A thought on why they eat so much crap...

[demgirl]

For fundies, the Maxwell's eat healthy. They eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, a lot of which they grow in their own garden. They do eat a rather bland and regular plan, but at least it is healthy. The girls are all very very thin, and the boys (Joseph, John and Jessie) are fit and trim from eating well and working out.

I have to disagree. I don't think we have any idea whether the Maxwells eat a healthy diet. They certainly seem to eat a limited calorie diet. And I don't think there's anything wrong with occasionally having soup for dinner, or sometimes having a tortilla and salad for dinner. But it appears that their diet is highly restricted. I don't know if we can say it's actually healthy without seeing a full meal plan. I'm not sure that there is enough protein and complex carbs in the diet for it to be healthy. Just because they are all thin doesn't mean they're healthy. It just means they don't take in many calories and they work it off with their regimented exercise and endless housecleaning.

They eat pinto beans once a week in their burritos, but other than that I don't see much protein. But they actually don't post much on what they eat, so I'm going off an incomplete dinner menu that Sarah once posted. It may be that they eat more at lunch or breakfast, or eat protein heavy meals on days that Sarah left blank.

The stuff about eating organic to protect the workers -- I hadn't thought of that. That's a very good reason to do it.

[keen23]

They eat crap because it's easy. And our favorite fundies are inherently lazy. And you can make a whole lot of crap to feed a whole lot of people in far less time than it takes to make something from scratch. It's more labor intensive to go out to a garden, pick green beans and then get them ready to be cooked than it is to open a few cans or bags of frozen beans and pop them in boiling water. It's easy to open cans, god forbid you pick up a knife and actually cut up something that is fresh, and throw together a pile of slop and call it a casserole.

[demgirl]

I don't know about the laziness -- the parents often seem lazy, but the kids often seem to be seriously industrious workers and they are the ones usually preparing the meals. Maybe the parents just set the precedent?

[oscar]

I don't know about the laziness -- the parents often seem lazy, but the kids often seem to be seriously industrious workers and they are the ones usually preparing the meals. Maybe the parents just set the precedent?

I agree with this. When you're a kid preparing meals, you only have access to the ingredients provided to you by adults. And especially when you're little, you only know how to do things the way you've been shown. It's a challenge for adults to learn a different way of cooking and eating, but for children doing food prep, it's nearly impossible without adult guidance and support.

[jenny_islander]

Interesting note re potatoes: If you leave the skins on, you can keep healthy on a diet of mostly potatoes and skim milk with an occasional other vegetable and some meat or fish now and then. Before the Potato Famine, Irish peasants did pretty well on a diet like this--blooming Irish maidens and strapping Irish peasant lads were practicall a cliche.

About eating what you're used to: Sticking to accustomed foods is a more powerful habit than many people suspect. People don't instinctively recognize healthy food; if they grew up eating stolen ketchup packets spread on Wonder Bread (true story, not me), they'll turn to that when they are hungry and tired. The reflex seems to be activated in childhood if it's one thing or nothing for days on end, and it can be lifelong.

[annalena]

True this, if you do not know healthy food, the knowledge won't be there instantly when you reach a certain age. I remember going on school trips and seeing foods I had never seen before (not particulary healthy or unhealthy ones, just recipes my parents never cooked and apparently also weren't served at the restaurants we went to).

But I do think ar some point everyone reaches an age where it's their own respoinsibility to reconsider if what they ate /eat is actually good for them or what they want to eat.

But wait. This requires independent and critcal thinking...

[QueenMother]

I don't know why the Duggars eat so unhealthy. Surely if you go to all the trouble of birthing 19 children, you can go to the trouble of feeding them a healthy diet. The sad truth is that the kids are growing up not knowing what a healthy meal is. They are growing up thinking homemade is opening cans of gunk and pouring it into a casserole pan to bake.

They have all that yard space, why no garden? Why no freezing what they grow in their garden? Where are their fruit trees?

[gilora]

The Duggars travel too often to effectively garden. If they had a garden they'd have to (shudder) schedule their trips around growing/harvesting times.

[Katiebug]

A few thoughts:

1. In middle school I often started dinner for the family when I got home, usually Chicken Tonight (I'm dating myself) or pork chops smothered in Cream of Whatever soup over packaged stuffing or white rice. That was about the extent of my cooking interest and skill at 12 years old and I only had a family of 4 to prepare the meal for. One of the Duggars, making a meal essentially for 18 people every single day? Hell, I'm not surprised they eat tater tot casserole. It may not be as cheap but in terms of effort opening a can of Aldi brand cream of mushroom soup is easier than chopping and sauteeing fresh mushrooms, making a roux, and preparing a white mushroom sauce.

2. We eat "clean", meaning minimal processed crap. It's a lifestyle choice and I personally feel better about eating this way and feeding our family this way. I don't like that so many processed foods' ingredient lists are chemistry soup (and yes, I do know more than a little about chemistry so it's not the big words that scare me) or contain HFCS thanks to the corn lobby in the US. We try to buy certain foods organic as well, especially for our daughter.

