Ideas for Higher-calorie Foods for a 2 Year Old

Just wanted to touch base and make sure that you're only giving her WHOLE milk products.

Obviously, because she needs the fats for neural development ((unlike us, who need lowfat diets, because our nerves are already coated in myelin -essentially pure fat- and our brains are fully formed, which are also a *huge* percentage of pure fat (the fats allow the electrical impulses to send faster).))

BUT ALSO because Lowfat or Nonfat milk products make up the difference with carbs and no calorie filler-fiber, which are either fast burning or have no nutritive value whatsoever.

My 7yo kiddo is adhd-c (and nearly always in motion). He's usually in the bottom half for weight and is off the charts for height (over 100th percentile). He's so active though, that he eats on average about 6,000 calories a day. A chunk of those, is that he drinks at least 1/2 gallon of milk a day in addition to cheese/ yogurt/ other dairy. He'll chub up (into the 90's percentile wise) about a month before a growth spurt (he also doubles what he ordinarily eats)... and then shoots up like crazy with all of his ribs and vertebre showing. LOL, I just *love* comments when he's in either extreme. They really crack me up. As in, I'm not being sarcastic... but rolling on the floor laughing.

:)
R

I agree to never make a child finish their meals. They have an internal system that tells them when they're full. If you ruin that now, you could set them up for obesity and poor eating habits.

Here are some ideas - any nut (but almonds are the best for you), avocados, anything with coconut, yogurt that's NOT low-fat, cheeses, hot cereal such as Malt-O-Meal (great source of Iron), cinnamon raisin bread is also a good option (try Target's "Archer Farms" brand).

Good luck!

Hi~
I agree that you do not want to force her to eat because it can lead to issues in the future. As far as snacking in between meals I feel it is not a good idea because you will never get a true idea of how much she is eating and as you said it gives her the idea that she can graze throughout the day. This in turn will make meal time more difficult as she will not feel hungry at regular scheduled meal times. So the idea of providing higher calorie foods is a great idea.
I work with kids with feeding issues and below I’ve listed ideas that I frequently will give to families on ways in increase calories. Keep in mind that there are “healthy” high fat foods (vs only thinking of fried foods as high calorie foods). Always keeping food allergies in mind, here are some thoughts…
* Carnation instant breakfast drinks
* dry milk added to smoothies, whole milk
* add heavy cream to foods (e.g. mash potatoes, fruit smoothie shake, scrambled eggs),
* fruit smoothies made with whole milk yogurt and fruit (fruit is high in calories)
* whole milk yogurt – can also add maple syrup to the yogurt for more calories.
*avocado
* guacamole (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Guacamole/Detail.aspx)
* olives (great high calorie food that your child eats!)
* coconut milk in cooking (e.g. Thai foods, other foods)
* wheat germ
* Hummus (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hummus-III/Detail.aspx)
* whole wheat carbs – e.g. pita, pasta, other breads
* Pesto (olive oil, basil, parmesan cheese and pine nuts purred together also see http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pesto-Sauce/Detail.aspx)
* Full fat cream cheese (on an egg bagel)
* different nut butters e.g. Almond, cashew, or peanut butter, nutella
* Homemade oven fries- using olive oil
* Cheese cubes (string cheese is lower in fat and calories).
* butter on all of her vegetables (and anything else you can think of: pancakes, toast, pasta, etc.)
* pour melted cheese or béchamel sauce on veggies/pasta (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basic-Bechamel-Sauce/Detail....)
* Tomato-Cream Sauce for Pasta http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tomato-Cream-Sauce-for-Pasta...

