Getting desperate - can you recommend a good protein shake?

[Verbena17]

Hi,
I’m getting desperate for my son to eat and his ED nurse suggested this week that we buy some chocolate Ensure drink.

Our DS is 17 and has ARFID.
It’s currently worse than it’s ever been in his 17 years and today he’s literally only had 3/4 of a cheeseburger.

I don’t mind paying for anything but I know that he will most likely smell the Ensure and refuse it and it’s pretty pricey and I can’t buy only one bottle.

So I thought it would make more sense to ask on here if someone can suggest a high protein/calorific drink he might accept. Basically, it would have to be as much like drinking normal chocolate milk as possible - not like a fortified product that doesn’t quite taste right 😬.
I bought a bottle of Paediasure a few months back and even I thought it smelt rank!

I’ve got some Friji but he says no to that as well.

Thanks - will give Huel a look.

Its incredibly low in calories though. OPs son needs calories

There is a Gold Standard version that doesnt have artificial sweetners in it, but guess what again, its not available in the UK, its called naturally flavoured

so frustrating.

He does eat any nuts sadly.he has eaten eggs before - i used to fry egg whites in a pan with no yolk as he wouldn’t eat yolk. He will tolerate them in pancakes but last weeks pancakes and Nutella apparently had a slimy consistency and so has refused them since!

it’s very tricky because nothing remains constant….except perhaps MacDonalds but even that has been iffy lately due to his super high anxiety.

he won’t have a snack box as foods would be near each other but we do let him keep some snacks and bits up on his drawers.

If you are adding milk powder to shakes or hot chocolate, the best one is Nido as it is full fat and dissolves really well. Marvel skimmed milk powder tends to leave lumps.

I just ordered a new tub of Nido on Amazon.

Fab - thanks I’ll look

If he likes potato have you tried potato cakes (or tattie scones)?

You fry them in butter.

www.warburtons.co.uk/products/pancakes-potato-cakes-and-muffins/6-potato-cakes/

(Or make your own - it's just mash/egg/flour - lots of recipes available online)

Sorry to hear your DS also struggles.
My DS won’t generally tolerate dupes of MacDonalds sadly. He used to be more open to chicken dippers from multiple shops but not now. He won’t eat them at MacDonalds either sadly.

even at MacDonalds it’s hard because say if we ordered 2x dbl cheeseburgers….we might get to the car park and open them and one will have oil on the top of the roll and the other might have a 2mm piece of onion sitting in a cheese slice - both will have to be chucked! He generally wouldnt let me walk in and swap them either - too anxiety provoking….even if he stays in the car and I do it! That’s the level of anxiety we’re living with 😢

Him being autistic with high level of rigid thought plays a huge role in how ARFID affects him.

I adore potato cakes with jam on! He used to eat jam and he used to like scones and they have a similar texture so might try offering him those.

Ooh I’ve heard of Nido - thanks 😊

I’ll see if he’ll try some nut based choc - good idea.
Sorry to hear about your DS - how’s he doing now?

@Lillygolightly thanks - will take a look. He does need high calories but he does also need more protein so I’ll check it out.

Well, he didn’t manage the whole pack of maltesers, which was actually more like 883 cals if he ate a 175g bag but he’s now agreed to 2x Weetabix with FF milk and sugar.

Ds has ARFID and got Fortisip drinks on prescription. They don't taste nice but you could add them to a normal milkshake. And they are at least 300 calories, I think.
His team also suggested Nido too, although we never used it.

Thanks - the thing is, if I add that to a milkshake and he tastes it, he might then refuse all milkshakes. 😬

How about home made ice cream? Made with double cream, whatever flavour he wants?

Another potato idea.

Cheese hash browns.

Grate potato and squeeze out the moisture, season.

Cut a rectangle of cheese of your choice and then use a bit of cling film or a clean tea towel to form the potato around the cheese.

Fry in a lowish heat (to give the potato time to cook and cheese to melt without burning the outside).

You end up with a hash brown with a lovely melted cheese filling.