3. We shop at Aldi for staples. Brown rice, unsweetened applesauce, eggs, etc. are all cheaper there than at the supermarket. I will buy fresh (not frozen) meats there too along with some cheeses. You have to read labels at any store if avoiding certain sweeteners and additives is your goal. Yes, some of the stuff at Aldi is crap, but so is a lot of the processed food at the regular supermarket. Our Aldi is an old one so it's not the fanciest, but my parents' town has a brand new Aldi that's really nice inside. I did have to get past the low-rent appearance of our Aldi but once we learned what was a good deal there we started a monthly trip to stock up.

Due to my husband's work schedule I have to wrangle a toddler and prepare dinner on my own after work. I cook every other night and make enough to last 2 days for lunches and dinners, and on the "off" nights I prep ingredients. For example tonight I'm going to roast fresh corn and boil whole wheat lasagna noodles as well as make a red pepper sauce for the stuffed pasta rolls I'll be actually cooking tomorrow night. I can do this because we have a normal-sized family; there's no way a Duggar girl could prepare enough food to have leftovers for a family that size, unless she's multiplying a normal recipe serving four by a factor of 10! Just feeding the family takes enough time and effort that they're not going to be getting fresh ingredients or making recipes that require extensive prep work.

[CynicMom]

Another thought:

HFCS has a big agricultural corn lobby behind it. Many of the free-range organic grass-fed proponents criticize Tysons and similar companies. There are big big businesses behind the processed food the Duggars eat and their political ideology would incline them to dismiss criticism of big businesses.

"You mean corporate monoliths might not have my best interests at heart? If that were so they'd go out of business. Go free market!"

[apple1]

That's my idea too. And I've never understood why the Duggars don't have a garden. Do the Bates? There's nothing better than starting a pan of water to boil, then going out to pick your corn. My parents only had 4 kids and we grew all our food, raised chickens, and bought a side of beef from a neighboring farmer. My parents were both professionals but felt home grown food was best. And they always cooked from scratch.

Nell

To raise a garden, preserve the harvest, and cook from scratch requires both (at least minimal) knowledge and work, involving the adults.

There's your answer. And, no, given that they have significant land space (and live in a part of the US where raising gardens is very common), it's fairly inexcusable that they don't grow a garden. Jim Sammons not withstanding.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

My aunt told me how much my grandmother would scowl at her if she dropped a bean while picking it.

Heh. I remember hearing "it takes 100 days to make a grain of rice" if we dropped any or left any rice behind in the bowl or the like. Pointing out (in our relatively rich modern times) that sure, but when you grow rice you get LOADS of it!!! never helped me win my argument, either.

As for the potatoes thing, I love potatoes in pretty much any format invented. Home cooked makes 'em even better though. Mmm, hash browns. Mmmm. That and certain local bars' really awesome fries...

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I think it has more to do with $, quantity needed and Matthew 6:25.....

[clarinetpower]

I come from farm families, and they ate MORE than I do now. Lots more. And they were smaller than I am. (I am not obese, but could stand to lose a few. American average, size 12.) But, they were working all day long. Grandma used to take snacks out to the field in the truck, and a mid-morning snack was a homemade wheat bun with butter and roast beef, fruit, and full-fat cookies plus a thermos of coffee. Then they usually came in for noon meal! Here's a typical day:

Breakfast.

Lunch. (this is our "snack", see above)

Dinner (our lunch)

Lunch

Supper

Bedtime snack.

Desserts were pies, brownies, bars, cookies, etc. and served with all meals/snacks but breakfast. Meat at every meal, pretty much. And they were all thin and strong. Hard work! ;)

Also, just a pet peeve of mine, but an easy way to remember.

Desert-- one "s", stands for SAND.

Dessert-- two "s's", stands for SUGARY SWEET.

:)

[Austin]

Hmmm, the Aldi that was near me two years ago before me moved was nothing to write home about. It was almost all boxed, prepackaged foods with the freezer to one wall and the cold cases at the back. It was a lot of prepared mixes, boxed dinners and not a lot of staples, if I remember correctly. Like, I could find rice mix but not actual bags of plain, white rice to cook alongside a meal. They barely had any produce there. I understand you can buy a lot of good things if you take the time to look, but I'm a Trader Joe's snob, so when I can spend just a bit more and shop there, I'll skip Aldi altogether. (I also had issues with buying cans of things at Aldi and the cans not being nearly full. I remember it was black beans, the can was about 1/4 full!!! I didn't know what happened. I didn't drain them...they just weren't full!)

My BFF (an-only-organic-if-at-all-possible-person) and I ran to Aldi on our lunch hour last week because another co-worker wanted some avocados which were on sale at Aldi for $.49 apiece and it was on our way. After looking around a bit, BFF was really intrigued, as she had always thought "Aldi is crap", etc. They actually had a lot of fresh produce and we ended up needing a box for all the things she bought when we originally thought we'd just be carrying out a small bag of avocados. They have their own brand of greek yogurt which sells for $.89 apiece, as opposed to $1.29 I've been paying. They had a sampling of specialty greens for $1.99 that the BFF had just paid $5 for the previous week.