Ideas from http://costellokids.com/therapy/calorie_boosters.html (some of the ideas above are also below. I kept them in there because it gave you an idea of number of calories per serving you can add) …
Calorie Boosters that Pack a Punch
For some children, it's important to pack every mouthful with as many calories as possible. Try adding these calorie boosters to your child's foods. Small amounts provide big calorie payoffs!
Butter/Margarine, Vegetable Oil, Mayonnaise
(35 to 4O calories/teaspoon)
Add to baby foods, vegetables, sandwiches, casseroles, soups, rice, pasta, and whatever. These calorie boosters go with almost any food
Wheat Germ
(25 calories/tablespoon)
Wheat germ can be added easily to homemade baked goodies such as pancakes, cookies, and breads. It is also good over yogurt, fruit, and cooked cereals.
Powdered Milk
(25 calories/tablespoon)
Your child won't even know when you add it to ground meat, milk shakes, mashed potatoes, cooked cereals, casseroles, and yogurt.

Sprinkle on Cheese (about 1OO calories/ounce)
Add grated cheese or cheese sauce or sprinkle parmesan on buttered toast, creamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, scrambled eggs, cooked cereals, casseroles, meat, and fish.
Cream Cheese
(5O calories/tablespoon)
Cream cheese makes the start of a good dip for crackers, vegetables, and fruits. It also makes a nice spread for baked breads and buttered muffins

Cooked Egg Yolk
(about 60 calories/yolk)
Cooked egg yolk can be added to all kinds of foods. The egg yolk must be already cooked if it is going to be added to a food that will not be cooked. This is to prevent salmonella infection. The American Heart Association suggests limiting whole eggs to three a week.

Whipping Cream (Heavy)
(8O calories/tablespoon)
Add a touch to drinks or desserts.
Peanut Butter
(1OO calories/tablespoon)
Makes a great spread on some vegetables, crackers, toast, muffins, waffles-but make sure your child has the feeding skills to eat it. Peanut butter also tastes great in milk shakes, cookies, and pudding.

Sour Cream
(25 calories/tablespoon)
Tastes great on potatoes or added to casseroles and sauces.

Avocado
(75 calories per l/4 avocado)
Kids usually like avocados. Try adding them to vegetables, on top of crackers, with meats or beans, and as a guacamole dip.
Salad Dressing
(65-85 calories/tablespoon)
Salad dressings can be used on vegetables and salads and over meats as a cooking sauce. Avoid diet dressings.

Commercial Calorie Supplements (variable)
A variety of commercial high-calorie drinks and puddings are available. They come in different flavors, so try different ones to find your child's favorites. The most common types are Enrich, Ensure, Ensure Plus, and Sustacal. Some high-calorie supplements are nutritionally incomplete and should be used only as additions to your child's diet-not as the main diet.

Hope that helps - Good luck!

I think good food habits are the most important thing in general, so encouraging her to eat at meals is a good thing...little kids do need snacks, but snacks are snacks and meals are meals.

I would not harangue her to finish her plate, since finishing a plate is not in and of itself an objective, and could lead to eating issues later (one should not eat when one is not hungry.)

So your total calorie idea I think is on track, so long as you are not pushing too much fat. You might try sneaking extra egg yolks into various things, for example, when you make her pudding or scrambled eggs or any cookie recipe that can handle an extra yolk (or three) -- the "eggy" flavor comes from the whites whereas the yolks are more subtle and can be disguised in almost anything.

Poultry dark meat is higher in fat content (notwithstanding what I said about fat above) and tastes better, so how about skinless chicken thighs made every which way?

Peanut butter and nuts in general are also high calorie and nutritious so long as allergies are not an issue.

Peanut butter and banana (or cream cheese in place of banana) sandwiches are packed with protein and calories, or a peanut-butter smoothie with whole milk and whole-milk yogurt. My daughter loves both of these, but because she doesn't need to put on weight, I give them too her sparingly b/c I know they are very dense foods. Egg and cheese omelet with peanut butter toast and fruit on the side might work, too. Your daughter's taste buds sound exactly like my daughters--she even loves olives! Good luck!

My daughter was like that for a while and she is still slender....at almost 4 years old she is 33 pounds so I think she is 25th to 50 percentile now. It's a big jump from the 5th to 10th percentile she used to be in. Anyway, the pedi just said put butter on everything and give her pediasure. I did that for a few months and thats when she jumped percentiles. I wouldn't worry to much, though. She's a lucky one if she stays that way!!!