High calorie foods for those underweight

[CalmItKermit]

My dd has lost 2.5 stone in a very rapid amount of time. We are under camhs and hospital, she needs to gain weigh asap.

I know for everyone with a low weight child that the proposed seems unreal/impossible to eat but the following is what is expected to keep children out of hospital feeding prgramme in our area -

3 x toast with butter
Chocolate muffin
Sandwich
Scone, jam, clotted cream
Lasagne, chips, peas
Dessert
Flapjack

2500/3000 calories approx.

So in order to help our children, I have started this thread in the hope that we can make a list of high calorie food (not nutritional, my dd does not need nutrition)she needs big fat calories in order to survive.

My list so far is based on shopping at Tesco

Hovis bread - 109/slice
pack of 10 British medium cheese slices - 104/slice
Belgian Liege sugar waffles - 222 each
400g spinach ricotta tortellini - whole pack - 792
Double choc muffin from pack of 4 - 303/each
20 pack of mini flapjack btes - 70/each
Chicago 4 cheese pizza - 433 each
Biggest find so far - 200g Jumbo Toffee Sundae - 400
Tesco finest white cho and raspberry cheesecake - 369/slice

Sainsbury -

Value Chicken noodles - 528/whole pack

I've read about ice cream milk shakes with the high calories (and vastly expensive but sometimes half price) ice creams like ben and jerry's. I can't find the recipe now but I think it's just icecream and whole milk. Also, there's a few high calorie recipes on the Maudsley parents website at www.maudsleyparents.org/images/printerfriendly_recipes.pdf

I've ordered a mixed box of 9bar breakfast bars.

They're about 235 kcals per bar.

Tesco sponge puddings at over 460 kcals, and there is a sponge pudding which is over 600 kcals but I don't remember which one it is.

Our DS needed/still needs a high calorie diet too. Things I do - Add extra thick double cream to everything possible eg pasta sauce.Mascarpone cheese is also good for this as it's quite bland. Grate extra cheese on top of pizza, add cheese/cream/butter to mashed potatoes. If your DD can tolerate nuts, add those (ground up nuts are good for this) to things like curries, casseroles. Pots of custard with added double cream, as a snack, with blueberry muffin or similar. It's hard getting those calories in, our DS didnt tolerate large quantities of food so every mouthful had to be as calorific as possible.

Pizza is stupidly calorific and savoury
Avocados are really fatty in a good way, bananas and cheese.

Croissants are pretty high calorie without being filling. You could add cheese and ham for a savoury one.

Eggs are great. A boiled egg makes a great lunchtime snack.
A couple of eggs scrambled or poached, a good breakfast on 2 slices of toast.
3/4 egg omelettes/frittata with fried onions and mushrooms and cooked sliced potato great for a dinner, with greens on the side.

Peanut butter. On toast, added to a curry or veggie burgers, in muffins or brownies.

I put 5-6 prawns on half a skewer and fry in bran oil, with a little spice and sugar. add a little lemon juice.

Add molasses/sugar to curry, bolognese, chilli con carne, soups and stews as well as sweets and porridge.

Have a smoothie or glass of milk with every meal and every snack. 250 - 300ml minimum.

buttered malt loaf and fruit juice/milkshake, white bread and butter (I say butter but for some reason the meal plans all had Flora, yuck) with every snack and every meal

malt loaf is miraculously and ridiculously dense in calories for something so small and squishy, it was very helpful

When we ate dairy, I made tuna pasta bake...used a tin of tomatoes and fried up onion and other veg in with the tuna, then mixed a tub of double cream with herbs and pepper and lots of grated cheese to the pasta and baked.

Coconut cream in Thai red chicken curry? Chocolate?

All of these helped me gain 2 stone in my teens:

Sausages

Mashed potato made with double cream and cheese

Cauliflower and broccoli cheese

Potato daphinoise made with double cream and Gruyere cheese

Meatballs with home made tomato sauce, pasta and lots of cheese

Homemade sponge with butter icing.

Full fat yogurt with banana and chocolate buttons

Custard with chocolate sponge or jam sponge

Rice pudding with jam

Eggy bread and sausages

Pancakes with bacon maple syrup and scrambled eggs.

Hoummus with pita bread

Breaded chicken burgers with sweet relish, avocado and cheese in a brioche bun.

Panini, toasted sandwich or croissant filled with cheese and ham or bacon.

Lucazade

Full fat milk coffees and milkshakes

Oh yes, coconut oil helps.

This list is making me realise how hard it is to do this without dairy.

Flapjack
Smoothies

Fish and chips
Chinese
Macdonalds

My dd will only drink water or tea, so don't really think about drinks, however, milkshakes, squash, fizz are all good for calories.

Quiche

I used ready rolled shortcrust pastry (Asda's own is cheap). put it in pastry case (or put squares of baking paper into muffin tins, cut the pastry into squares of approx 4" and press into shape)

blind bake.

For the filling, flavour with family favourites (grainy mustard/spring onion/herbs/spices/nutmeg/olives).

Customise calorific value according to need. More eggs = more dense. Double cream for more calories, low fat creme fraiche for less.

Add cheese, ham, leftover roast chicken, cooked sausage, tinned salmon, etc. for protein.

Add veg such as brocolli, mushrooms, leeks, cooked kale, sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes or whatever as the 'main' ingredient to call it by.

I don't think squash is particularly helpful but actual fruit juice - mad volume of it with every meal and every snack!

There is only so much you can do. If you can incorporate drinks into the meal 'as medicine' too and as another normal thing to get used to, then it makes a difference. I gave DD2 the choice between smoothies/milk every meal and snack time, or dairy. As we don't have cream, bought cake, cheeses, butter, pastry etc the drinks are a vital part of every day.

I've discovered Alpro soy cream. So now fruit salad + a small jug of cream + sugar is an option.

Thank you for this list