How do I make rice more calorific?

[HollyMadison]

My DS is 15 months and a very fussy eater. He was a reflux baby and will not eat wet/sloppy food. He won't eat from a spoon and eats with his fingers or sometimes let's me pop bits of food in his mouth. He was "failure to thrive" at one stage and is now supposed to be on a high calorie diet.

One of the (few) things he will eat is rice. I use sushi rice so it's sticky and he can pick it up. I would like to up the calories for this. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can mix with rice to increase the calories but still leave it easy to pick up?

I used to mix cheese with 'normal' rice (brown our basmati here) to make it sticky enough for BLW at the beginning.

Or you could just stir some butter through.

our = or

once cooked fry it in butter to make like a sauce? would he cope with egg fried rice?

Turn it into egg fried rice, add anything else he likes into it. It is about the only way I can get egg into my fussy 8 year old! Or risotto, with cheese. Actually, my DCs both like rice with grated cheese sprinkled onto it, it's nicer than you might think.

Mix the rice with rated cheese? Cheddar or mozzarella, the latter is bland and fairly non wet. Would butter be a no due to it being wet?

Make it with coconut milk, or cream?

Cook it in coconut milk, super fattening and yum

I meant grated cheese, rated cheese sounds rather dodgy!

Mix in some mascarpone cheese and a bit of grated cheese. Or hummus, peanut butter (if that is ok) mashed avocado, or any combination of the above!

Arancini

Thanks so much for the great suggestions!! Cheese should go down well as he loves cheese. I will give all these a go and hope I don't eat too much of the coconut cream one myself

Ps sorry about the rogue apostrophe in my OP...

How about rice pudding? Plenty of sugar, cream and butter in that. You could bake it for a long time so it becomes more solid and akin to finger food.

My DD had reflux and was just the same as yours OP. I think the suggestions above are great. Do keep offering new things though, my DD loved thin strips of steak, which she managed fine as a finger food, though she ate so much of it it was expensive! She is now a slightly plump soon to be 6 year old who adores food and cooking. Don't worry, your DS will eat enough.

Thanks word I'd forgotten about rice pudding - tried it a few months ago and he wouldn't touch it but he has improved a lot since then so will try again...

Good to hear your DD is doing well Anthonyt. There's light at the end of the tunnel...

Oh Holly, that is such a worry, isn't it?

My underweight DS has had a similar problem. Only mine went off solids and only wanted milk, so lived on smoothies for a while!

I still always put a knob of butter in his rice.

It has been a battle not to turn meal time into a battle!

bread with butter, cut up, always popular too.

I started baking my own bread, as it

Thanks Chandon. It is a worry!! Mealtimes are tough although I try to relax. My current tactic is to ignore the food throwing and general fussiness. It's so hard when he's underweight though.

I still give him a glass of full fat milk and some toast before bed, as a top up.

Also, i have accepted that it is just who he is. He is strong and tall, but so so thin. He has been in hospital twice in his life, as he gets seriously dehydrated and underweight whenever he gets a tummy bug. Seeing him like that on a drip feeder was not easy. I wish i could get him to fatten up, still...

I found not putting pressure on him absolute essential. At every age.he is 9 now.

I also try to make sure he always eats good quality food. I hate giving him any kind of junk food. Protein is important too, roast chicken or fillet steak are always a hit, and pan fried fish. And he loves pulses, they are very nutritious. Have you tried butterbeans, chick peas etc?

He likes red kidney beans, or at least he used to! Gone off them at the mo. Good idea re chick peas. Haven't made those since the days of purées. We'll get there one day at a time...

Did you have to deal with constant throwing food on the floor? If so, what approach did you take? I am ignoring at the mo but it has been going on for months now. It used to be fear of food and now I think it's behavioral and trying to get a reaction from me. I don't just mean the odd thing goes on the floor I mean the floor and walls are practically coated!! I haven't seen his baby friends behave like that.

It was important, at the time, to give him small amounts. So he would throw some food out, but I never gave him a big plateful. Must have read somewhere they can find it intimidating or off putting to have so much food in front of them. I would be quite happy to pick it up from the floor and hand it back (not textbook, I know!). we had stone floors which I washed every day though. If eh was clearly not hungry i would just get him out and try again in an hour.

I also made him eat alone in front of the telly, for a while, then I had to stop that as he got so distracted he forgot to eat.

This all goes a bit against what the current "fashion" is though, but I had to find what worked for us.

The biggest thing was to pretend to not be stressed about it, and not give too much praise either, but just "play it cool". On days he ate less, i would just give him more milk at bed time.

He still has a thing about textures and "mixed up" food, but i think that is still from all the reflux and vomiting as a child.

So small portions, and ignoring him. Not asking if he likes it, not encouraging him. Just letting him get on with it (or not). Nobody can eat with someone breathing down their neck! And lovely foods like a whole nectarine are great too (for learning to enjoy food). He loved fruits (mango, nectarine, cherries). You have to find what he likes. My DS lived an entire month on bananas and scrambled egg, again, not textbook, but you just make it up as you go along really, and hope for the best :)

that should probably be my motto

Your techniques are pretty much where I am now and things are slowly getting better I think. Unfortunately meals are worse when DH is there as think DS feels his stress.

Thanks so much for replying - it helps to know that others have come out the other side! X