Lemonappleade: No Added Sugar

Have you tried the Duggars' lemonappleade? 

Lemonappleade 

Ingredients:

10-12 golden delicious apples-cored & cut into large pieces 

2 small lemons-unpeeled & quartered


Directions:
Put lemons through the juicer first, then apples (helps prevents lemonade from browning). The more yellow the apples, the prettier the lemonade. Best if served over ice.
Enjoy! Serves 6


Recipe used with permission from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. Originally from the Voeller family. More of the Voeller’s healthy recipes can be found on their website.


Click here to view more delicious Duggar recipes.

Discussion Question: Duggars for Dinner

If the Duggars came to your house for a casual, family dinner, what would you prepare? 

Feel free to share your recipes here, and we just might just send them to the Duggars.

Anna Duggar's Baby Bullet

How does Anna Duggar make nutritious, preservative-free baby food for Michael? Using her Baby Bullet! Whip up a week's supply of organic baby food in under five minutes, for less than $3. Watch the Baby Bullet in action in the following video.

Have you tried the Baby Bullet? Click here to visit their website.

Duggar Recipe: Irish Soda Bread

  When the Duggars traveled to majestic Ireland in September, they spent a day at the Causey Farm. It was there that the entire family learned how to make traditional Irish soda bread. Here is the recipe that they used:

 



Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour (+ a little extra for sprinkling in pan and on top of bread)
3/4 or 1 cup wheat meal*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 egg **

3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk & 1 TBSP. white vinegar or lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Mix dry ingredients with egg, then add 3/4 cup buttermilk (can add a little more if dough is too dry and doesn't "pull away from the sides" easily.) Mix with spoon.  ***

2. Sprinkle flour on top and sides of bread dough in bowl. Sprinkle flour in bottom of pan.****

3. Roll dough from bowl into pan. Use knuckles to gently push bread down. 

4. Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help the heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. 

5. Let rise 20 min.  Bake in oven at 425F for about 20-25 minutes. Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. 

6. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked. Makes one little loaf. 

*If traditional Irish wheat meal is not available in your region, King Arthur Irish-Style Wholemeal Flour works, as does regular whole wheat or wholegrain flour. To make white Irish soda bread, replace the wheat meal with plain flour.

**Can be made without an egg, but will have to be eaten in the same day.

***If the dough is still really sticky, try adding a bit more flour. 

****Adding a bit of grease to the pan never hurts, especially if you are using a pan that is notorious for sticking. Some bakers prefer to sprinkle their pans with corn meal instead of flour. 

Click here to view more delicious Duggar recipes.

Answers to Duggar Trivia Questions

Great job to all who participated in yesterday's Duggar trivia! Everyone answered at least one question correctly. Many of you even posted the right response to number three, which was designed to be a challenge. (You sure know your Duggar facts!) Here are the answers:

1. This September, Josh and Anna will celebrate __ years of marriage. Four
2. What is Jim Bob's profession? Real estate
3. Challenge: How many siblings does Anna Duggar have? Where does she fall in the lineup? Seven; Anna is number five.

Duggar Trivia Questions

How well do you know the Duggars? Find out by answering the following trivia questions!

1. In September 2012, Josh and Anna will celebrate __ years of marriage.
2. What is Jim Bob's profession?
3. Challenge: How many siblings does Anna Duggar have? Where does she fall in the lineup?

Jason Duggar Turns 12

Happy 12th 

Birthday, 

Jason Michael Duggar!

Duggar Economics

According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will spend over $4 million raising their children from birth to age eighteen. Although they make an estimated $25,000-$40,000 per episode, the Duggars were self-sufficient years before being "discovered" by Discovery.

After working through Jim Sammon's Financial Freedom Seminar, Jim Bob and Michelle purposed to get out of debt, and they continue to live out their thrifty principles to this day. You have probably heard their "Buy Used and Save the Difference" motto. From ride-on lawnmowers to kitchen appliances--and everything in between--the Duggars are always on the lookout for bargains. Did you know that they have never purchased a new vehicle? The family currently owns two cars, one van, a 45-foot bus, and a fleet of five Suburbans. And you guessed it, no car payments. 

