Everywhere around me I see things advertising less calories in food items. Who knew that some day I would have children that made me work hard to get every calorie possible in them. (My oldest daughter has had trouble with growing since around her first birthday). I have learned how to boost calories, without filling her full of empty calories.
Empty calories=food/drinks that make you feel full, but offer little nutritional value in the way of vitamins and minerals your body needs. Juice, sugar, lots of fast food, soda, and the list goes on. All of these things make you feel full at the moment, but not full of the things that you need.
I now have a list of things that are full of calories and healthy fats. The challenge that the blenderized diet adds, is that lots of people need to boost calories without adding much volume.
So I'll make a list, and if you want to add to it, feel free to comment, sharing things you use.
*Dried fruit-grapes, prunes, craisins, blueberries, and so on. 1/4c. is around 100 calories (and our blender pulverizes them, no problem). They are also great for constipation.
*Oils/butter-you can cook with them (I use olive, coconut, or real butter, not margarine). You can also add them straight to the blender if your child tolerates. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or olive oil has 120 calories in it. 1 tablespoon of butter has 102 calories.
* Avocado (or avocado oil). 1/4c puree is around 100 calories. The oil is the same as olive and coconut-1 tbsp is 120 calories.
*Nut butters. 1 tbsp sunflower seed butter-96 calories. 1 tbsp (Jif creamy) peanut butter is 95 calories. 1 tbsp cashew butter is 94 calories. 1 tablespoon almond butter is 101 calories.
*Heavy whipping cream. 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream is 52 calories.
*Chicken broth. While it isn't loaded with calories, if you use it in place of water for blending, it does add a few. Most brands, 1 cup is around 10 calories.
*Quinoa. (I could do a whole post on how amazing this stuff is). Uncooked, 1/4 c is around 157 calories. If you cook it in something like chicken broth, and add some butter or oil to it, you are packing in calories like almost no other food can give. It's also very good for you, and a complete source of protein.
*Cheese. The numbers vary depending on the type of cheese you choose. However, 1 oz. of colby jack is 110 calories.
*Maple syrup. 1 tablespoon is 52 calories. It also contains iron, calcium, and can help with constipation!
Please, help me add to this list, if you know of more things. We don't have to add calories at this point because our beauty is growing really well. But there are lots of families looking for ways to boost their blends without adding any volume.
Cottage cheese is another good one (4% milkfat), and Greek yogurt (Greek Gods brand) is really, really full of protein and fat, so it might be a good alternative to just whole milk yogurt. There's also cream of rice (like cream of wheat), which is really dense in calories and can be mixed with butter and maple syrup. I have also heard good things about Grape Nuts, since they are so nutritious and calorie-dense.
ReplyDeleteWe use a lot of extra virgin olive oil. I've also considered half and half or evaporated milk.
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