One rotisserie chicken for 12 people

[Diana]

I understand the LiaS folks are on a tight budget. But Kim constantly posts about going to Starbucks. Jeez, from the sound of it, if she cut out 1.5 Starbucks she could afford a second chicken for her kids. That's sure the choice I would make.

Actually they go to starbucks for free, she explained it in one of her latest post:

"In the afternoon Megan and I made the weekly trip to Costco, and Megan brought home treats for everyone from Starbucks. This was a grand gift, but it didn’t cost her a penny. She, Kaitlyn, Lydia and Perry camped out at the new Starbucks near us on the night before the grand opening, and each of them was rewarded with a card good for 52 free drinks. They’ve been treating the family generously ever since."

[Dysfundamental]

I hate to bring facts into the argument, but the recommended serving size for chicken is 3 ounces, and there are around 24 ounces of meat on a chicken. You should get eight servings off it, depending on the size of the bird.

ETA: apparently costco chickens are 3 pounds, which gives around 28 ounces of meat, which should be nine servings.

Serving 12 people 8 or 9 servings' worth of food, max, is crazy. Particularly when some of those people are growing teens.

[copper]

With the latest Vision Forum news, they'll soon be down to half a chicken for 12.

[NoneandDoneinCali]

Actually they go to starbucks for free, she explained it in one of her latest post:

"In the afternoon Megan and I made the weekly trip to Costco, and Megan brought home treats for everyone from Starbucks. This was a grand gift, but it didn’t cost her a penny. She, Kaitlyn, Lydia and Perry camped out at the new Starbucks near us on the night before the grand opening, and each of them was rewarded with a card good for 52 free drinks. They’ve been treating the family generously ever since."

Sort of off topic, but this is giving me flashbacks - I worked at Starbucks last year while I was finishing grad school, and the people that got those cards would generally order the fancier drinks with bizarre amounts/combinations of syrups, yet never tip. One woman in particular would *SLAM* down the half and half carafe on the counter if it wasn't full enough for her liking, making a scene. Another would place her (still diapered) child on the counter. Yet another group were quiet and respectful, but had no qualms about leaving stacks of those hated fake 20 dollar bills advertising their church on tables ... the bulletin board ... in the bathroom ... no matter how many times we politely told them we had to approve any advetisements in the store (religious or political things were never approved). Free drinks, no tips. Sigh. I can only imagine this woman's orders - "I'd like one large frapaccino, extra extra whipped cream, and can you split it into 7 cups? Each with their own whipped cream and individual syrups? Oh, and can you blend two bananas into it? And can I have a separate cup of milk for my coffee? Can you make that a grande sized cup completely full with its own lid? I'll pray for you - that's more important than a monetary tip!"

[Hisey]

She talks about going to Starbucks even before this. She tells one story about one of her girls being so full of Starbucks that she barfed during Krav Maga.

I will say there is a nice emphasis on being strong and fit in this family (among the girls).

[August]

Serving 12 people 8 or 9 servings' worth of food, max, is crazy. Particularly when some of those people are growing teens.

Yeah, but they only need two chickens, not six like some here are saying.

[twinmama]

Double post. Sorry!

[twinmama]

This is definitely something I wonder about for these huge families. I have two year old boys, my husband and me and I feel like we go through SO MUCH food every week. How any family of 12 affords groceries is beyond me! Unless they do 1 freaking chicken for 12 people. Baby yogurt and whole milk/almond milk alone is enough to break me!

However, how many ounces is a whole chicken? One serving of meat is only like 4 ounces, though in this country we eat huge entire chicken breasts or 16 oz steaks in one meal. So maybe with a ton of sides a chicken may be enough, if it's some huge mutant chicken.

[EmmieJ]

I hate to bring facts into the argument, but the recommended serving size for chicken is 3 ounces, and there are around 24 ounces of meat on a chicken. You should get eight servings off it, depending on the size of the bird.

ETA: apparently costco chickens are 3 pounds, which gives around 28 ounces of meat, which should be nine servings.

I'm not disputing the facts re recommended serving size. I'm just saying that 3 ounces isn't a whole lot, and if you are feeding a hungry teen like I am, 3 ounces just won't cut it. I've got a tall skinny kid who is hungry! at dinner time. I buy the grocery store rotisserie chicken sometimes, and my son eats half of that the first night, then I can usually divide the remainder into two more meal portions. I still feel it is pretty meager to split one chicken between 12 people.