If he will tolerate cheese burger McDonald's I'm thinking you could use cheese singles for the cheese filling by stacking a few together and maybe he'd eat dipped into ketchup to replicate the sauce on the burger?

Thanks @BreadInCaptivity . Not sure he’d eat them but maybe he might make them himself and perhaps try them.

Thanks @startingline - will suggest making some with him after Xmas. He’s not a huge fan of ice cream but if he makes it he might try it.

Thinking of Japan and a previous post might he consider miso ramen?

Thing is it's a recipe you can adapt/breakdown - so to start with he could just make the stock and noodles. Then he could experiment with different toppings that he fancied.

From what you've posted it seems like he'd be more inclined to eat food he's made himself (which makes sense as he knows exactly what's in it).

Ramen is "the" national dish and there are loads of variations so it might be a good road to go down as he can research different recipes/toppings and find something as a project that is his special version.

For example as well as miso ramen you also have tonkotsu (which is vvv caloric and can take days to make) and also dipping varieties.

Upshot is the options are endless but the broad theme is noodles and broth.

Hi, yes he’s eaten pork ramen before & at home he’s had pork with noodles made with a chicken stock cube. I’ve just bought some pork loin medallions so I might suggest him making pork with noodles tomorrow.

Would making his own food help or make it worse? DS can only handle making some things as the raw ingredients freak him out and he will no longer eat the food he liked before. He does like making cakes and scones but I don't think he'd eat anything savoury he'd made (he hasn't eaten a single thing made in food tech). He wouldn't even eat steak cooked at the table as he couldn't see it raw then eat it (he will normally eat a small portion of steak for now, as long as it's cooked out of his view).

I don't think DS's eating is bad enough to get an ARFID diagnosis but he's always been very restrictive in his eating and he's very sensory so it's mostly about textures. He also eats very tiny portions and would happily starve rather than eat something that doesn't work for him.

He has adhd so I think it's related to that and general anxiety. I've got used to the 'smile and nod' every time people try to give me their 'helpful' advice about his eating. We have told him he needs to put a bit more effort into his eating as he's 13 and no real signs of puberty yet. I think he needs a bit more body weight before his body will start puberty. If he doesn't gain weight the paediatrician might stop his medication which he really doesn't want.

I’m currently learning to eat again after having tongue cancer treatment so a different situation but developed a lot food aversions with the whole process. I have Nestle 2.0 vanilla, it’s the same as ensure but slightly higher calorie and protein content and I mix them with chocolate carnation breakfast essentials power or something similar, it’s also got protein in it and a higher calorie content. I can stomach drinking them. Anything else that smells funny or tastes funny I still put through my PEG feed.

Has he tried Dunns River Nurishment drinks? (in cans, sometimes in the World Foods section - I think it's Jamaican). It's bloody lovely. Very sweet and chocolatey. I don't know about other flavours.

Sympathies @Verbena17, it's incredibly tough. Have you tried a brand called Ufit? I've got them from Amazon and Ocado for my DS who's also autistic and very particular about what tastes and textures he can tolerate. They do a chocolate shake with either 25g or 50g of protein per bottle and the 50g one is 336kcal. Wishing you and your DS luck in finding the solution here.

@perenniallymessy making his own food sometimes works but in any large quantity and probably only the once, then nothing for 6 months!

Actually, he’s like your DS in that will sometimes eat steak (has to be fillet steak so adds up when we’re out but it’s worth it!). We are off to Center Parcs on Friday for the Xmas break because it’s so much easier getting him to eat steak and pizza there or pancakes at the pancake house. He recognises the same restaurants, same villas, same everything ….makes Xmas holidays more bearable for him - Xmas is very hard for so many autistic kiddos.

We actually bought him a Japanese Santoku knife for one of his Xmas pressies and he opened it early 2 weeks ago and made a pork loin recipe but he ate a good portion. We have also bought him his own chopping board to help him prep his own stuff and make him feel more independent. Strange pressies i know but it’s what he wanted.