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| Healthy foods to gain weight. | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 23 2009, 10:55 PM (179 Views) | |
| :Elvira | Feb 23 2009, 10:55 PM Post #1 |
Next door neighbour
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As many of you are aware my dearest, darling son is a picky eater. However he's been ill yet again and as usual has lost weight that he really can't afford to lose. I'm going to ask my doctor for a referal to a dietician because this has been going on too long and I really need to do something but knowing how long it takes to get an appointment do any of you have any suggestions of what healthy but fattening foods I could try? |
  http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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| :Rustic | Feb 24 2009, 02:06 PM Post #2 |
Bestest friend
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Honey does he have any food sensitivities? Are there some tastes/textures he avoids? What does he normally eat? If you give me a sample day, I can maybe give some info on what is keeping the weight off IYKWIM, as well as some hints on foods that might help him gain weight in the right way (i.e. gaining muscle). If you know his blood group then even better 
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| :Elvira | Feb 24 2009, 03:07 PM Post #3 |
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Next door neighbour
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This is what makes it so difficult it tends to be just food in general, he doesn't have any phobias or anything he's just not that interested. Even junk which the girls would eat all day if I let them, in fact they'd just eat all day regardless if I let them he just isn't bothered. He likes yoghurt, pasta, apples and bananas (occasionally) he'll eat the eggs or burgers at Mcdonald's but won't touch them (eggs or burgers) at home. He likes sausages - sometimes and he'll eat yorkshire puddings. He'll eat tinned food such as spaghetti bolognese cold from the tin but won't touch home made at all. Hmm let's pick a typical goodschool day. Breakfast: Porridge and half a glass of milk & a pro biotic yoghurt. Dinner: Sandwiches (2 slices of white bread) with Nutella chocolate spread - brings home anything else. Cereal bar or small biscuit, a piece of fruit and a drink of juice. The juice usually comes back at least half full and more often then not the fruit comes home too. After school: Drink and biscuit or fruit. Tea: Pasta Like I said that's on a good day. I have tried all sorts of approaches and I know that his diet is crap but like I said he's not being difficult he's just not interested. I hardly ever let him stay dinners because he'll come home and say he didn't eat anything because it looked horrible and I'd rather give him something I knew he'd eat that might not be quite so healthy then him eat nothing at all. I'd be really interested to hear about foods to gain muscle as he has no muscle tone at all, put it this way although his is over 4 foot tall his arms are thinner then his 3 year old sisters! I just asked him what he thought about the idea of foods to give him bigger muscles, he said he'd be interested if they were foods like pasta and hot dogs  Thing is, if he needed to lose weight that would be easy, I do that myself, need to lose a few pounds, stop eating junk but putting on weight is so much harder so any help would be very much appreciated. |
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http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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| :Rustic | Feb 24 2009, 05:12 PM Post #4 |
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Bestest friend
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There's 2 ways of approaching this - and it depends on whether he is up for it or not. You can tell him there is no way he is likely to build muscle on the diet he is on - there seems to be very little protein, and you need protein to build muscle. If he accepts that, and is open to changes then you can go one way. If thats the case let me know and I'll give you some info on the choices he can make - but for example he could have a list of protein portions, and he has to pick 2 per day, or even 1 per day to start with. The other way is to make small changes for the whole family, starting with breakfast. Porridge is good, provided it isn't one of the instant ones, and its not microwaved. But with milk and a probiotic yoghurt its too much carb, and too much dairy. (And I wouldn't give most probiotic yoghurts house room  )I can give you a recipe to make ghee - clarified butter which is basically butter with the milk proteins removed. Really simple to do. and it keeps ages.  