Questions about health

[lkboettger 0]

My son is 6, he is about the size of the average 4 year old. SO the GI specialist said that he isn't getting enough calories to grow, just enough to sustain. He's a relatively picky eater as well. He won't drink pediasure and gluten free food seems to always be low in calories for some annoying reason if I buy it at the store. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas I can try? Thanks so much!

Lesley

[Jestgar 716]

What will he eat?

[domesticactivist 109]

We were in the same boat and GAPS made a huge difference. It was hard to get through the first couple weeks, but then everything changed. This diet is very high protein and high fat as well. My daughter is 12.5 and the size of a small 9 year old so I can relate to being anxious about wanting to get your kid to eat. Now... she DOES!

[missy'smom 79]

I am over 40 and the size of a 12 year old no kidding! Despite significant dietary restrictions I was able to put on 10 lbs over the course of 2 years by increasing protein(meat) alone. I committed to a certain amount each meal, each day.

Here are some protein and calorie rich foods:

avacados

nuts(esp. macadamia nuts) and nut butters and almond meal-google low carb almond meal muffins etc.

same for flax meal and coconut flour

coconut oil and milk

eggs

full fat dairy

bacon

bacon grease

if you are using 90% lean ground beef, switch to 80%

[Skylark 938]

My picky nephew loves bacon and will sometimes eat sausage. He also loves ham, "the kind you bake" and breaded chicken tenders. I've seen them gluten-free in health food stores or you could make some with cornmeal. We discovered pretty early on that he would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which is a great source of fat and calories for little kids. (If he were my kid he wouldn't have the jelly but whatever.) Tater Tots were gluten-free last time I checked. You might also try the Amy's gluten-free macaroni and cheese.

[stanleymonkey 15]

our dietician suggested chicken, skin on, and fried! and butter/margarine to everything

[lkboettger 0]

Thank so much for your help! I'll look into the GAPS diet. Currently he love whole milk, yogurt and cheese, I have to almost force him to eat meat though. He will eat nuts and a peanut butter sandwich at school for lunch, chips that kind of thing. I make a full gluten-free dinner every night (we've actually got 3 gluten-free in the house so I cook completely gluten-free) but he just won't eat too much. I've starting dousing his food in butter and he doesn't seem to mind. He is liking the milkshakes and high fat hot cocoa, but I'd rather he got some health out of it and not just fat. I already use 80/20 ground beef and he will eat some meats when offered, but they are generally expensive. Anyone know of any high fat yogurt I can buy? I realize I may have to make this. I'm also looking for an easy snack for snack time at school currently eating Glutino pretzels, but those are not high fat or high protein.

[missy'smom 79]

Thank so much for your help! I'll look into the GAPS diet. Currently he love whole milk, yogurt and cheese, I have to almost force him to eat meat though. He will eat nuts and a peanut butter sandwich at school for lunch, chips that kind of thing. I make a full gluten-free dinner every night (we've actually got 3 gluten-free in the house so I cook completely gluten-free) but he just won't eat too much. I've starting dousing his food in butter and he doesn't seem to mind. He is liking the milkshakes and high fat hot cocoa, but I'd rather he got some health out of it and not just fat. I already use 80/20 ground beef and he will eat some meats when offered, but they are generally expensive. Anyone know of any high fat yogurt I can buy? I realize I may have to make this. I'm also looking for an easy snack for snack time at school currently eating Glutino pretzels, but those are not high fat or high protein.

I've never been a fan of meat so I picked the forms I could tolerate and slowly trained myself to eat more. I still could easily go without it but my body needs it and is so much better for it. Start with a small portion, 1 slice or a few cubes if you have to and when he is used to that, add in another slice or half or a few more cubes etc. until you get to where you want to be. It is very important for us here, especially since we can be more vulnerable to blood sugar issues, to get protein with each meal and not have carbs by themselves. Could you come up with something to dip the pretzels in that isn't sugary? skewer bits of veg, cheese, meat, fruit and make mini kebabs? Hot dogs can have some less than redeeming qualities but there are some better ones out there and even so, it's protein and fat. I used to send some cut up in my son's lunch-he ate them room temp.. I sliced and sauteed them in the a.m. You can make cute octopus out of them. Google it.

