In need of the "wrong" kind of grocery list

suckitup

I am in an unusual situation right now...

My son's ADHD medicine has seemed to have possible stunted his growth. He was super tall and "chubby" when he went on it and has flatlined on both height and weight. He is now avg. height and quite thin. (not bony)

While I sit home freaking out over the long term effects, the doctor said to try to pack some weight on him by giving him a couple scoops of icecream each night!!!!! Besides the fact that he already eats too much junk, I fear what else I could be doing to him by going a high fat/sugar route to jump start his growth.

...any ideas of some fatty foods that are not "sugar bombs"???? This is certainly not the kind of shopping that I thought I would be doing to help my child but also have a 4 year old that is super tall and slightly chubby that cannot have any of this crap.

beethedreamer

you could try giving him bigger portions of the food you are already giving to him. it's really great that you realized you shouldn't be giving him junk in order to make him gain weigh because that would definitely not be healthy for him...I can't believe a doctor suggested that.

peanut butter is a good choice though. two tablespoons is almost 200 calories and I don't know very many kids that would say no to yummy peanut butter haha.

Aeriel

If he can have them, what about nuts? Good fats, a good protein source and high calorie. Just get unsalted ones so that his sodium doesn't get too high.

My son is on a limited diet due to food allergies, and he loves avocado. I can peel it and slice it and he eats it raw. Might be something to look at. Another thing I do for him is a shake with avocado, soy milk and honey. Really tasty, but does look funny with the green colour. Blend it well and it is thick and creamy.

merrillfoster

Mac and cheese. If you make it homemade it's fattening but otherwise not that bad for you--natural cheese, dairy, butter, you can use whole grain pasta, with none of the preservatives, etc, in the packaged kind.

SkierElle

Peanut butter!! Sausage, bacon and eggs... whole milk... nuts... oil...

christinabgsu

Maybe nuts, cheeses, eggs, less lean cuts of meat? That is hard to suggest, because those are the things the rest of us have to cut out! They will have more fat and protein than all the sugary stuff. Maybe avocado, peanut butter, or just larger serving sizes?

kappyblu

I have two heavy children and two lighter children. I feel your pain. When I was trying to help my second son (who was born premature and has always been skinny) gain weight, I would stir a carnation instant breakfast in his milk. The vanilla and chocolate are very good. This helped a lot. Best wishes.

Btw, those appetite effects of the meds were temporary. My oldest son took Adderall and it affected his appetite and weight for a long while. But it eventually went away. He's now 17, and six feet tall. He is also overweight.

ziggy1703

You might want to try fish, nuts, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, dried peas, and soy beans. You can add powdered milk to soups, sauces, and smoothies for more calories and protein. Also, avocados, bananas and peanut butter are high in calories but still good for you. And for snack time try dried fruits. (I found this at healthnews.)

I wish you the best of luck!

michelearnold

Give him lots of carbs. I suggest wheat breads, muffins, cereals. You can also give him stuff like protein shakes to add to his weight. My son and daughter are both ADHD. And when they take that medicine, they just don't want to eat. So, I would buy the protein shake mix and make it with milk and/or ice cream. Kids will sometimes drink something like that before they will eat.

Strapples

increase meats and carbs. use lots of breads cereals muffins baked good and lots of meat. help his iron!

marrieandfive

My twins are 22 months and in a low percentile, they just decided they didn't want to eat very much. The doctor prescribed pediasure for them, she said some kids wont drink them so you can make ice cream milk shakes with them, but luckily my boys will drink the banana and the vanilla flavors without much trouble.

Also cheese, peanut butter, extra yolk in things with eggs, a fish oil supplement, any full fat dairy, almonds or any nut really, avocado, home made macaroni and cheese and whole wheat pizza with extra cheese, things with coconut oil...

I hope you figure out something that works for you! We just started the pediasure after feeling like instead of becoming MORE varied, their diet was becoming more restricted, I'm not sure if it's working yet or not, but I'm relieved to at least know that it is considered a COMPLETE source of nutrition so whatever I can get them to eat feels like a bonus.

StephanieBFree

Astro Natural yoghurt. I bought the one that is 5% milk fat and it was so rich and creamy. I will also put protein powder in a yoghurt smoothies for my little guy. I also make my own macaroni and cheese for my children and I add peas and cut up ham into it and my little ones love it. I make It with whole wheat noodles. Also banana slices with a little dollop of nutella on them. I'd he doesn't like avocado see if you can hide it in the spaghetti sauce. Good luck I understand And feel your stress

Barneystinson

This is a double edge sword...feed someone a bunch of carbohydrate and that can have adverse effects on their ADHD.

I've read in a number of places which I'm entirely too lazy to cite at the moment that the best diet for ADHD is a high fat / protein diet. Push larger servings before pushing empty carbs.

suckitup

Bless you ALL for the suggestions!

I am happy to say that many of the ideas are ones that I purchased. We are adding the Carnation drinks in the morning after his breakfast. Morning, before school starts, is the easiest to add the quantity b/c the meds haven't taken hold yet. I got extra jars of the Peter Pan Whipped pb b/c of the lower sugar. He does like pb and banana sandwiches so that will be in his lunch a couple days a week. My big fear is loading up his packed lunches and having him throw them away.

As a teacher, I have seen the children who will throw UNTOUCHED food away rather than their parents see that they didn't eat that day. I beg my students to save theirs and eat it at the end of the day after they've packed up. Since I have the perk of being in his school with a "close enough" lunch time, I will try to show up early now and then for "spot checks"...oh how embarresing for him! :laugh:

The bigger portions make sense, but since he has been on medicine, he barely eats the small potions I have been giving him.
Thank you all again...you guys are wonderful!!!!
I have also bought trail mix, whole milk again,

suckitup

I have two heavy children and two lighter children. I feel your pain. When I was trying to help my second son (who was born premature and has always been skinny) gain weight, I would stir a carnation instant breakfast in his milk. The vanilla and chocolate are very good. This helped a lot. Best wishes.

Btw, those appetite effects of the meds were temporary. My oldest son took Adderall and it affected his appetite and weight for a long while. But it eventually went away. He's now 17, and six feet tall. He is also overweight.

I almost cried from possible relief after reading about your son.

Thank you SO much for posting that because that IS my big fear! This was a child that was always off the growth chart for height and they were prepping us for a 6'5" son. Now I see him in line with his class and he is no longer a head taller than everyone. I don't need him to be a giant, but I don't want him to be 4th grader height forever.

suckitup

I also tried the homemade macaroni as well because two neighbors had mentioned it over the weekend. It will be weird to fix big fat Bubba Burgers for my son and thin husband and the normal turkey burgers for my daughter and I. This just means more temptation in my house!

Smiley68

like previously suggest nuts as well as any good nut butter. legumes are also a very dense nutrient rich food source.

ivyjbres

You can make homemade ice cream either without sugar or with spenda. You still get the fat and protein and calcium from dairy and you can eliminate the added sugar.