Then you cook the porridge, put the portion in a bowl and add a teaspoon of ghee and stir in, he's unlikely to notice it, but try it yourself first. It provides some fat which will slow down the absorption of the carbs, and it will add some extra calories. Also the fat helps absorb any fat soluble vitamins and minerals. If it needs a bit of sugar or a little jam then fine, but avoid anything that says high fructose corn syrup or glucose fructose syrup. A bit more ghee won't hurt as he gets used to it. If he won't do without milk, try watering down a little single cream, it will add calories without adding more milk protein. But whatever you do, don't use UHT products. Ever. If you are using a small carton of juice and he's not drinking it anyway, try giving him a bottle of plain water. The juice cartons are pasteurised, are not particularly nutritious but can add more carb to an already high carb meal. If they are the juice drinks (as opposed to pure juice) the added ingredients can play metabolic havoc. Here's a couple of first thought possibilities for lunch, but I'd start with breakfast first, or lunch first, don't try and tackle them at the same time. Cut the crusts off the bread - its the least nutritious part. Use a bit of ghee like butter if he'll accept it, and then the nutella for now. Instead of a biscuit or cereal bar, would he eat a piece of home made sponge cake? (Sorry not shop bought for reasons I'll explain if you want me to). Use spelt flour (which you can get white or wholemeal - just do the best you can). This will add some protein in the form of eggs, which will also slow down the carb absorption. A small bar of dark chocolate would also be better than a biscuit or a cereal bar. Also play with the ghee and melted dark chocolate to see if you can come up with something that you can put in the sponge as a filling instead of jam. The main thing at the moment is to keep him off aspartame, MSG, fluoride, the fructose corn syrup stuff (which the convenience foods and McD's are probably contributing to), and get some protein into him any way you can. If he likes yorkshires - how about a pancake with spelt flour, eggs and either a little goats milk or some watered down single cream? If he will only eat yorkshires, I suggest you make your own, don't use packets or frozen. If he is up for eating home made pasta if its for building muscle, let me know and I'll give you a couple of suggestions for recipes. Its gonna be tough hun  but if you do it slowly it is doable. If you are up for it, and want the ghee recipe let me know and I'll post it up, and if you want me to explain why about anything I've said then just holler. But the best advice I can give to you is to concentrate on what you can do, however small, don't focus on what he won't accept, or you can't do.  |
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| :Elvira | Feb 24 2009, 05:58 PM Post #5 |
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Next door neighbour
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I've had a quick read through and it all sounds very interesting and helpful. I try to give him plenty of Dairy as I was told to do so years ago by his doctor who said that because of his Hypermobility he was more prone to injury and I needed to ensure he got plenty of calcium to make his bones strong. I'd like to hear the information on protein portions, with any luck we might come across something he likes. I'll have the recipe for ghee too if that's okay, anything's worth a try. I'll read the rest in a bit just wanted to ask for the information in case you was about, now I'm off to make pancakes. 
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http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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| :Rustic | Feb 24 2009, 06:04 PM Post #6 |
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Bestest friend
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Will be back later with some more info but here's the ghee recipe. Ghee Melt one pound of unsalted butter in a small stainless steel saucepan on medium heat. The better the butter, the better the ghee, so use organic butter if you can. As the butter melts it will begin to boil and separate (white froth on top with sediment settling to the bottom of the pan). Keep the butter boiling steadily. Do not stir. Allow the butter to continue to cook until the bubbling noise quietens down, the sediment at the bottom of the pan starts to turn golden brown (you can check the colour of the sediment by gently tilting the pan), and the liquid under the froth begins to turn an amber colour (it usually takes about 20 minutes). The smell also changes – it’s been described as that of freshly baked croissants, or “butterscotchy”. All these signs indicate that all the water has evaporated, and that you must turn off the heat or remove from the heat immediately or the ghee will burn quickly. Leave the cooked ghee to cool for a few minutes, then strain through a stainless steel strainer (or line a strainer with some cheese cloth) and strain the ghee into a heat resistant dish such as pyrex. Discard the sediment. The ghee will turn hard when cooled and look yellow in colour - it melts quickly when exposed to heat. Hints: 1.Don’t use an aluminium or a non stick saucepan, or a pan that’s too wide (the last being because the bubbles of air come up from the bottom to the top, but too wide a pan means its spread too thinly for there to be a top layer as such). 2.When simmering, set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes, so that if it “quietens down” you don’t forget it! Then watch it for the last few minutes cooking. 3.It is done when there are amber coloured “flecks” at the bottom of the pan when you tilt it. If the specks are white it wants just a little more time, if its brown its gone slightly over, but is still delicious! The froth is also flatter, and less frothy. 4.Don’t let it get too cool before straining, but don’t strain hot fat into a non heat resistant dish or a plastic container. (Fat is a toxin magnet and you don't want plastics leaching in ). Edited by Rustic, Feb 24 2009, 06:05 PM.
