HELP! Need recommendations for FATTENING foods

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  • classycouture
    classycouture Posts: 888 Member
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    Add a nutritionist to the list of other medical professionals he sees. Sounds like too many medical things going on to get advice from a forum like this.

    This. 100%.
  • Junken_Diraffe
    Junken_Diraffe Posts: 716 Member
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    There is a thickener you can add to water or any drink so he could swallow them more easily. My father in law needed that and it worked great. Good luck.
  • Queen_Adrock
    Queen_Adrock Posts: 130 Member
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    Would granola help? Perhaps granola mixed in the custard (perhaps try chopping it further or making it more powder-like if it'd be hard to swallow as-is). Also, if there's scrambled eggs, mix whole milk into the raw eggs and cook it together. I used to mix milk in with my eggs to make my egg supply last longer...and there's pretty much no difference in taste.

    Also, maybe hot chocolate with whole milk and protein powder...I know you said he's got problems with cold liquids, so I'm hoping warm/hot beverages will be okay.

    Good luck!
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
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    I used to be a line cook in a hospital and we had to deal with patients w/ dysphagia and other food difficulties.. you can pretty much puree anything... so as gross as it sounds, making a "slurry" out of meatloaf, or chicken soup, or any vegetable (although we found that things with skin got chunky...) is pretty successful. Not pretty to look at, for sure, but at least it's easy to handle and the taste shouldn't change.

    And to add calories, there's always good ol' butter or olive oil which should blend with most everything...

    but I agree w/ others in that a nutritionist should be added into the mix. Them + the speech therapist should be able to devise a good menu.

    Take care <3
  • DonniesGirl69
    DonniesGirl69 Posts: 644 Member
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    Also....Ensure Plus. My dad lost a lot of weight after being diagnosed with leukemia. I bought these for him and they helped him put back the weight he'd lost.
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
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    contrary to popular belief, MFP forums are not a good place for medical advice

    trust him, he's a Dr.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    contrary to popular belief, MFP forums are not a good place for medical advice

    trust him, he's a Dr.

    Don't trust him, he's a noob
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    My uncle can't really chew or swallow well because he had his tongue cut out. I'd love to make up a fantastic back-story but I'll leave it to your imagination why.

    He puts real food (burger, fries, chicken, whatever) in a blender, with a little water as needed for the appropriate viscosity.
  • mercymarque
    mercymarque Posts: 450
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    Have you tried puree all his foods? He can eat the same thing the family does... Put his food in a blender and puree it. It saves time on making somehting different, gives him a sense of variety. The food will look similar to baby food.
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
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    Okay, so I work at a State medical center with a lot of people with the same issues. First off, talk to a professional. Sounds like he needs a swallow study. In the mean time get yourself a good food processor and make everything blended strained (Very very smooth) . Get some Thicket and some good milk and add to make your desired consistancy. You can do this with ANY food! It's a little more work, but it's worth it! P.s. I have tried the food, and blended is actually more flavorful! Good luck!

    This specially the "Thickener" stuff. They have several brands (even in Walmart or CVS/Walgreens). I've know several people who have had to resort to this product + blended/pured foods to make sure they ate enough calories in a day. If you get a really strong blender/chopper it will even be able to blend down nuts which are very good sources of high cal/good fats. That way you can make lots of different soups and sauces that he should be able to consume. Good luck.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Maybe get something like the magic bullet and you can blend fruits and veggies together with some avocado/banana for smoothness and peanut butter or protein powder to add calories. You add the amount of water to the desired consistency so it can be the appropriate thickness for him to easily drink. That with a small cup of water as a side drink then whatever meal... Porkchops and rice (porkchips have to be super done though), Pot roast.. anything cooked in a slow cooker should be 'mushy' and smooth enough to get down. (for example the pot roast with new potatos)

    Also, IDK how high calorie is it but something smooth... Chicken and dumplings, southern style... Boil the chicken until it's literally falling off the bone, pull it out of the water on to a plate. Add some quartered biscuits(they get bigger so maybe play with a good size for your father), push into the boiling mixture slowly so they don't stick to each other (for a whole chicken between 2-4 cans usually works, we usually get the cheap 4 packs of buttermilk ones). If there isn't enough broth add store bought chicken broth... Once all the biscuits are added you can shred the chicken and add it back to the mixture. It's done about 5 minutes after all the biscuits are no longer sticking to each other... The biscutis are easy to mash up/cut up if you make too big and the chicken will be shredded so it will be easy to eat in the broth.. I don't like it but it's also an option to serve it all over mashed potatos with maybe some boiled squash..