[lawlifelgbt]

rward: Know what you mean! I worry about food now too, but it's like this: dog first, then partner, then me. Partner can make anything palatable, I can scrounge at school events, but a dog? No. Completely dependent on you. If you don't feed it, you're a horrible person. Same goes if you have kids. Seriously, LiaS is making me mad!

[moodygirl86]

My mother has had lifelong issues from being treated like that. By four I'd learned that "I'm a man." was bound to send her into a fit. She ordered one of my uncles out of the house because he had a temper tantrum after she insisted on feeding the children first. His excuse was he was a man. As she said poor excuse of a man who can't wait ten minutes until his own children get started to eat before stuffing his own face.

I've had one rotisserie chicken from Costco along with five sides plus bread and dessert feed five adults and one toddler and had leftovers. I've also had a starving 6 foot five man who hadn't eaten for twelve hours go through 1.5 grocery store chickens plus a plate and a half of stuffing and vegetables then look around for dessert.

Good on your mum for not taking that shit.

[penguinagogo]

on the gendered sharing of chicken -

I remember my brother once getting given chicken breast at a special family meal and asking what meat it was: because he was one of the oldest in the family he always got given a leg piece like my father did, while the easier to cut/chew/softer breast meat was usually served to the elderly and youngest family members.

My mother realised with some consternation he probably hadnt eaten chicken breast since he was about six or seven...

[patsymae]

I don't think in her case it's really about the chicken (yeah, if you use 1960s, or current European, portion sizes and include LOTS of veggies that can work), but just the vibe she gives off, which resonates with me (due to my own childhood experiences, so maybe I'm off) that she just gets off on poverty and controlling her children through food. She decides ahead of time what portion the kids will have (and teenage boys do need an average of about 3 times what a normal adult would eat), and she wants to be admired and pitied at the same time. It's not like--hey, if you need it, here's a good way I know to stretch a chicken!--it's just that she enjoys being parsimonious with her children, and she has a fixation on poverty being virtuous.

[church_of_dog]

I'm not disputing the facts re recommended serving size. I'm just saying that 3 ounces isn't a whole lot, and if you are feeding a hungry teen like I am, 3 ounces just won't cut it. I've got a tall skinny kid who is hungry! at dinner time. I buy the grocery store rotisserie chicken sometimes, and my son eats half of that the first night, then I can usually divide the remainder into two more meal portions. I still feel it is pretty meager to split one chicken between 12 people.

There's so much variation in definitions/interpretations here. I mean, obviously, some people are vegetarians and a healthy/nutritious meal can be made without any meat at all. Or, a meal can include meat but just at "condiment" or "extra flavor" levels. I suppose the difference is that if I was having a meal that had just a tiny amount of meat per person, I wouldn't really use the meat to describe "what's for dinner." In other words, if I make split pea soup, which might or might not include a hambone, I don't say I'm having ham for supper.

So I guess the bottom line is that they might be feeding plenty of nutritious food and only a small bit of it is meat, or they might be undernourishing their kids, and until we know more details, we can't really say which it might be.

[ShadowyOne]

rward: Know what you mean! I worry about food now too, but it's like this: dog first, then partner, then me. Partner can make anything palatable, I can scrounge at school events, but a dog? No. Completely dependent on you. If you don't feed it, you're a horrible person. Same goes if you have kids. Seriously, LiaS is making me mad!

Yup, things are slightly tight at the moment for us, since I am not working with a new baby, but we're scraping by okay, and providing for everyone in the house (both two- and four-footed). But I remember times in college when I had $8 left to my name, and I bought cat food rather than anything for myself, because I took responsibility for this being, dammit, and it was dependent on me. That times 100 if we are ever unable to feed our child: I will go without in a minute to provide for her. Debates over appropriate portion sizes aside, I can't see how everyone in that family can leave the table satisfied. I feel as though my baby is a bottomless pit at 10 weeks, and we're not even paying for food for her yet. I can't imagine letting her go a bit hungry for an instant.

[Clementine]

I just have to make one more post about portion sizes. I do think that 3-4 oz of meat is an ok sized serving... IF every meal you eat is nutricious and filling and you get good quality protein every day.

Yesterday my SO and I shared one chicken breast for dinner and had it with brown rice, broccoli and a bean salad. We were quite content. But then we had had a green smoothie, oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, 4 oz of salmon with quinoa salad and lots of greens for lunch, mackerel on dark sourdough bread for snack and a piece of fruit before we had dinner. We were well fed and had eaten food with lots of nutrients all day. And the year before that.