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| :Rustic | Feb 24 2009, 06:53 PM Post #7 |
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Bestest friend
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Sorry hun but that info is out of date. The problem with dairy is that the calcium in cows milk isn't easily digested. Calcium needs to be balanced with magnesium, and that may well be why is is wanting to eat nutella. Nuts and chocolate have both calcium and magnesium. Re the dairy - UHT is a source of MSG, as are some processed cheeses. Homogenisation which disperses fat through the milk apparently allows undigested tiny globules to enter the blood stream and can cause inflammation. Pasteurisation kills enzymes, which means that the body's own reserves are used up in metabolising the product. If someone hasn't got a good diet to replenish .... or if they are ingesting "enzyme inhibitors" such as fluoride .... the result is inflammation, which could be contributing to hypermobility problems. Probiotic yoghurts often contain fillers and sugars, and the probiotic element isn't therapeutic enough. The probiotic may help the good bacteria, but any added starches and sugars feed the bad bacteria..... Also milk products crowd out other things, as does wheat. If a child has gut problems, then opioids from the milk and wheat can leak through the gut and cause all sorts of problems, including addiction (I'm not suggested this is what is happening, but it could be one factor in why someone insists on eating the same thing day after day. Coming off the stuff causes withdrawal symptoms, so eating it constantly becomes a form of self medication). A child won't be able to verbalise why they "need" to have the same food, but with poor appetite then little and often of a "self medicating " food might be the result. Wheat and milk can be "numbing" for want of a better word, people who come off it have been known to feel more grounded, more alert, more conscious of their bodies ... they have a better sense of their muscles and joints etc. Nuts and seeds are a much better source of calcium, as are some vegetables, and there's ways and means of getting them into a child .....  Nutella is hazelnuts isn't it? How about some ground up hazelnuts and flaxseed, with some melted dark chocolate made into little "treats" in those tiny petit four cases? With a bit of dried fruit? Or mixed into some oat flapjack mix and cooked in a low oven? Then put a dark chocolate coating on .... |
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| :Elvira | Feb 24 2009, 10:44 PM Post #8 |
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Next door neighbour
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Hmm I've noticed that you've mentioned flouride a couple of times, now I'm not 100% certain but I vaguely remember a story in the local news about flouride being added to our drinking water. Plus I had him at the dentist a couple of weeks ago and because she found a small hole at the back of one of his teeth (not decayed, she thinks it's just grown like that) she prescribed him some extra strength Flouride toothpaste. Obviously if this is something that's going to have a big impact on his health then I need to reconsider letting him use it. |
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http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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| :Rustic | Feb 24 2009, 11:20 PM Post #9 |
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Bestest friend
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http://web.mac.com/rblaylock/Russell_Blaylock_M.D./Published_Papers_files/Blaylock%20paper%20fluoride.PDF is a bit of a technical read, but you get the idea.... I wanted to give you something that isn't just one of my rants about fluoride  I have Russell Blaylock's book on the excitoxins MSG and aspartame, and I can give you a link to a lecture he has given on "exitotoxins" generally, particularly with regard to children's development. From this fluoride text though .... If excitotoxicity indeed plays a significant role in fluoride toxicity, we need to apply some of the methods used to protect against xcitotoxicity, such as increasing the intake of ..................................... Of special importance is supplementation with magnesium, which has been shown to block the NMDA glutamate receptor and decrease free radical production. See what I mean about magnesium? The other thing is that if certain amino acids are needed to detox the heavy metals. If he isn't eating much protein, has a high intake of fluoride, low magnesium etc,,,,  |
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| :Rustic | Feb 26 2009, 08:53 AM Post #10 |
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Bestest friend
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Have come up with a few protein things, as you can see there is some soft cheeses, but they are usually easier to digest, they make something much blander tasting, so for example you start with a high percentage of the soft cheese, and a little fish, and then slowly build up. Pink or red salmon, drain well, mash up with a small amount of mild ricotta cheese, makes a fairly mild spread, for sandwiches or as a dip with cucumber slices etc. (or puree well if you need to really disguise it). Sardines are also good, but are stronger tasting, but might work now, or maybe later. (Don't use farmed salmon, or smoked. Wild salmon is much better and contains an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation. Tinned salmon is normally wild). Tuna (or white fish or salmon) fishcakes. (Coat in spelt flour and gently sauté in ghee or olive oil). If you can (and