I need recipes that help you gain weight

[LB]

My FIL needs some help putting on some weight. He is pretty thin and keeps losing because he doesn't eat much. He asked me and DH for some help with meals that will put some pounds back on him.

I don't want to just give him unhealthy stuff, but obviously he does not need fat-free either.

Can anyone help me out with a few ideas/recipes?

Thanks!

[Moray]

Since he has a problem eating enough as, is, I'd look toward modifying some of things he still loves to be more calorie-dense.

What sort of things does he like right now?

[hobish]

I used to drink Ensure or something like that - Carnation Instant Breakfast, sometimes - along with a meal. My bodybuilder roomate used to try to get me to try his protien shakes but i never tried them.

[LB]

Since he has a problem eating enough as, is, I'd look toward modifying some of things he still loves to be more calorie-dense.

What sort of things does he like right now?

This is part of the problem. There isn't much that he likes or can (or will) make. He barely eats during the day, so most of his calories come at dinner. He can cook, but he doesn't like to. Part of it is because his job has him on his feet all day long. He already has problems with his feet, so this makes it worse. He just doesn't have the energy after work to take a lot of time at the stove, you know?

So he eats a lot of frozen pizzas, hot dogs, frozen dinners, stuff like that. "Heat and eat" is what I say is his motto. 

In the past, I have made him things that can be frozen (such as homemade mac and cheese with ham), and reheated easily. Those have gone over very well.

I told DH I would look into some ideas for him, but in the meantime, tell him to add butter or cheese to anything he can.

[Sheila Take a Bow]

Can you consult a dietitian, or ask his doctor for advice?  Because I can easily add calories to a meal, but to do so in a healthy way is a little more tricky.

[lady_disdain]

A dietitian or nutritionist would be a good idea.

Meanwhile, I would think about adding nuts, avocado, coconut, olive oil, cheese, bananas and other nutrient rich but high calorie foods.

[LB]

Can you consult a dietitian, or ask his doctor for advice?  Because I can easily add calories to a meal, but to do so in a healthy way is a little more tricky.

His doctor was especially unhelpful.  Told him "You need to gain weight." And didn't have any ideas on how except "Eat more. Don't use low-fat stuff." FIL doesn't have money in his budget for a nutrionist (it's not covered by his insurance).

I understand no one wants to give medical advice, so I probably should have left that part out of it. I'm printing off some recipes for make-ahead meals that can be frozen. Anyone have some good ones they want to share?

hobish - thank you for that idea! I sent a text to my DH to suggest his dad pick up some Ensure.

[Sophia]

We have taken our daughter to see the pediatric gastro doc and the pediatric nutrionist because she is underweight.  Some of the advice we got might translate.  Generally we were told she needed to be on a high protein and high fat diet. 

The first thing on the list of stuff to feed her was refried beans.  I about fell out of my chair when I read that.
We add cheese to everything that we can.
Eggs are cooked with 1T butter per egg, then cheese added.
We hide Mayo in her food the way other parents hide green veggies. 
One of her snacks is dry golden grahams.
Another is nuts.
We also add whipping cream to her milk, but that probably won't help you. 

For an adult who doesn't eat much during the day, I would concentrate on adding ready-made food for then.  Like maybe beef jerky.

[jpcher]

Sorry, not much help with freezable recipes at this point (I'll have to think on it.)

Maybe suggest that he bring a baggie of nuts to work, something that he can keep in his pocket and nibble on during the day.

Or a bag of dry cereal that he can munch on for breakfast on his way to work, along with a protein drink.

PB sandwich for lunch. Easy enough to make a week's worth and keep them in the fridge.

A can of tuna with crackers for lunch.

Beef jerkey is a great idea, although high on salt. But in moderation, go for it!



Baby steps to start with. Try to get him to start snacking on the high-calorie healthy stuff during the day.


I know that sometimes I'm just not hungry because there is no one to eat a meal with. Sometimes it's just not fun eating alone. Are there any friends that he can invite over to have dinner with?


Here's a couple of sites to look at:

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counting/high_content_food.htm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/34818-highcalorie-foods/

[Outdoor Girl]

My Dad has some of the same issues.  And he did have Type II diabetes that he has fought off by cutting a lot of sugar out of his diet so adding sugary stuff doesn't work (and the cutting out of it is part of the reason he's lost weight).

If he drinks milk or eats cereal with milk, go for whole milk.  If he takes cream in his coffee, go for the 18% rather than the half and half.  If he likes Ensure or Boost or Carnation Instant Breakfast, those are great adds.