This site is no longer active but is a good resource for ideas for kiddos and school snacks and lunches. http://lunchinabox.net/

Some of the greek yogurts are high protein and full fat versions are avaialable. Stonyfield Farms and Brown Cow make full fats yogurts. You can make your own too. It's not hard. We've had threads here in the past on how to.

[tarnalberry 314]

Thank so much for your help! I'll look into the GAPS diet. Currently he love whole milk, yogurt and cheese, I have to almost force him to eat meat though. He will eat nuts and a peanut butter sandwich at school for lunch, chips that kind of thing. I make a full gluten-free dinner every night (we've actually got 3 gluten-free in the house so I cook completely gluten-free) but he just won't eat too much. I've starting dousing his food in butter and he doesn't seem to mind. He is liking the milkshakes and high fat hot cocoa, but I'd rather he got some health out of it and not just fat. I already use 80/20 ground beef and he will eat some meats when offered, but they are generally expensive. Anyone know of any high fat yogurt I can buy? I realize I may have to make this. I'm also looking for an easy snack for snack time at school currently eating Glutino pretzels, but those are not high fat or high protein.

What full fat yogurt you can find depends on your store. My local Safeway has Cascade Fresh that you can get as a whole milk yogurt. Someplaces also carry Nancy's.

You can dip those pretzels I peanut butter, btw, to add fat and protein.

If he will eat eggs, the. Scrambled, "fried", omlettes (with cheese and avocado!), and hard boiled (portable snack) can all work.

You can also make smoothies with fruit and coconut milk (I do add protein powder to mine).

Saut

[mommida 161]

Hame made chicken nuggets using potato chips. You can add parmesan cheese and any others spices. If eggs are tolerable, dip into a wipped up add to make your mixture stick. The higher the oven temperature, the crispier the nuggets will be.

Keep a food journal to see if there is another food intolerance. My daughter starting falling off the growth charts after gluten free for about 5 years. She was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitus and neede to eliminate at least 4 more things from her diet. She is doing very well now.

You can also add a sprinkle of flax or chia to yogurts and any other place it might be appropiate to "sneak" in extra nutrition.

[M0Mto3 0]

My 18 month old was failure to thrive from her gluten issues, so I have also tried hard to give her a high fat diet. So (please do not judge, it has been a painful road watching my baby waste away) she eats french fries, potato chips, gluten free chicken nuggets, hot dogs, bacon, anything I can put peanute butter on, gluten free pizza (either homemade or from a restaurant), Amy's Mac 'n Cheese (you can add shredded cheese to it), bologna and cheese rolled together, yogurt (I use the gerber graduates ones because they don't have to be refridgerated and they are higher in calories than the others. She would rather eat all fruits and the fruit and veggie pureed pouches, unfortunately this doesn't do much for her weight.

I am hoping that her weight gain comes around soon. She is up to the 6th%, so I guess that is better than the constant dropping.

[domesticactivist 109]

My daughter was a vegetarian from age 4 to 11. Ground beef (burgers, meatloaf, taco salad) was her gateway meat, which really surprised me. She still is particular about what meat she likes but now she will eat all kinds of stock and things cooked in stock, and she likes white meat chicken, turkey, and rabbit the best. It's a texture thing. She will also eat meat when it is pureed in a soup. She's still not fond of sea food.

[brigitam 1]

Before discovering my son was celiac i was told he was small due to a "too healthy diet", which is rubbish because he eats all sorts of foods. He has been gluten free for a year and is smaller than my 4 year old even though he is also 6. I have tried a high fat diet, but found it is really easy to get into bad eating habits. I found myself giving him extra serves of ice-cream etc. Its hard because a lot of foods that are high in fat are also high in sugar and salt. I have toned it down now and i just don't think this is healthy for a young child no matter how small they are. My current doctor suggested to put a slice of butter on top of every meal which works because you are raising the calories without increasing the junk.

