High Calorie Diets for Kids
Placing your child on a high-calorie diet is not a license to feed him anything and everything lying around the house---you should focus upon specific nutrient-dense foods to allow your child to increase his total calories without an uncontrolled corresponding increase in fat. Increase your child's daily calorie intake with some basic recommendations.
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Meal Frequency
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Since a child's stomach is relatively small, you cannot expect him to consume an adequate amount of calories in just three meals per day. Thus, increase his daily meals to five or six in order to keep calories high without having to resort to force-feeding. Three main meals and two or three substantial snacks throughout the day will help your child add calories.
Food Choices
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Do not make the mistake of increasing calories by adding pure junk foods. Feed your child lean meats such as chicken, fish, lean cuts of beef and turkey. Supplement this with dairy products, fruit and vegetables. If you need additional flavoring to convince your child to eat certain foods, do not be afraid to use butter, gravies or other condiments as long as the core of the meal consists of natural, unprocessed foods.
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High-Calorie Foods
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Stack the calorie deck by serving mainly high-calorie foods: peanut butter, healthy oils (flax, fish, olive, coconut and macadamia nut), whole milk, and red meats typically contain more calories per serving than comparable alternatives. Cheese sticks, beef jerky and mixed nuts (depending on the age of your child) make relatively high-calorie snacks.
Tricks of the Trade
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Increase the calories of other food items with these little tricks: Spread peanut butter on toast, bagels, pretzels, celery and crackers. Add tablespoons of condensed milk to puddings and milkshakes. Consider adding instant-breakfast mixes to milk or milkshakes. Add tablespoons of olive oil to vegetables, and add high-calorie condiments (like mayo) to sandwiches. Following these simple suggestions can boost daily caloric intake by the hundreds with minimal effort and minimal meal changes.
Suggested Meal Plan
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For breakfast, make your child french toast (using extra eggs in the batter) with liberal amounts of butter and syrup. Serve this with a favorite fruit and a glass of milk mixed with scoops of powdered milk or flavored instant breakfast mix. As a mid-day snack, give your child some peanut butter toast or peanut butter and celery. For lunch, prepare a chicken or turkey sandwich with bacon and a generous helping of mayo, alongside one of his favorite veggies (with olive oil added). As a mid-afternoon snack, offer cheese sticks or beef jerky. Then for dinner, serve meat loaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, with another vegetable (and more olive oil).
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