butternut squash as opposed to hacking away at it like I'm in a horror movie, but just can't find a way to deal with acorn. Thanks!

[formergothardite]

I always microwave it for a minute or three and that softens it enough that it is easier to cut in half.