Over the years, we've heard some truly disturbing details about what goes on behind closed doors at Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's house, but now, Jinger Duggar is sharing even more. During the latest episode of the podcast she shares with husband Jeremy Vuolo, Jinger opened up about what it was like growing up as one of 19 children — including the parts that weren't so fun. And from what Jinger shared, at times, it sounds like food may have been hard to come by.
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Jinger opened up about her upbringing on 'The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast.'
The discussion began on the third episode of the couple's new podcast, and although Jinger has talked about what her childhood was really like before, this time, she shared a few details that many fans might not have known.
She talked a lot about the topic of food. Even though those who watched 19 Kids & Counting already know that Michelle cooked a lot of casseroles (including her famous tater tot casserole) for her kids, according to Jinger, there wasn't always enough to go around.
Where food was concerned, Jinger's siblings would resort to drastic measures.
Jinger said that when she and her siblings were young, some of them would bring their food into the bathroom to make sure they'd be able to have enough before it was all gone.
“That’s literally what they thought, ‘I’m not going to be able to eat my food because somebody’s going to take it and we might not have enough for seconds today,'" she said.
Later, she did note that Michelle would usually "make plenty" of food.
Their family often ate directly out of cans.
After all, feeding a family of 21 — most of them growing kids — isn't exactly cheap, so it's not surprising Jinger said her family would buy "flats of cans" of food at Aldi to save money.
“So ravioli, we would eat it cold, and that was our meal a lot of days, and then we would eat green beans out of the can and we’d pour salt and vinegar in there, in a can, and just eat it, and that was our favorite," she shared.
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Doing the dishes sounds like a logistical nightmare.
As hard as it must have been to cook for and feed a family of that size, cleaning up after meals must have been even more challenging. According to Jinger, their home had three dishwashers, and everyone would eat off of paper plates.
They also had multiple sinks, including deep ones that Jinger said are similar to what is used in restaurants.
"We had three of those, and they would always get filled up, but it was only with the dishes that we were using to cook with, and sometimes cups," she said.
She also said that growing up with so many siblings was never boring.
Despite the disadvantages that can come with growing up in such a large family, it sounds like Jinger has plenty of happy memories of her childhood, too.
"There was never a dull moment," she said. "It was so much fun. I feel like there was always somebody to hang out with."
