Calorie boosting ideas for tiny 3 year old please!

[mrsmalumbas]

My DD is very petite, she is 3 years and only weighs a little over 2 stone. She is fine mostly but I find if she is ill (e.g as she was over Christmas) it does knock her back as she doesn't have any fat reserves at all, so she soon looks skinny and washed out. I would love your ideas for simple nutritious (high calorie?) meals to build her up a bit.

She usually has a big bowl of porridge for breakfast, lunch is usually a boiled egg, or a sandwich such as ham, peanut butter or egg. She is a picker though and rarely eats what I would call a "proper" lunch. She is not keen on yogurt and is not a milk drinker either but does like fruit and will also eat cheeses such as babybel.

Dinner is even more difficult - she won't eat any form of potato whether mashed, boiled, chipped or whatever, doesn't eat any fish or meat, except for sausages (I give her organic chipolatas!) and sometimes will eat chicken but only if off a roast, she won't eat chicken fillets etc. Doesn't like rice, doesn't like pesto, doesn't like pulses/beans (yes I have tried!!). Doesn't like pizza. Her favourite meal is pasta with grated cheese but there is a limit to how many times I can offer her that. I am really running out of ideas! Doesn't like cake so savoury muffins etc not really an option although she will eat flapjacks.

Any suggestions oh wise ones??

My DS is exactly like your DD (in weight too). In fact I posted a thread the other day as I was so worried about him.

Would she eat the pasta mixed with creme fraiche and have some cherry toms, cucumber, sqaures of ham etc added for variety?

I add mayo to sandwiches too for extra calories.

Would she eat mashed avocado and banana sarnies?

Organix cereal bars are great too with no added sugar.

I also buy jars of Hipp organic fruit (even my dd 6 eats them) as a great way to get an extra portion of fruit into them.

why limiting to three meals a day? where are snacks? ds (2.9) has egg and porridge or toast for breakfast, gigantic lunch and fruit mid afternoon. sometimes more if supper is late. then pasta or similar, yog, more fruit and cheese if needed.

I have the identical problem with my 3 year old and she is a fussy eater like yours so I feel your pain.

It's difficult to suggest "fattening" foods given that she doesn't eat any form of potato - a fallback for me is mash made with loads of (real) butter and a bit of cream. Is there any way you could try to introduce new carbs to her a little at a time? How would she react if you tried to get her to eat a home-made chip? DD "helps" me peel potatoes which makes her feel involved in the process and so more likely to eat the end result.

I'd also suggest full fat greek yogurt with honey and fruit mixed in although I see she's not a huge fan of yogurt so that might not be a go-er. If she doesn't like milk, does she like milkshakes? We make home-made ones and add fruit sugar and fruit (e.g. melon) which DD enjoys. I use jersey milk which has a greater fat content I think.

If your DD is a picker, then I would just offer her lots and lots of snacks to help her improve her repertoire. I have an "every two hour" rule at the weekend which I stick to quite easily. Each unhealthy "fatty" snack is followed by a healthy fruit option so that I'm not encouraging her to go the other way with unhealthy eating habits.

By doing this, DD has increased the number of foods that she tries. Today, she even tried a chicken pakora which frankly was completely considering what a fusspot she is!

Add ground mixed nuts and seeds to the porridge.
Add olive oil or butter to the pasta before you grate the cheese on it.
If you make flapjacks add ground nuts and seeds to bulk them out and replace the golden syrup with molasses (contains lots of iron and could help stimulate appetite).
Does she eat any veg at all? Could you not make a vegetable soup and add a hefty spoonful of olive oil to her portion?
Otherwise as Fishie suggested give her lots of snacks mid morning and afternoon - breadsticks, chunks of cheese, grape and cream cheese sandwiches, peanut butter on toast, fruit smoothies with maybe an avocado blended into them too (sounds foul but is actually very nice).

make her scrambled egg with one egg and one yolk. Double the calories but the same volume. Try her on avocado and orange mousse - blend three avocados and one sweet ripe orange together - tastes like creamy orange mousse - PROMISE!

I love the ground nuts idea - I might steal that one myself and put them into DS porridge tomorrow.

Hey there sorry for not replying sooner but thanks for the ideas. The day before yesterday she ate a huge dinner of roast chicken, gravy, broccoli and couscous (she likes the Ainsley Harriot one, but I suspect it is fairly high in sodium). Yesterday she was back to picking. Yes I like the greek yogurt idea and adding olive oil to things. I will also try the molasses idea in flapjacks. She does like some veggies (broccoli, sweetcorn, raw carrots) but has always rejected soup. Yes she does eat quite a lot of fruit - in fact on reflection I think what she does eat is fairly healthy but she just doesn't eat much at a time. The 2 hour rule sounds a good one, in fact she is munching on peanut butter sandwiches right now and then dinner will be a stir fry with egg noodles and bits of chicken cut up really tiny. She also loves berries of any kind so I might dig the last of the frozen blackberries out of the freezer and try a crumble with lots of butter.