[GFSAHmom 2]

My son loves plain vanilla yogurt and it's usually low in fat so I actually add 1-2 Tbs of heavy cream to his yogurt cup and that adds 100 extra calories!! It tastes the same:) I also sneak in heavy cream to his milk, eggs, or anything that might need milk. You can sneak it in oatmeal too! If your child will drink milk shakes, There are great high calorie shake recipes that you can find and they are over 1200 calories. Good luck:)

[Cara in Boston 71]

Try making a batch of these. Taste like a treat, but actually pretty healthy. My boys (and gluten-eating husband) gobble them up:

Energy Balls:

1 cup CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE oats (actually, we found that younger son doesn't tolerate even the gluten-free oats so we switched to QUINOA FLAKES)

1 cup natural peanut butter (we use Teddy)

1 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, etc. We use "Plum Amazins" in this recipe because they are small)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (check label for gluten)

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix it all together, roll into small balls. (I get about 34) Put in fridge to firm up.

You can easily switch things up to include different nuts, different nut butters, etc. If it seems too dry and crumbly, just add a little more pb and honey. One son doesn't really like coconut but he likes these. You taste the pb and chocolate more.

Also, get some books on the Paleo diet - cookbooks especially. Lots of high protein/ high fat / gluten free ideas.

Cara

[Cara in Boston 71]

Also, if you can't get him to eat avocado, put it in a smoothie. Especially if it is not completely ripe, you can't taste it at all and it adds a nice, creamy texture. We do coconut milk too.

[bento 0]

Before discovering my son was celiac i was told he was small due to a "too healthy diet",

My son is not diagnosed but I had to comment because I was told this also. The GI doc told me the reason my son was small and had chronic diarrhea was "his diet is too healthy." He went on to advise that I should feed him McDonald's every day for a month, because that would both bind him up and make him grow. We have a new GI doctor now. My son is almost 6 and weighs about 36 lbs.

[Skylark 938]

My son is not diagnosed but I had to comment because I was told this also. The GI doc told me the reason my son was small and had chronic diarrhea was "his diet is too healthy." He went on to advise that I should feed him McDonald's every day for a month, because that would both bind him up and make him grow. We have a new GI doctor now. My son is almost 6 and weighs about 36 lbs.

You might have just won the prize for finding the stupidest GI ever! McDonald's? Seriously?

I'm really glad to hear your son is doing better with his new doctor.

[researchmomma 23]

Before discovering my son was celiac i was told he was small due to a "too healthy diet", which is rubbish because he eats all sorts of foods. He has been gluten free for a year and is smaller than my 4 year old even though he is also 6. I have tried a high fat diet, but found it is really easy to get into bad eating habits. I found myself giving him extra serves of ice-cream etc. Its hard because a lot of foods that are high in fat are also high in sugar and salt. I have toned it down now and i just don't think this is healthy for a young child no matter how small they are. My current doctor suggested to put a slice of butter on top of every meal which works because you are raising the calories without increasing the junk.

We were told to add butter to my DDs baby food. I did that for one year and it did help. Now she is almost 13 and addicted to butter and in the 3% for height and weight.

However, we have just figured out her gluten issues so I am hoping for an improvement over the next year.

[researchmomma 23]

My son is not diagnosed but I had to comment because I was told this also. The GI doc told me the reason my son was small and had chronic diarrhea was "his diet is too healthy." He went on to advise that I should feed him McDonald's every day for a month, because that would both bind him up and make him grow. We have a new GI doctor now. My son is almost 6 and weighs about 36 lbs.

OMG! He should be reported for malpractice, tied to a chair and force fed McDs while watching "Super Size Me". UnREAL.

[bento 0]

I was so angry and frustrated, it took us a while to pursue this again. We call that guy "Dr. Cheeseburger" now. It's become a bit of a family joke now.

We are also looking for high fat, high protein ideas. My son is tiny and lately his appetite is not that good. Sorry to have hijacked the thread. I appreciate all suggestions for fattening snacks!