I don't do the marketing, but I know my husband always starts at Aldi. We don't eat much processed foods, but he definitely will check out the dairy and the produce and whatever speciality items they have. They are owned by Trader Joe's and he notices that their inventory changes a lot based on what they get from there or wherever. Anyhoo, sometimes he buys just a few things there, other times, he'll spend $70 and then he moves on to the regular supermarket for the rest.

I was tickled to see my BFF get over her "Aldi snobbery".

[SquirrelySquirrel]

Desert-- one "s", stands for SAND.

Dessert-- two "s's", stands for SUGARY SWEET.

:)

My 3rd grade teacher taught us to remember the 2 S's in dessert by saying she always wanted 2 helpings of dessert! Your way is probably a better way to teach people, especially kids, I'll admit.

[moreorlessnu]

Also, just a pet peeve of mine, but an easy way to remember.

Desert-- one "s", stands for SAND.

Dessert-- two "s's", stands for SUGARY SWEET.

:)

Years ago, someone wrote a book that had "Dessert is stressed spelled backwards" in the title. I've always found it easy to remember the spelling of dessert by thinking of this phrase.

(I think it was a dieting book, and it was about stressed induced eating.)

[onlyorganic]

My BFF (an-only-organic-if-at-all-possible-person) and I ran to Aldi on our lunch hour last week because another co-worker wanted some avocados which were on sale at Aldi for $.49 apiece and it was on our way. After looking around a bit, BFF was really intrigued, as she had always thought "Aldi is crap", etc. They actually had a lot of fresh produce and we ended up needing a box for all the things she bought when we originally thought we'd just be carrying out a small bag of avocados. They have their own brand of greek yogurt which sells for $.89 apiece, as opposed to $1.29 I've been paying. They had a sampling of specialty greens for $1.99 that the BFF had just paid $5 for the previous week.

I don't do the marketing, but I know my husband always starts at Aldi. We don't eat much processed foods, but he definitely will check out the dairy and the produce and whatever speciality items they have. They are owned by Trader Joe's and he notices that their inventory changes a lot based on what they get from there or wherever. Anyhoo, sometimes he buys just a few things there, other times, he'll spend $70 and then he moves on to the regular supermarket for the rest.

I was tickled to see my BFF get over her "Aldi snobbery".

Austin wow, I actually had no idea that TJ's was owned by Albrechts Discount. I just know I was really disappointed by the Aldi that was in my neighborhood. I don't live anywhere near an Aldi now, so I haven't checked things out in awhile. I just know I was terribly disappointed in the one that used to be near me. I don't remember there being much in the way of produce and it seemed like instead of plain type-staples everything was some sort of pre-packaged mix. I learned quickly that you don't go to Aldi with a list of things you need... you kind of go and see what they have, lol. I've used Angel Food Ministries in the past, and Aldi reminded me of some of the things I'd find in my AFM box and go "ewww... donate." I will have to go again and have a look at the one near my parents house and see what I can find! Thanks for opening my eyes! I remember at the time, when I was shopping at Aldi I looked for a review of the store and found through Google that the Duggars LOVE Aldi. hehe.

[Wolfie]

We don't have any aldis near here, but it kind of sounds like Grocery Outlet. Great prices, but you have to go in and see what they have since it never stays the same. I've found some really great stuff, but you have to deal with the icky too.

[Austin]

Austin wow, I actually had no idea that TJ's was owned by Albrechts Discount. I just know I was really disappointed by the Aldi that was in my neighborhood. I don't live anywhere near an Aldi now, so I haven't checked things out in awhile. I just know I was terribly disappointed in the one that used to be near me. I don't remember there being much in the way of produce and it seemed like instead of plain type-staples everything was some sort of pre-packaged mix. I learned quickly that you don't go to Aldi with a list of things you need... you kind of go and see what they have, lol. I've used Angel Food Ministries in the past, and Aldi reminded me of some of the things I'd find in my AFM box and go "ewww... donate." I will have to go again and have a look at the one near my parents house and see what I can find! Thanks for opening my eyes! I remember at the time, when I was shopping at Aldi I looked for a review of the store and found through Google that the Duggars LOVE Aldi. hehe.

That's the kind of approach my husband takes. He goes to Aldi first and picks up what he likes there and then goes on to Giant Eagle or Meijer from there. It's only about two blocks outside of our subdivision so it doesn't involve any travel to check it out. It may make a difference in their inventory that we live near a fairly large city, I don't know.

I am no expert on grocery stores as I hate doing the marketing and avoid it if at all possible. My husband, OTOH, is one of those guys who knows exactly what nectarines or brussel sprouts should cost. I know none of these things. I buy what I think I will like on the rare occasion I am in a supermarket, say asparagus, and he will ask, "how much did the asparagus cost?" :doh: I have no idea. Anyhoo, I guess that's why he's willing to go to two and different stores.