If we were to live on a diet of sandwiches, sandwiches and more sandwiches for lunch, and mostly bread-based dinners, I think we would be in a constant state of hunger and would require a lot more than 3 oz of chicken to feel full. Do the children ever get a "normal" dinner with a good sized piece of non processed meat/chicken/fish, carbs of some kind and vegetables?

I also wonder how many of the kids will be really overweight when they grow up. My SO was raised on white bread, butter and cheese and only had cooked food when he had school lunches. When we met, he was 80 pounds overweight and snacked all the time. Never had good quality food, always hungry or having cravings (for more sugar and carbs), had no idea how to cook. It has taken years for him to learn to eat cooked food twice a day and realize that it's normal to sit down and have dinner at the kitchen table and not in front of the tv, to like non-processed food like fresh salmon and chicken instead of fishy bits and chicken nuggets and to loose the excess weight.

[rward]

rward: Know what you mean! I worry about food now too, but it's like this: dog first, then partner, then me. Partner can make anything palatable, I can scrounge at school events, but a dog? No. Completely dependent on you. If you don't feed it, you're a horrible person. Same goes if you have kids. Seriously, LiaS is making me mad!

We're the same person! The dog has no choices and no way to understand why he's so hungry and we're not feeding him. So he gets fed, no matter what.

Once we were out of dire poverty, the dog started eating high protein/grain free goodness, and now that we're doing well, I've been donating money every paycheck to a local vet who gives free food and care to people who need it.

[August]

I'm not disputing the facts re recommended serving size. I'm just saying that 3 ounces isn't a whole lot, and if you are feeding a hungry teen like I am, 3 ounces just won't cut it. I've got a tall skinny kid who is hungry! at dinner time. I buy the grocery store rotisserie chicken sometimes, and my son eats half of that the first night, then I can usually divide the remainder into two more meal portions. I still feel it is pretty meager to split one chicken between 12 people.

I think we can all agree that teenagers are just human vacuums. But many people in this thread have said, essentially, "I eat half/quarter of a chicken in a sitting, so if you don't feed that to your children you're starving them". Which is just silly. Nutrition guidelines say that's an unhealthy amount of meat, so you have to choose, is it bad to give someone the healthy portion (which is not what she did, she gave about half that, and as per ATI rules, probably restricts their food a lot), or is it good to feed them unhealthily?

I had leftover halloween candy for breakfast, but made my kids eat oatmeal for theirs. By the logic expressed over and over again in this thread I am bad for not feeding them what I could manage to shove down my gob.

[lawlifelgbt]

We're the same person! The dog has no choices and no way to understand why he's so hungry and we're not feeding him. So he gets fed, no matter what.

Once we were out of dire poverty, the dog started eating high protein/grain free goodness, and now that we're doing well, I've been donating money every paycheck to a local vet who gives free food and care to people who need it.

I know! She has no concept of money, and she's a rescue, so she looks so pitiful and freaked out if we're even a little bit late feeding her, and she's always hungry. And we feed at least midrange dry food, supplemented if we're running low (cheap, high-protein human food like eggs, rice and beans, or peanut butter). Dog ate as well as I did yesterday, ha. We're practically out and going shopping later today after partner gets paid, so I'm giving human food rn. Had a student lunch event yesterday; I'm in the org putting it on, so I took the leftovers. :D It was catered by this Middle Eastern deli. So she got chicken, a chopped egg, and a bit of lamb this morning. Figure it's probably more protein than the actual dog food, and safe as long as there's no bones.

[delilahdog11]

Off topic post: but I found it is cheaper and easier to just feed my dog scraps and better for the dog. They can have some raw veggies, but my vet suggested steaming the veggies for a few moments. The dog gets all the veggie scraps from meal prep that would normally end up in the compost bin. I then fed her raw chicken with uncooked bones or raw beef. I also feed her chicken livers a couple times a week- talk to your vet on the best amount of liver to give your dog. Homemade chicken or beef stock is cheap and easy to make. You may also need to put a mineral supplement on the food. Again talk to your vet. Also it is good for your dog to not eat at least one day out of the week.