the colour doesn’t put him off!) use mashed sweet potato instead of ordinary potato, or a mixture of both. You can also add a spoonful of ricotta to the mix. Turkey mince, or lamb mince, or beef mince. Cook up some chopped onions in a little water (and maybe some veges), puree and stir through with a tomato paste that doesn’t contain MSG. Most tomato products contain citric acid - but there are some without, so its worth having a good read of the labels. Slithers of cooked chicken or turkey breast, spelt pasta bows or spirals. Make a creamy sauce with some sautéed chopped onions, single cream and a dollop of ricotta, mix really well and stir through cooked spelt pasta and chicken. (Ricotta and quark are usually easier to digest than hard cheeses). Puree the onions first if he doesn’t like bits. Scrambled eggs, poached or an omelette. Bacon isn’t a good choice because of nitrates blah blah, but if he likes bacon, try turkey bacon rather than pork. Turkey is a better choice in terms of making the “feel good neurotransmitters.” Also there’s a sprouted flaxseed powder available, one has blueberries, the other cranberries (the make is Linusprout) – it has got carbs, but protein and healthy fat, enzymes, omega 3’s etc. Its also got calcium. Use a tiny bit in porridge, or a smoothie etc and just build it up. Or put some in a flapjack mix, cook on the lowest heat possible to preserve the enzymes, but even if you do lose them, it should still be doing some good! Also have a look at quark cheese - it can be made into a "cheesecake" filling with fresh fruit (go for the berries if you can). If you get those little dark chocolate dessert cups, you can fill it with the cheesecake mix, decorate with a berry on top and you have a fairly nutritious pud. Or you can put the filling into a little pot to take with a lunchbox like a yoghurt. Or put some small chunks of fresh pineapple in a bowl and use the pud mix as a topping, even for breakfast! Add in some of the flaxseed powder to the quark for additional protein and nutrients. The fresh pineapple (not tinned!) is anti inflammatory, which will help his muscles and joints. Hope that helps - and it doesn't give up dairy! But what is included is usually more easily assimilated. To cut down on msg: You can make some real stock by boiling up the bones from the joint, or a chicken carcass. Freeze down in portions and use in soups and gravies. Also try adding some red w ine to stocks and soups or to thin a pasta sauce, but boil up to get rid of the alcohol. Or use a grape juice with no added sugar or sweeteners and no other additives. I have also found a bortchz liquid in the Polish section - basically a red beets concentrate, with no added nasties. A teaspoon of that in a casserole, with some red w ine and the meat juices gives it more of a rich deep colour, and helps reduce use of things that have MSG. I'll try and find some bits and pieces ... |
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| :Elvira | Feb 26 2009, 10:23 AM Post #11 |
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Next door neighbour
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Thanks Sue, some great ideas there. I think the poached eggs may be something to start with, they're similar to the ones in McDonalds that he eats, just to add (meant to mention it earlier to your other post) the McDonalds isn't a regular thing, we go once in each of the holidays as a treat, didn't want you to think I had him addicted to junk food I have him off school at the moment, Dr thinks he may have HSP again but just as a precaution he sent him to hospital for tests, what a nightmare that was! He fainted when they took his blood pressure, for some reason he really hates having that done. They then put him in a bed and did a finger prick test that flashed up an urgent warning, he couldn't do a wee for them to double check his urine and they were really concerned that he had diabetes, my Mum and sister have it. They were doing blood tests anyway so decided to do an extra one for diabetes but he has a huge needle phobia as he always faints so he proceeded to scream the hospital down and went into total meltdown. He was absolutely terrified and even kicked the Doctor Fortunately the Doctors were all lovely and so patient with him but it still took over two hours of hysterics to get anything done. Luckily the diabetes test came back negative and all of the other tests have come back okay up to now. Since then though he's been out of sorts, on Tuesday I thought it was just because he was shattered from the day before but he's not been much better for the last couple of days. He is eating very small amounts and drinking plenty, he's been sick a couple of times but hours apart (late Tuesday night and then the second time was four o clock this morning) so the whole thing is puzzling me. What do you think of tonics? I was looking at one in the chemist this morning and undecided wether to buy it or not, it said it is for children who are ill or have been ill and I thought maybe something like that might help to boost him a bit until I can get him eating properly. |
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http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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| :Rustic | Feb 26 2009, 11:05 AM Post #12 |
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Bestest friend
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Can you tell me exactly what he is eating and drinking at the mo? It sounds really picky but it can often give clues ..... As for the tonics, depends whats in it, you can often do better yourself .... If I know what he's eating and drinking, I'll see what I can come up with ...