    Good luck finding stuff.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    If he is able to take in tablespoons of coconut oil it's pure energy. MCTs which the body is more likely to put towards energy rather than store. Or he could mix it in with some other liquid - it's solid at room temperature so he would have to blend it well.

    Or canned full-fat coconut milk. One can is 600-700 calories of healthy, natural fats.

    As far as nutrients - you can get liquid vitamin supplements (there is a brand called Liquid Vitamin - they're not cheap but it's a high quality supplement).

    You can blend berries, greens - just about anything - into smoothies using coconut milk or whole milk - full fat dairy milk is more nutritious and the body needs fat to absorb vitamins A, D, and E (fortifying fat free milk with these is just stupid). A high-quality protein powder will ensure he's getting usable protein.

    The body will absorb liquid calories and nutrients quicker than non-liquid since it's been "pre-digested" and the stomach doesn't have to break it down (our stomach acid completely breaks down animal foods and fat; grains, beans, and vegetables get digested in our gut/colon by our bacterial friends).
  • smtillman2
    smtillman2 Posts: 756 Member
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    Add a nutritionist to the list of other medical professionals he sees. Sounds like too many medical things going on to get advice from a forum like this.

    ^^^This
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    My Dad is, literally, slowly starving to death because he has trouble swallowing without choking and has serious difficulty getting enough calories in to maintain his weight. (For important medical reasons, a feeding tube is not an option - he used to have one.) He is working with a speech therapist and other medical professionals, but my mom and I would like some help finding calorie dense foods that taste good, aren't spicy, and have a smooth texture. If you're always eating the same things, you lose your appetite. That is deadly.

    Any suggestions? We have a few things but it gets very boring eating the same thing every meal. He can't drink beverages or eat cold things without choking (ice cream or shakes or smoothies don't work). Some days he can only eat one meal so we want every bite to be as fattening as possible. Most of what he eats are egg based. Other ideas would be really, really welcome.

    Sorry to hear this about your dad.

    I take it he's had a stroke? (Not read the replies yet.)

    You can add something like Thick And Easy - it's a powder thickener that makes it easier to swallow (rather than my ideal girlfriend material budum tsss).

    Thick_and_Easy.png

    You can add this to the usual Scandishakes, Complans, Fortisips, etc. It can go from very thin (souplike) to thick dessert depending on how many spoons you mix in. (1/2 a spoon is really liquid, 4 spoons and you can turn the cup of water upside down without a mess!)
  • prairiedawg2014
    prairiedawg2014 Posts: 367
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    have you considered puree foods? i know sounds gross but i worked in a nursinghome for 12 yrs and alot of our residents ate pureed foods for the same reason of your father.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    Smoothies don't have to be cold. They can be room temperature.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    have you considered puree foods? i know sounds gross but i worked in a nursinghome for 12 yrs and alot of our residents ate pureed foods for the same reason of your father.

    Tis a good idea - you can vary how much it's pureed to give it some consistency for him to swallow.
  • Bloodredmoon
    Bloodredmoon Posts: 10 Member
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    Add coconut oil to his food whenever possible, great health benefits with coconut oil. Look into MCFA's (medium chain fatty acids), coconut oil is a greats supplement. Read The Coconut Oil Miracle.

    My other suggestion would be to put some nuts in a food processor and add it to a blended soup, like lentil or bean soup. I do this to thicken up indian curries (which I know he can't eat because of the spice right?), but I don't see why it wouldn't work in a blended soup....maybe could also work in a butternut squash soup. Good luck with your Father, hope he gets well soon.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Add coconut oil to his food whenever possible, great health benefits with coconut oil. Look into MCFA's (medium chain fatty acids), coconut oil is a greats supplement. Read The Coconut Oil Miracle.

    My other suggestion would be to put some nuts in a food processor and add it to a blended soup, like lentil or bean soup. I do this to thicken up indian curries (which I know he can't eat because of the spice right?), but I don't see why it wouldn't work in a blended soup....maybe could also work in a butternut squash soup. Good luck with your Father, hope he gets well soon.

    What a terrific idea. I never thought of adding blended nuts or nut butters to soup - even though I make peanut butter soups.

    He can eat spices - he doesn't like hotter than a mild salsa.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    have you considered puree foods? i know sounds gross but i worked in a nursinghome for 12 yrs and alot of our residents ate pureed foods for the same reason of your father.

    Tis a good idea - you can vary how much it's pureed to give it some consistency for him to swallow.

    Absolutely. Turns out he loves pureed broccoli, but it does get very old quickly.

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