I have such great news!!! As you know, there are many struggles that we face being allergy parents. One of our struggles is getting our son with allergies to gain weight. Because of his limited diet it is very difficult to put much meat on his bones. His little body has been at 30-32 pounds for about two years now. I would be more than willing to share some of my fat with him but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Bummer. A recent doctor appointment put him up to 36 pounds! (mind you, this was with clothes and shoes on…but I’ll take what I can get). WOO HOO!!! I am jumping for joy!!!!
So what are some ways we put weight on our son?
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| Olive oil for cooking and Flax oil for cold or room temp foods is a great way to add fat. |
Oil. I add flax seed oil to his shakes, oatmeal, etc. With a whopping 120 calories, and 14 grams of fat, and a significant source of Omega-3, 6, and 9 this is probably the hidden source of all of his weight. Just about every morning I make a large amount of shake that he drinks throughout the day. Lately his preferred flavor is banana, peach. I’ve also been using powdered brown rice milk, which is organic, whole grain and free of GMO’s which I purchase online at: http://www.growingnaturals.com/ (they also have a rice protein powder that I have yet to try) Soaked chia seeds also adds fat, protein, omega 3 and 6, and calcium. I freeze any leftover shake into popsicle molds so he’s also getting a good source of fat at dessert.
Avocado. I sneak it in wherever I can. He thinks he doesn’t like it. But little does he know how frequently he actually eats it. Mwa ha ha haaaaaa…. Hey, a Mom’s gotta do what a Mom’s gotta do.
Bacon. Yes, yes, yes…I know how bad bacon is for you (depending on what article you decide to read). However, when you take into account that he eats very little unhealthy foods, I let this one pass. Now if I could find a way to make the bacon not smell soooo good, which in turn would allow me to resist it myself, then I would. Until then it is what it is.
Nutritional Yeast. One of my readers told me about this recently and our son LOVES it. It doesn’t contain fat and only contains about 20 calories per tablespoon. But what it DOES do is add a ton of flavor, vitamins and protein. I’ve been adding it to almost everything since we purchased it. He is eating seconds and thirds of his dinner!!! It was a struggle to get him to finish just one helping before. Wahooo!!!! 🙂
And there you have it. Those are our little secrets to get our son to gain weight. Apparently it’s been working.
Elizabeth 🙂
LOVE this post! Thank you so much for sharing your secrets! A few questions-
1) can you recommend an alternative to flaxseed oil for adding to cold/room temp foods? My little guy doesn't do well (digestive issues) with flax. Perhaps olive oil is nutritionally comparable but the taste is much more apparent, in my opinion.
2) secrets for sneaking in avocados?!
Excited to try the nutritional yeast- who knew?!
Thank you- love your blog and all you do!
-Kristi
Hi Kristi,
Have you tried avocado oil? It's high in fat, calories, Omega 6 & 9's and antioxidants. It may be worth a shot. I personally have never tasted it so if you do try it, let me know how it goes.
As for my avocado sneak in methods…I add purreed avocado to his soups and smother it on his bread for sandwiches. I also use it to add to rice and quinoa. I mix it with diced tomato, onion, garlic powder and some olive oil(kinda like guacamole) and mix it all together. He doesn't even realize!!! 🙂
Let me know how it goes!
Elizabeth 🙂
Thanks for your reply, Elizabeth. Avocado oil- great idea! And great "sneak" suggestions as well. Ditto on Sunbutter comment- that stuff is amazing!
-Kristi
I too have struggled to help my son put on weight. Over the summer he had some crazy issue where he'd wake up at 4am and have diahrea and vomit. The allergist wouldn't get involved, said it was a GI issue, not allergies. THe pediatrician got involved but we never figured it out but luckily it stopped. I narrowed it down to a couple foods. Anyways, he lost 1.5 pounds and he wasn't even 30 pounds to begin with. Well after it stopped, he gained that weight back plus a few more. I forget what his actual weight was, but he was up to 37th percentile for his age! I was thrilled!! He had always been in the single digit and teens for percentiles. I really think it is thanks to Sunbutter. I give him that on a sandwich for lunch and then in the evening i dip some animal crackers in sunbutter just so his belly is full before bed. I also made some small changes like instead of Rold gold pretzels which have no fat, I switched to Glutino gluten free pretzels with have 6 grams of fat. I joke that sunbutter and golden oreos helped fatten him up. I added vitamins too, not sure if that helped. I am wondering about this nutritional yeast? I thought it wasn't a good idea to have more yeast in your body than you need?? Thanks for your post! Ishould try the flaxseed oil and avocado but for some reason i'm scared to do it! Jenny
Hi Jenny,
I can't imagine having my child become sick at night. Sometimes I feel like it's the only time I'm able to fully relax knowing that he's not eating and reactions are probably not happening. I can only imagine how difficult this was for the both of you. 🙁
Sunbutter!!! I forgot to add sunbutter to my list!! You are SOOO right. We LOVE sunbutter in this house. I add it to his shakes, on his crackers, his sandwiches… YUM!!!
Glutino pretzels?? I'm going to have to look for those… Thanks for sharing! 🙂
The nutritional yeast (has a horrible name) is made from an inactive yeast. I believe that it's good for you. It has B2, B6, Zinc, Iron, Thiamine (B1), Niacin (B3), Folic Acid, and a bunch of other stuff I can't prounounce.
I have heard of some type of yeasts that allow the bad bacteria in your gut to grow, usually also due to having antibiotics which kills the good bacteria to even things out. That's why taking probiotics are always a good idea after using antibiotics.
If you're unsure, then its a great question to ask your doctor at your next visit. I have no degree and am not trained in nutrition. I just like to share with everyone what works for us.
Hope this helps! 🙂
Elizabeth