Healthy Snacks/Meals for a "picky" child tohat needs to gain weight

jenijo

Hi everyone! I personally am on the other side of the spectrum, where I struggle to lose weight. My 11 year old son is at a healthy weight, but at his well check up, his doctor mentioned that he would like to see him gain more weight, because he's not seeing him gain consistently enough over the last two years. My boy was so happy to hear that he needed to gain weight, because I'm often telling him to make healthy food choices and don't allow much junk food in the house.... I don't want him to struggle like I do. Now he thinks he can eat as much junk food he wants. I'm all about moderation, but I'm stumped on how to get him to gain weight when he is a bit of a picky eater and does not eat large portions of food. He says he is not hungry and often does not finish his plate.

He does not like potatoes of any kind (including french fries). He DOES like most protein and some vegetables. He does not like berries or bananas, but will eat mandarin oranges, peaches and pears. He doesn't drink soda or juices, only water and milk. To me, this all sounds pretty healthy and I don't want him to start eating poorly to gain the weight.

He'd be happy if I let him eat cheeseburgers, pizza and hot dogs every day. I want to help him gain, but teach him to choose healthier foods to do so. If I let him eat this stuff more regularly, I'm afraid he'll end up gaining too much. I'm trying to eat more like he currently does, so adding this stuff to my kitchen is not beneficial to me either LOL

One thing I was thinking about was having him incorporate a nutrition drink that is safe and tastes good to kids.

What do you think? Are there other foods that you can recommend?

JenHuedy

How about nuts and nut butters? High calorie and low volume but nutritious. Most kids would eat an apple or cracker with peanut butter or a handful of trail mix. And a cookie or scoop of ice cream every once in a while isn't the end of the world

TR0berts

Yes - let him eat some cheeseburgers, pizza, and hot dogs. Oh, and ice cream, too. Since he likes vegetables (and protein), have him eat those, too. He'll get his nutrition and Calories that way.

xmichaelyx

jenijo wrote: »

He'd be happy if I let him eat cheeseburgers, pizza and hot dogs every day.

There is nothing at all inherently unhealthy about these things.

kgirlhart

We had trouble getting our daughter to gain weight and her pediatric GI told us if she wanted to eat ice cream for every meal to let her. When you are trying to get them to gain the most important thing is to get calories in them any way you can. My daughter had to have a feeding tube for a few years, but anytime we could get her to eat anything we would let her. We don't consider any foods to be "junk" food. I realize that some choices are more nutritious than others, but calories are calories. I would encourage him to eat nuts and nut butters. Since he is older you could give him something like Ensure. My daughter absolutely hated Pediasure which is basically the same thing, but I think some kids like it. If he drinks milk then make sure you are giving him whole milk, not low-fat or skim and maybe add chocolate. I think a snack of cookies and milk or ice cream or an apple with peanut butter or strawberries with nutella are all good choices.

TavistockToad

Does he drink full fat milk? A cookie or 2 after a meal won't do any harm. Neither will pizza for tea once in a while.

robot_potato

My 7 year old has been playing catch-up in the weight department for a few years now. We've found the most success with nuts and nut butters, and things like burgers now that he eats meat (wouldn't touch it- even chicken nuggets- til kindergarten). He loves beans, especially bbq or maple style. We buy whole milk and use real butter and oils in cooking. Eggs and avocado were also suggested to us, he currently refuses either of those things. Also hates potatoes. I do sneak avocado into his smoothies when we make them. We do allow treats/ desserts as long as he is also eating his good foods. He has gained 13ish pounds in a bit more than a year, bringing him to 29th percentile from 3rd percentile (almost got the feeding tube). He's gaining well enough that he just needs extra food rather than supplements, which is good because he hated them. We had minimal success with pediasure, the rest were outright rejected.

When it comes down to it, a calorie is a calorie. My 11 year old eats like she's never seen food before, loves almost everything, and is at the lower end of healthy weight for height. As long as there is healthy food being eaten as well and your child is decently active, I wouldn't stress about the 'junk' foods.

sllm1

I would just let him eat what he likes with the occasional nonjudgmental conversation about healthy choices. Being too restrictive can backfire.

chunky_pinup

Your doctor should have set you up with a pediatric dietician to discuss foods that can be incorporated that will help steadily gain.

jgnatca

Look at the healthy choices as the foundation, and the so-called "junk" food as filling it in.

I'd look more at timing. The pizza, ice-cream and burgers come AFTER the prepared meal is finished.