Nuts are a great snack but watch the salt, if there are any blood pressure issues.  You could try nut butters, too.  You can get ones other than peanut like almond or cashew and can have those on toast anytime for an extra snack.  Buy the 'Texas Toast' that has thicker slices to get a few more calories that way, too.  Nut and dried fruit heavy trail mixes are good, too.

If you can help him have prepared meals ahead, like shepperd's pie and chili and pasta sauce to add to freshly cooked pasta, or lasagna.  If he has good quality meals that he can grab, it might help.

[mechtilde]

Would he be willing to try calorie richer drinks, especially during the day? If he swapped to full fat milk, fruit juice and milky hot drinks that might increase his calorie intake.

[Bethalize]

As I understand it, you can swap 4g of carbs for 1g of fat. The only problem this might give is increased satiety. That could lead to fewer calories being consumed over all.

I find the doctor a little unhelpful. Sometimes the body loses lean mass as well as fat. If that is happening then protein is important. I've struggled with protein but now make these protein bars. I could never get on with protein shakes.

[Iris]

I think the not eating during the day is probably a big part of the problem. I know skipping meals makes MOST of us gain weight but I doubt you could physically eat a day's worth of calories in one sitting without being VERY unhealthy. Is it preference or timing that makes it difficult to eat during the day? DD lost a lot of weight with one of her medications and although she's still quite thin we found regular portions were most important because her stomach just didn't take that much food in one go.

I'd second the suggestion of a packet of nuts that he could snack on - they are surprisingly high in calories. Could he take a sandwich to work? Does he eat breakfast? When DD was refusing breakfast I used to make her smoothies with full cream milk, 2 weetbix (breakfast cereal), yoghurt and fruit. It was a great sneaky way to get breakfast into her.

One other suggestion for dinners would be that he buy a slow cooker maybe. If you are willing to prepare for him you could make packets of meat/veges/sauce up for him. If he dumped it all in in the morning before work he'd have a piping hot stew/casserole to come home to if he likes that. Then, you could go for sauces like stroganoffs that involve having sour cream or something similar added at the last minute. If you think he would go for that I have a few casseroles that involve sour cream/cream cheese etc that may not freeze well but could be done like that. Alas, they are too fatty for me these days  Also many casseroles go great with bread and butter - so he can add some carbs and fat that way.

[cicero]

it sounds like the problem isn't so much that he needs more "fattening" ideas -he just needs more food period.

I had this with my father after his wife was institutionalized - he kept saying that he is ok and he is eating fine but i could tell he isn't. I started preparing meals for him - making sure they are full meals in each box (i started by just making the main dish and telling him to add a salad and/or cooked frozen veg and starch but i realized he wasn't doing that).

i cook for myself once a week usually. when i 'm cooking for him, i'll do it once or twice a month.

so what i will do is put together a bunch of small plastic containers, each containing one full meal, with a protein (chicken, turkey, chicken patties, tofu, etc), a cooked veg (eg., brocolli, or eggplant stew, or green bean stew) and a starch like brown rice, quinoa, even mashed potatoes.

In winter, i make lentil or bean soup - he loves that and buys himself some fancy bread to go with it. let your FIL have bread with butter and cheese.

I make sure he buys himself fresh fruit and veg. he somehow latched on to the 'five a day' concept, so even tho he isn't a great veg fan, he will eat peppers, cherry tomato, etc

[Hmmmmm]

When my son was competively swimming, we had a terrible time trying to come up with ways to increase his calorie intake.  He just wasn't a big eater and when making meals, we didn't want to fat laden everything cooked for the family.

Here's some things that we did.

Some of the healthiest cold cereals are also the most calorie dense.  See if he'd eat things like Kellog's Hearthy Heart Start, Post Raisin Bran, Post Banana Nut Crunch, or Oatmeal Crisp Crunchy Almond.  I'd take a box of oatmeal crisp crunch, add some Reese's peanut butter chips and put in small baggies as a snack for him to take on the go.  Also having food right before bed is a good way to add pounds.  My son would have a bowl of cereal about 30 minutes before bed. 

If he can tolerate milk, get him back on Whole Milk.  Buy him an immersion hand blender and a glass large enough for him to mix in and get him to make ice cream shakes.  He can mix and drink from the same glass.  Or make an easy smoothy with frozen bananas, frozen strawberries and full fat vanilla yogurt.

If he likes guacomole, there are good premade ones with a good shelf life and he could add that to a burger, even a take out one.

Teach him to make a baked potatoe in the microwave and then he can top it with canned chile and cheese for a pretty calorie dense easy and cheap meal. 

If he'll make pasta, toss the pasta in olive oil before adding the sauce. 

Have him keep cheese in the fridge for a quick snack.