When offered a weekly reality TV show on TLC, the family of nineteen was living debt-free in their 7,000 square-foot home. Their sole income was earned by buying and selling commercial real estate.

An "Average" Day for the Duggars

There is nothing average about the Duggar family. In the following video, Michelle shares what a "typical" day is like in their busy household. "You can't really determine that it's always going to be the same," says the mom of many. "We have the same general schedule, but in between there are so many different things going on."

Parenting Tips from the Duggars

Whether you have one child or nineteen, these parenting tips from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will help to create a loving, family environment.

1. Teach your children to love God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength, and memorize God’s word together as a family. As part of their homeschool curriculum, Michelle and the kids gather at the kitchen table for what they call "Memory Lane." They review the Bible verses and character qualities that they have memorized, complete with hand motions.
2. Teach them to have a servant’s heart, leading by your example. Love your neighbor as yourself. The Duggars are constantly looking for ways to serve others, whether it be by raking leaves for a widow, baking cookies for the local fire department, or distributing soccer balls to the children of El Salvador. 
3. Read the Proverb of the day that corresponds with the day of the month, and discuss it as a family. Jim Bob and Michelle do this with their kids each morning, before "quick cleaning" the house and starting school.
4. Diligently keep up with each child’s attitudes and actions, and ask what is going on in their heart. Pray with them one-on-one, letting them lead in prayer and then you closing the prayer time together. With nineteen children, Jim Bob and Michelle take advantage of every opportunity to spend time alone with each of their kids. For the younger ones, these conversations may take place while working on phonics or running errands. Heart-to-heart talks with the older ones often occur late night, after the rest of the family has gone to bed. Even though that means less sleep for mom and dad, Jim Bob and Michelle don't mind at all. "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world," Michelle explained to us during an interview. "No sleep can be any better than getting to have that time with your kids."
5. Ask God to help you conquer anger because it can destroy your relationship with your children. The Duggars keep each other accountable for their actions and attitudes. Jim Bob has given his kids permission to tap him on the shoulder and say, "Daddy, I think you're getting angry."
6. Praise your children ten times more than you correct them. According to Jim Bob, when parents give up their right to a spotless home, then they are free to focus on the positive and praise their children for the things they have done right. Instead of reprimanding a well-meaning child for splashing water all over the kitchen counter, praise them for washing the dishes. When a little one spills milk on the floor while fixing breakfast, praise them for their initiative. After all, practice makes perfect.

Duggars to Back Romney in November

Now that Rick Santorum has stepped down from the presidential race, due to his youngest daughter's health struggles, which candidate will the Duggars support?  

“We will vote for Gov. Romney over our current president,” Jim Bob Duggar tells Politico. “Gov. Romney has stated he is conservative, if elected we will ask voters to hold him accountable for his conservative promises and assurances he made during the campaign." The Duggars will vote for Santorum in the Arkansas primary, as the ballots have already been printed to prepare for the May 22nd election.

Does the family regret the weeks they spent campaigning for Santorum? “The past several months as we have volunteered with Rick's campaign, we have experienced joy in winning as well as the disappointment of coming in behind by a few points," says Jim Bob, adding that they would happily “do it all over again.”

Rick Santorum thanks the Duggars for their devotion to his campaign.

"It is important that we as Americans continue to fight for our freedoms and encourage our republican nominee when elected to stay true to promises made," writes Jim Bob on the Duggar Family website. "Rick would be the first to tell you, this race was not about him, but about advancing the conservative values that our nation was founded upon.”

Thanks to one of our loyal readers for sharing this article. 

Josie Duggar Update

Now 28 months old, Josie Duggar--born at 25 weeks gestation, weighing only one pound, six ounces--is doing phenomenally well. At a recent checkup, Arkansas Children's Hospital gave her a clean bill of health. Jim Bob and Michelle will continue to take Josie to a pediatrician in Northwest Arkansas to monitor her development.

Photos: Duggars at FGF

As guests at the Fresh Grounded Faith Women's Conference, the Duggars spoke and shared music. Enjoy these photos from the event, courtesy of Jennifer Rothschild.