I agree with all the comments on full-fat milk or chocolate milk. And nut butters if he likes them.

snickerscharlie

Milkshakes.

kimny72

If he is eating plenty of nutritious food, there is nothing wrong with him having a reasonable portion of hamburgers, ice cream, pizza, etc to get more calories. As long as he understands these are "sometimes" food and a reasonable portion size is established from the beginning. He is going to come into contact with all those foods when he gets older, and my own personal opinion is that it is just as important to teach children how to indulge responsibly as it is to start them off liking healthier foods.

Toronto6fan

one of my kids needed to gain weight and we added avocados to baking and smoothies, used extra butter, pushed nuts etc.

psuLemon

Nutrition is about the whole, not the component. Teaching him that its ok to eat things like pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, and etc.... is critical to a long term healthy life. But also enforce that he should eat fruits and veggies and be active. Highly restricting a child from foods will generally lead him to binge whenever you arent around (friends house or college or camps).


As a kid i ate a lot of high calorie foods but i was also a soccer and ice hockey player. I could drink 32 oz soda while eating 3 big macs or a large pizza and never gained. But i also loved eggs, fruits... omg i love fruit, veggies, chicken and fish. So i had a lot of balance.

If he needs to gain and is picky, use the foods he loves but work on teaching him abouy nutrition as a whole and try not to put labels on foods.


That is what i will do once my child gets older (only 6 months but eats like a 1 year old +).

jenijo

Thanks everyone! I definitely don't deny any of those of foods, but I don't encourage them as a regular part of any of our diets. I stress moderation for most foods, and will point out if I see that they've grabbed for one too many cookies. He loves pb& j and has chips ahoy cookies almost every night for a snack. We order pizza once, sometimes twice a month. We also have fruit roll ups which disappear rather quickly

I usually buy 2% milk, but I'll start getting him full fat milk to get some extra calories in that way too. I think part of my trouble is that I don't want to have to cook separate meals for my kids. My mom always said, "Eat what I make or eat a bowl of cereal if you don't like it" and "I'm not a short order cook". That and I feel guilty making that kind of food for my kids to eat, while I eat something healthier. It just doesn't seem right. I've had to change my way of thinking a little bit.

Oh and as far as the suggestion for a pediatric nutritionist - the Dr. didn't feel it was necessary to get that involved. He isn't underweight. She just wants to see him gain a little more in future appts.

lyttlewon

I don't understand your last post. If he isn't underweight what is the reasoning for him gaining weight in future appointments?

Dove0804

To be honest, I wouldn't fret too much over it if he's at a healthy weight. It sounds like he has a very healthy lifestyle as is, and you already are working hard to provide him a balanced diet. People grow at different rates, and it doesn't sound like his doctor was too concerned.

I guess I get worried about this kind of thing- I was borderline underweight as a child, but I was healthy and active- I just didn't eat much. Well, my mother became very concerned and was encouraged to feed me anything I would eat... let's just say, those habits quickly swung me to the other end of the scale and I spent most of my developing years as overweight or obese, depending on if I had hit a growth spurt or not, and it became a lifelong struggle.

Please know I don't say this to scare you, or to undermine anything his pediatrician said whatsoever, but just to encourage not reaching for junk or cooking him his own higher calorie meals. I like the idea of nut butters and whole milk, and smoothies. Sure a calorie is a calorie, but his growing body needs so much more than just a bunch of sugar... I'm not a pediatrician, but I'm willing to bet it's not worth a few extra pounds.

jenijo

lyttlewon wrote: »

I don't understand your last post. If he isn't underweight what is the reasoning for him gaining weight in future appointments?

He's at the lower percentile for his age & height. He is gaining but not not as much as he is gaining in height. She wants to see him gain a little more, so that he doesn't become underweight as he goes through puberty and grows more in height.

mom23mangos

I've been through this and will echo what most others have said. Full fat milk, nut butters, milkshakes, ice cream. I tried every protein/supplement shake out there, but mine wouldn't drink any of them. I even resorted to making my own coconut milk which has tons of fat to use in milkshakes. We actually had him on a medication for a while to stimulate his appetite he was so underweight. And if he asked for 3 cheeseburgers when it kicked in, we bought 3 cheeseburgers. Sounds like you are not there.

Now, I also have one that is very thin, in the bottom range weight wise and off the charts BMI wise. He's 12 and 5' tall weighing 80lbs. But, the Dr. hasn't said anything and he is very healthy and super strong. I know he will put on even more weight and muscle as puberty hits, so I think he'll be fine.

Spontaneously

Here's some ideas:



Also, consider things like adding milk powder or protein powder to regular milk to fortify it. In baking, in sauces, etc.

Use butter and coconut oil in cooking. Butter both sides of the bread & bring a napkin.