Back on topic: I could eat a rotisserie chicken by myself in one or two sittings even with lots of sides. Is this healthy? Maybe. Maybe not. I would rather fill up on proteins rather than starches because it makes me feel better. Anyway. I just don't think one chicken is enough for 12 people and I doubt they are getting offered big servings of side dishes, if she thinks one chicken is enough for 12 people.

[August]

Off topic post: but I found it is cheaper and easier to just feed my dog scraps and better for the dog. They can have some raw veggies, but my vet suggested steaming the veggies for a few moments. The dog gets all the veggie scraps from meal prep that would normally end up in the compost bin. I then fed her raw chicken with uncooked bones or raw beef. I also feed her chicken livers a couple times a week- talk to your vet on the best amount of liver to give your dog. Homemade chicken or beef stock is cheap and easy to make. You may also need to put a mineral supplement on the food. Again talk to your vet. Also it is good for your dog to not eat at least one day out of the week.

Back on topic: I could eat a rotisserie chicken by myself in one or two sittings even with lots of sides. Is this healthy? Maybe. Maybe not. I would rather fill up on proteins rather than starches because it makes me feel better. Anyway. I just don't think one chicken is enough for 12 people and I doubt they are getting offered big servings of side dishes, if she thinks one chicken is enough for 12 people.

You're supposed to be fillling up on vegetables, not on meat or starch. Are you really questioning if 1300 calories of chicken in a sitting is healthy?(for comparison, you'd be recommended to eat about 1800-2000 a day)

[delilahdog11]

My body: including my energy level and mental state works better on lots of protein and veggies. I wouldn't eat an entire chicken in one sitting. In fact, I rarely eat meat or chicken because I can't afford to be high quality meat and only eat it two to three times a week. I do eat four to five eggs a day and my cholesterol has never been better. I don't concern myself with the amount of calories but rather the quality of food that I am eating. I don't think eating a meat and veggie centric diet is unhealthy. If eating a large amount of chicken at one meal keeps me from filling up on starches and sugars than I would rather do that. Some days i need a lot of protein to make me feel full and to keep me from feeling hungry. I am of healthy weight and my diet seems to have helped control some of my chronic health problems, so I am happy with it.

[HereticHick]

It needs to be pointed out that when we talk about LiaS's "family of 12," this includes a ONE YEAR OLD, a toddler, several elementary school age children, etc.-- we can't expect them to get the same sized servings.

[EmmieJ]

I think we can all agree that teenagers are just human vacuums. But many people in this thread have said, essentially, "I eat half/quarter of a chicken in a sitting, so if you don't feed that to your children you're starving them". Which is just silly. Nutrition guidelines say that's an unhealthy amount of meat, so you have to choose, is it bad to give someone the healthy portion (which is not what she did, she gave about half that, and as per ATI rules, probably restricts their food a lot), or is it good to feed them unhealthily?

I had leftover halloween candy for breakfast, but made my kids eat oatmeal for theirs. By the logic expressed over and over again in this thread I am bad for not feeding them what I could manage to shove down my gob.

Serving each family member about 3 ounces of whatever protein is on the menu for dinner that night is fine, as long as it is paired with various nutritious and filling side dishes, so that everyone does get plenty to eat. I think the original discussion stemmed from having so many children that you had to skimp on food in order to feed them all, which in my opinion, is something one should try to avoid. Which would explain why I only had one child, when I would have liked to have at least one more. I felt that financially, I could provide for one child.

[silverspoons]

My husband grew up in a Duggar size family and when we first got married , he seemed shocked that he got a whole chicken breast. As a kid he said you would get one or two small pieces of chicken in the homemade soup, or chicken and dumpings. Now when we get out $4.99 Costco chicken it is like thanksgiving to my husband since there are only 4 of us.

There have been many a discussion on a local coupon clipping board (in Ut) about all the wonderful inexpensive meals you can make a large family out of a Costco $4.99 chicken ( or 2 meals if you have a small family). I have tried some of the recpies and they are quite good. They contain other proteins (like beans) and a lot of vegies (the recipes usually try to incorporate what the produce co-ops like bountiful baskets give out that week). The popular uses are Mexican dishes, pot pies, and chicken and dumplings.

The one issue I have is the amount of salt water Costco injects into the chickens and what brand of chicken they use. There are some costcos that have switched to a new cooking equipment and use non foster farms chickens and you can taste the difference. I have low blood pressure so I'm okay with the salt water but it might not be the healthiest option. I know recently on the coupon blog, women were talking about soaking the chicken before using it is recipes? because of the extra salt.