HELP! Need recommendations for FATTENING foods

nxd10
nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been on MFP since May losing weight and have learned a lot about what NOT to eat to gain weight and have been pretty successful. I really need some help with the opposite problem for my father.

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.

For example, he had a 900+ calorie breakfast this morning of scrambled eggs with cheese and butter, an avocado, and custard. He can eat things like very overcooked lasagna, quiche without crust, and meatloaf. He can eat things like pea or cream of broccoli soup, but not something as chunky as beef stew or a hearty vegetable soup.

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.
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Replies

  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    Copious amounts of room temperature cheesecake? Peanut butter by the cupful?

    Fats are the most calorie dense foods, so keep that in mind.
  • Car0lynnM
    Car0lynnM Posts: 332 Member
    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.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Thank you. Peanut butter is too sticky and thick. Immediate choking.
  • ilovescarymovies
    ilovescarymovies Posts: 202 Member
    peanut butter? oatmeal with protein powder?
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
    Can he eat any type of nuts? Nuts are very high calorie. Perhaps if you grind them up?

    Also, add olive oil to his foods. Cook the eggs in olive oil, add a teaspoon into the meatloaf, soups, etc.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Ensure or Boost drinks
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    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.

    He has, but the advice is general. Recipes and new ideas for food types are what I'm looking for.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Whole milk (warmed up), macaroni and cheese (home made, of course), any other cream-based soup.

    This may sound a bit more extreme, but about about supplementing with an IV?
  • cfregon
    cfregon Posts: 147
    What about a smoothies made with whole milk, regular creamy peanut butter, and some strawberries? Any combination really but a nut butter tends to have high healthy fats and calories. Whole grain pastas are a good way to get some fat in, especially if you use white sauces (cream based, cheesy sauces). Gravies tend to be higher in fat and calories as well. So maybe some smooth mashed potatoes with country gravy, some scrambled eggs, maybe some soft bread as well.

    edit: also, making a smoothie with the peanut butter dilutes it down so it isn't thick of sticky anymore- it fixes your problem and lets him get those nut butters in. Also, coconut spread/butter is what has been recommended to me to up my saturated/fats when necessary.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    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.
  • DonniesGirl69
    DonniesGirl69 Posts: 644 Member
    Avocado and peanut butter are both calorie dense and full of healthy fats. Any nut butter, really, would probably be good. Olives? Cheeses
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
    Cook his food with lard. Literal fat.
  • pawheeler1
    pawheeler1 Posts: 80 Member
    interested in the responses, my mom has similar issues.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Guacamole made without spices?
    Homemade cream of mushroom soup?
    Ice cream or full fat frozen yogurt?
  • ericachristie85
    ericachristie85 Posts: 69 Member
    When my Grandma was sick we would make full fat Alfredo Fettuccine from scratch. I was great to see her eat it all and I loved having an excuse to eat such rich food.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    contrary to popular belief, MFP forums are not a good place for medical advice
  • raelorien
    raelorien Posts: 71 Member
    MIlkshakes. My dad had trouble keeping weight on (cancer), and the doctors had him drinking a lot of milkshakes.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    Start adding oil to every meal. Preferably coconut oil or olive oil or butter. You can add them in liquid form to any drink, even coffee and hot tea. Good fats are essential to life. . . and extremely high calorie. I have coconut oil in my morning coffee every day and in my afternoon green tea. You can also blend avocado into the protein shakes, with banana or other fruit. High calorie, good fat in the avocado.
  • kmjacobs93
    kmjacobs93 Posts: 46 Member
    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!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    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!

    I'll throw my 2 cents out there though...my wife an I make all of our own baby food (did it for our 2.5 year old and now doing it for our 5 month old)...you can make things like beef stew, etc...just run it through a food mill or puree. Maybe get yourself a baby food recipe book...we have a couple of good ones at home but unfortunately I can't remember the names of them...anyway, lots of good stuff to fatten you up when you're making your own baby food and it's obviously easy to eat...and your kitchen smells divine!
  • classycouture
    classycouture Posts: 888 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.

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