Jam & preserves have ~50 calories per tbsp. Put them with crackers, fruits, cereal, ice cream...

Make homemade popsicles and stuff the kitchen sink in them.

Pizza.

Eggs.

Any type of fresh baked good, muffins, cookies, bars, biscuits, corn bread, dinner rolls, pretzels.

No bake cookies, trail mix. When eating oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, try mixing in chocolate, trail mix, pudding mix, fresh fruit, jam, anything.

Try eating at buffets and places with a lot of options in the open like foyo bars & encourage them to try things they normally don't go for.

Good luck!

Spontaneously

Plus empanadas, pot pies & hand pies. These can be made ahead and to the size & nutritional profile you'd like. More savory, some sweet.

mreichard

Fruit smoothies with coconut cream, protein powder and full fat Greek yogurt. My son loves them. He also eat GNC mass gainer without creatine (a serving plus whole milk is like 1000 calories).

lseed87

Homemade pizza - like a treat! You know what is in it. He gets to learn a little about cooking. Win win

Hummus and carrots or whatever he'd like with hummus

Maybe make a few days a week where he can have 'junk food' but also limit it. Chocolate pudding is a good alternative to more unhealthy things.

teetertatertango

I think this has the potential to backfire, especially since he seems to equate what the doctor said as a pass to eat unlimited junk food.

How often is he getting weighed at the doctor? I wonder if there is enough data to really say that he doesn't gain "consistently" enough?

I don't see a compelling reason to drastically change his eating habits when he is already in a healthy range. When he gets to his next growth spurt, his appetite will likely ramp up as well. Seems like the doctor is anticipating a problem that hasn't even happened and trying to "fix" a *normal* weight kid. Craziness!!

P.S. My kid's pediatrician tried this as well. I took a wait and see approach and everything sorted itself out over time without overfeeding or junk. Based on the experience of someone I know, I would worry about pushing a "eat as much as possible to gain weight" approach, because in that case it did not magically turn off when X weight was gained, and a lot of bad habits were learned in the process.

Lounmoun

jenijo wrote: »

He does not like potatoes of any kind (including french fries). He DOES like most protein and some vegetables. He does not like berries or bananas, but will eat mandarin oranges, peaches and pears. He doesn't drink soda or juices, only water and milk. To me, this all sounds pretty healthy and I don't want him to start eating poorly to gain the weight.

He'd be happy if I let him eat cheeseburgers, pizza and hot dogs every day. I want to help him gain, but teach him to choose healthier foods to do so. If I let him eat this stuff more regularly, I'm afraid he'll end up gaining too much. I'm trying to eat more like he currently does, so adding this stuff to my kitchen is not beneficial to me either LOL

I wouldn't worry much about it either way.
You could try a few different foods though. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1
Full fat dairy- milk, cheese, yogurt, smoothies, cottage cheese
fried eggs, hard boiled eggs, hard boiled eggs, omelet rice
Hummus and vegetables or pita chips
Nuts and seeds- trail mix
apples with peanut butter, celery with peanut butter
There really isn't anything wrong with cheeseburgers or pizza frequently except it is dull to have every day. Make sure the portion sizes are appropriate and maybe pair it with a salad or fruit. Make your own at home.




My dd would live on pancakes, chicken nuggets, tacos, mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, pepperoni pizza and fruit. She will eat other stuff though. Her choices are pretty decent. We only eat out one meal per week. We have had a talk about portion sizes and spreading out our intake of snack foods- like don't eat a whole package of cheese in one day or don't eat out of containers.
I have my dd pick out 2 non-perishable snacks a week and they go in to her snack box in the cupboard. I divide items into individual portions and it has to last the week. She likes chocolate covered nuts, cheese crackers, chips, granola bars.

AliceAxe

how about nutrition bars? there are realy good healthy ones on the market now packed with flavor and dense calories and nutrition, sweet and yummy too like candy bars. what kid could resist that?

nicsflyingcircus

Buying trouble.

My 6', 13yo son is between 115 and maybe 120lbs. Borders on underweight but he plays lacrosse, is generally active, does 50-100 pull ups daily and eats fine. I'm not about to push even more food on him. The kid gets 2% milk, we mix whole fat plain yogurt with low-fat vanilla yogurt, he eats full fat cheese and sour cream, he eats plenty of meat ranging from lean to fatty, he eats fruit and veg, cereal, oatmeal, toast, sandwiches, pasta, rice, potatoes, plenty of eggs... Not to mention pizza and other convenience foods. I figure if his weight was a health issue, that's one thing, but he's just very lean but strong.