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| :Elvira | Feb 26 2009, 07:16 PM Post #13 |
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Next door neighbour
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He's drinking water or weak juice (Ribena) He had a Nutella sandwich for his dinner yesterday, other then that he was eating dry biscuit along with a couple of rusks later on. Today he's managed to eat a bit of cereal for breakfast, didn't want any dinner but had some chips and a slice of bread for his tea. Before that, very little really, just drinking water/juice and eating dry cereal or nibbling digestive biscuits. |
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http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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| :Rustic | Feb 26 2009, 07:47 PM Post #14 |
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Bestest friend
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OK hun Just some suggestions Check the Ribena label - if it contains high fructose corn syrup or glucose fructose syrup, and citric acid or similar, then I would advise taking him straight off it. If the water is fluoridated, or if you are not sure, then get a couple of large bottles of water from the supermarket, and let him drink that. Whatever you do, don't use non stick pans and fluoridated tap water. In the young children section of the supermarket you should find Organix Goodies cereal bars. There's a coco and raisin one, raspberry and apple, and a carrot cake one. No sugar, but just oats and fruits mainly, but quite moist, and a much better bet than most cereal bars. Take it out of the wrapper if you think it looks too young IYKWIM, but my kids don't care really. If you can, keep him off too much wheat. If he will eat a smoothie, use some fruit and some unsweetened natural live yoghurt, with a little bottled water to thin it down if you need to. But a small smoothie, and a moist cereal bar would be a better bet than Ribena and a biscuit. A few well washed seedless grapes, some chopped kiwi fruit, a few apple slices, or a chopped banana tossed with a little nutella if necessary, or use as a dip. If there's very little appetite then letting him get a little hungry for some nourishing food may be worth a try. At the moment he's not very hungry and topping up his empty tanks with things that aren't going to help his immune system. My biggest concern is the water and Ribena. Fluoridated water may be making him feel worse, and if the Ribena contains something that is related to MSG then low blood sugars (from eating so little) will be making that much more potent. Glucose fructose syrup is like rocket fuel - it is higher on the glycemic index than sugar is, so he will probably get an energy low soon after taking it in, particularly on an empty stomach. If its sugar free, then thats probably worse. If his gut flora is out (which I would strongly suspect) then its a double whack. If the water isn't fluoridated, then try running some water into a jug or large bowl, and giving it a good stir and leave for a little while - it will get rid of most of the chlorine. Hope that helps. |
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| :Elvira | Feb 26 2009, 10:17 PM Post #15 |
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Next door neighbour
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It does help, very much so. As far as the water goes I do give them tap water but I have one of those Brita water filters that sit in the fridge door. I've just done a search for my local water supplier and it seems that although there was talk about them adding flouride to the water supply it's not something they do at the moment so that's good news. I think I've had the Organix cereal bars before, I tend to rotate so they don't get bored and the name sounds very familiar. I only bought the Ribena if I'm honest because it looked healthier then the cheap juice I buy for myself, thought it might perk him up a bit. See this is why I was saying in my original post that I want to see a dietician, if he wasn't so bloody picky I could give him a ton of healthy stuff but as it is I'm so desperate to get him to eat something I'm just buying anything that I think he might be willing to try. I love the idea of the Nutella dip with the fruit, he likes grapes, apples and banana so I going to do that for him and see if he'll eat it. It would make a change for a pack up snack too.
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http://www.postpals.co.uk 'When you want to give up and your heart's about to break Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes' | |
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8:33 PM Nov 26
