Duggar's Diets

[fundiefun]

I know it's been an over discussed topic, but a lot of these large family recipes are shocking. Most of the stuff of is boxed and you throw it together this can't be healthy. I would love to see on an episode a dietitian come talk to the family, but I know Boob wouldn't allow it.

[Peas n carrots]

I would too. I wonder though, why some of them don't have gardens or full fledged farms for that matter. I know a lot do, but it kind of surprises me that b00b & co have a huge amount of land they do NOTHING with. Initial costs might be a bit much, but in the long run it would probably save them $$$.

[haveapicniclife]

They don't have a garden because that would require commitment to something. ;) They wouldn't be able to jump into the tour bus on a whim and travel somewhere. And we all saw how overrun their front flower beds were before they "remodeled" them. I don't think they are into maintenance and upkeep much.

[Alecto]

They also live next to the dump, so their soil might be less than ideal.

[tabitha2]

I don't think they are into maintenance and upkeep much.

Exactly. Hell,they aren't particularly into animals either.They have a few cats that are outdoors only and have had dogs and the kids play with them but they are pretty much an after thought.In all they aren't a nurturing family from small children to animals to plants-If it takes involvement and hands on beyond a certain level to to right, they aren't in to it.

[lauracat7]

I've thought a lot about their diet- so poor- and I believe that they choose it because it is what they know, they like and easy enough. After all, throwing a frozen, high fat, high carb, full of chemicals lasagna into the oven is fairly easy.

I bet that even if a nutritionist, such as Ellie Krieger, visited and showed them how to save money on healthy, balanced, made from scratch meals, they'd go right back to TTC and Chickenetti.

Brining beans or poultry, roasting a turkey every month, using fresh, not stale cheap rancid herbs from Aldis, and cooking pots of oatmeal to replace all the sugary cereals for breakfast would likely seem like too much work on top of all the other J'slave tasks in a day. It really isn't harder or take more time at all- beans or poultry can brine at night by themselves- but I think they would consider it a meaningless time-suck.

What a shame, though because they are spending more money on processed foods, full of bad chemicals and little to no nuitrition, and they are developing no "palate" or appreciation for all types of foods ( per every food-related scene since day 1) especially eating in season when items are full of nutirents and at their best.

A garden would be too much work and they couldn't just take off for filming or meaningless, boring family trips.

Maybe Boob and Gil Bates secretly own stock in Campbells or maybe an evaporated milk since every dish seems to have 2-3 cans or more of "cream of bull$hit" soup in it. ..

[godlytomatosoup]

This is why the Duggars will never be my favourite fundies. I like the ones who are trying to be homesteaders as well as raising an army of kids. I demand more food porn, garden porn, and housekeeping porn!

[sage]

They also live next to the dump, so their soil might be less than ideal.

I am guessing, if they weren't such close-minded asshats, that Boob and Mullet could do a show where a local firm comes out and tests their soil for them. If they received the okay, they could then plant a rather large garden and feed their family healthy, fresh, in-season choices, whilst canning for the winter months. Talk about an excellent way to promote home-sustainable agriculture!

Oh wait, that would be using their semi-fame for *good*, in addition to teaching the kids something actually useful from SOTDRT, can't have that. :roll:

[thetabmeister]

They don't have a garden because that would require commitment to something. ;) They wouldn't be able to jump into the tour bus on a whim and travel somewhere. And we all saw how overrun their front flower beds were before they "remodeled" them. I don't think they are into maintenance and upkeep much.

Kind of a continuing theme even on up through the child-raising years, huh? You can come up with it/create it/plant it/grow it but maintain and up keep? Spend one-on-one time? Weed and prune and fertilize, whether it be plants or children? Not so much. Totally agree with your point.

[TheSassyOne]

I'm confused. I thought I saw a show where the Duggars were planting a garden in their backyard. It was some friend of the family that the garden actually belonged to, but the kids were helping and were also supposed to benefit from the harvested crops.

Did I totally misunderstand what happened in that show? Admittedly, I don't pay that close of attention to entire episodes, but I remember thinking, "well at least the kids will have some fresh vegetables now at their meals.

[Jessica]

Ugh, their diet makes me shudder.

Oatmeal can be cooked in the crock pot overnight. Brown rice makes a good oatmeal-like cereal too--a couple cups of rice, some milk, cinnamon, a little salt, maple syrup, cloves and nutmeg, dump it all in, set it to cook on low for 12 hours, there, you're done. Chop up some bananas for the kids to add in, and you have a nice healthy, hearty breakfast for 20 people with very little work involved. Even princess Michelle could handle that! ;)

A garden would give some of the "howler monkeys" something to do to get their energy out AND be productive, instead of just running all over the place. Heck, if they made them do ANY chores it would help. I don't see why James can't vacuum or why Jason can't sweep and mop, why some of the others can't help out with dishes (real dishes!) or laundry. If they do 9 loads of laundry a day, they could have each kid pitch in and do 1 load a day so that Jinger and Grandma could do something else or just have some free time.

[snickerz]

I've wondered about this, too. If they're raising 19 kids to continue in this lifestyle, they're not all going to have a TLC gravy train to ride on. They should be teaching them to garden, can, cook from scratch, etc. so that eventually they can feed their own 15 kids on minimum wage.

That episode where J'chelle made applesauce had me scratching my head. I make applesauce every year - 4 or 5 bushels worth - and was perplexed at her buying ONE bag of apples for her family of 20. Everyone probably got about a half cup of applesauce. You've got 20 acres, why not plant some fruit trees??? You've got a $$$ Bosch mixer (Josh & Anna have one too), let's see you bake some bread. Let's see you grow a bunch of tomatoes and make a big pot of sauce.

In a few years health problems are going to start surfacing as more of these kids grow up. You can handle the poor diet as a child, but when you hit adulthood, your body just can't handle the same kind of abuse anymore. We're seeing this with Josh. JD is right behind him, so is Anna. The older Bates kids, too. Weight is only part of the problem. What you don't see is the effect it's having on their arteries, hearts, livers, etc. Type 2 diabetes may be in Anna's future. A heart attack is most likely in Josh's future. No amount of praying will make them immune to this. A better diet and some exercise is necessary.

[fundiefun]

Josh is proof what their diet will do in large constant eaten quantities. In my family since were large in size we do eat a few things out of boxes but do add in fresh veggies and fruits.

[Tanaqui]

That episode where J'chelle made applesauce had me scratching my head. I make applesauce every year - 4 or 5 bushels worth - and was perplexed at her buying ONE bag of apples for her family of 20. Everyone probably got about a half cup of applesauce. You've got 20 acres, why not plant some fruit trees??? You've got a $$$ Bosch mixer (Josh & Anna have one too), let's see you bake some bread. Let's see you grow a bunch of tomatoes and make a big pot of sauce.

We've got ONE bitty apple tree in our garden and I can make enough applesauce and jelly to keep the rest of the year. Granted it's just the two of us, but still, they wouldn't have to have a whole orchard to make a dent in their grocery bill. And the trees don't need the attention a vegetable garden would, neither would a nice patch of berry bushes.