I thought I'd throw this one out there as well.
What are some simple, high calorie, non-pediasure (he hates the taste and refuses anything with it in it) ways to get extra calories in to Wesley? We have some ideas already, due to having lots of other kids with the weight gain issue... BUT... his dislike of Pediasure puts a bit of a kink in things! I ordered a different flavor and we'll try that as well as any other supplement we think of. We do smoothies as we can, etc. I've heard avocado's are great, but have NO idea what to DO with an avocado! LOL
So... any good recipes or tricks that don't involved Pediasure??
For those who DO use Pediasure, we've used it as a 'base' for mashed potatoes, instead of milk in recipes, we use it in smoothies instead of milk or water, we've frozen it and crushed it for an icey treat... and yet... this is all lost on Wesley because he only took Pediasure a few times before he decided he REALLY doesn't like it!
Thanks!
I can't recall what he is eating - whether he tolerates any texure yet but I have had a lot of luck using either oil or heavy cream as a calorie boost for foods. For oil, I use canola oil because it doesn't have a lot of taste. You can put about 1 tbspoon into a cup of almost any food without changing either the texture or the taste (it sneaks the calories in). I used to put a tablespoon into 4 oz of fruit or vegetable puree; you can pour it onto spaghetti or spaghettio's (you can use butter too if you want).
ReplyDeleteI used heavy cream in a lot of dairy based things. If I was giving him milk, I would either add 1-2 oz of heavy cream or use 1/2 and 1/2 in place of about half of the milk. You can make potatoes with either heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2.
I would make a very high calorie pudding which he loved...mix 1 cup heavy cream with 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 with the powdered pudding mix - it has a nice texture and you can make about 4-5 1/2 cup servings that have about 300-400 calories in them.
There is a supplement called Scandi shakes which I was able to buy in Walmart and walmart.com. It has 600 calories per 8oz. It doesn't have the vitamin taste that the other ones have - is used in cystic fibrosis patients and I usually could get him to drink those when I couldn't get him to drink pediasure.
If he does eat some tablefood, don't be afraid to add either scandi powder or oil or butter to it.
I added cream to yogurt as well. You can get away with about 2oz in a cup of yogurt and if you stir it up vigorously it makes it almost the same texture as before.
To this day, if he is looking a little "skinny" to me, I will add a tablespoon of canola to vegetables or fruits we are having. I will put extra butter on his pasta or olive oil
weve used carnation instant breakfast..peanut butter mixed smoothies..high fat diet..
ReplyDeleteSomeone recommended almond oil to me at one time. I haven't tried it. Avocados are Wade's favorite food. All we do is scoop it out and mash it up. He eats the whole thing! He's been eating it that way since he was about 6 months. It was his first table food. Now he's 4 and we've branched out to guacamole sometimes!
ReplyDeleteThere are several great tasting products that can be found at a health food store that will help put some weight on. I don't think I would use avacado's. They actually help flush fat out of one's system. Any thyroid issues? If not, soy based products would be good.
ReplyDeleteConsistency is the key. We tried a lot of commercially available stuff and Esen hated most of it. For years now we have just ensured that he gets a stable diet every single day no matter what. He drinks whole milk, no juice. He eats two full-fat yogurts and one full-fat pudding per day, gets regular butter on everything, cheese on almost everything and we avoid filler foods that don't pack a caloric punch. He is still very thin, but has not only maintained, but has managed to creep up the growth charts just a bit.
ReplyDeleteWe've done Carnation Instant Breakfast (powder) mixed with whole milk...likewise you can add powdered milk to whole milk. With doctor's approval, there is Duocal (which can be added to pretty much anything and is tasteless). Adding olive oil, butter, and cream to anything and everything. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAvacado can just be peeled, chopped up and eaten. Also black olives are high in fat and great fun for kids to put on their fingers and eat them off the tips of their fingers. Adding olive oil to his foods is another good way to pack on the pounds. Whole milk (mix Nestle chocolate powder in if you have to, they have it in a big container at Costco).
ReplyDeletedon't forget about gravy, peanut butter (or almond butter) and honey....
ReplyDeleteYogurt is pricey- But with whole milk, you can make your own in the crockpot. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html THis is a favorite website, and the yogurt for the most part is usually fantastic... sometimes runny, but hey, it will work. For pincers, my kids like tofu rolled in graham cracker crumbs. Don't judge. Gnocci. Noodles. We blend a lot of soups as well- Squash, brocoli, add beans for fiber/protein. Most anything will blend, and if it is savory, add stock to thin if too thick, or beans or potatoes or rice cereal to thicken. ADd powdered milk for extra calories as well.
ReplyDeleteWe used to add powdered milk to many things for extra calories and nutrition.
ReplyDeleteCoconut milk is a high calorie, very nutritious, and tasty way to add calories. It can be used in a smootie or added to a wide variety of dishes and also mixed with milk. the Cooking variety is more calorie dense.
ReplyDeletehome made in a blender milk shakes with real ice cream
ReplyDeleteHi, long time, no see!
ReplyDeleteI've been making smoothies since day one with these guys, especially since my little boy started out not eating any solids (he eats almost everything now.) I like to put in foods that pack a nutritional punch (juice, green tea for antioxidants, any fresh fruits, fresh veggies that don't taste too strong, such as carrots or spinach, yogurt, olive oil, butter, nutritional supplement powders, whatever.) My kids never have minded the tiny bits of carrots. I don't know why. They act like smoothies are the most delicious thing in the world. They haven't gained a lot of weight in 6 months, but everyone is looking taller, leaner, and more muscular, and coordination is noticeably improved.
If he can have soy, we use Bright Beginnings Soy drink. You would have to google it to find it in your area. We have a grocery store up here that we requested this product and they now carry it for us (others buy it now too...I can tell because the shelf isn't always fully stocked). My Collin loves it.
ReplyDeletebutter, cream, cheese, oil,or mayo added to just about everything. Cooking veg to make them softer (burn less calories chewing that way).
ReplyDeleteMaking sure that eating itself burns as few calories as possible - stable seating position with good side supports, good head support, and comfortable so only effort goes into chewing and swallowing not balancing or holding things up.
Full fat or Jersey cream milk, melted chocolate, pie fillings rather than fruit purees, powdered milk or powdered toddler formula stirred in.
refried beans, sour cream, mashed avocado, hummous...
Avocado is great in smoothies, or my kids love to just eat chunks of it. It is very soft. Let's see. Nut butters in smoothies. Butter in oatmeal, or any other thing that can possibly hide butter in it. Half and half instead of milk in potatoes, cereal etc. Coconut milk is tasty and high in fat and other good stuff--that might be a good one for icy treats.
ReplyDeleteYou can buy a product called Benecalorie. We ordered ours at Wallgreens.com It has 390 calories in just 1 oz of liquid. We used to mix it in yogurt, applesauce, etc when we were trying to get Sunshine to gain weight by mouth. Definitely a lot of calories for very little volume! It's a bit pricey but probably not much more than you're paying for pediasure.
ReplyDeletePAULA DEEN diet...dip everything in butter!
ReplyDeleteGreek yogurt! Delicious with lots of calories!
ReplyDelete