A High-Calorie Alternative to Puffs?

gutsymama

So we really have to push the calories now. Luke loves his puffs, but there's basically nothing in them. Any suggestions for baby snacks? Bits of avocado have been a big flop, as have the banana + oatmeal baby cookies - they were kind of a weird gummy consistency, and he choked and gagged and refused both things. 

Pink724

maryannespier said:

Egg yolk?

This is what we use to try and get some more fat in L.

MRads

These aren't puffs, but I've given my kid Greek yogurt mixed with cookie butter and/or almond butter. He goes crazy for it and it has a lot of fat and protein.

Cheese rolled up into balls so they are the size of puffs. Hummus spread on pitas or peppers. Ohhhh, hold on

MRads

No bake energy bites: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

MRads

Hard boiled egg yolks.

karen0477

Allie loves shredded cheese....yogurt bites? I don't know how high calorie they are, but they must be more than the puffs....

[Deleted User]

What about vanilla wafers. No clue what the calorie content is or how nutritious (probably not) but they taste good and they break down easily. My sister gives them to her daughter

arlingirl

They don't have too many more calories, but you don't have to eat as many...the creamies or the yogis?

I like the cheese wedge idea too. We've given Oliver the cheddar cheese sticks since they're supposed to have full fat dairy before age 1 (right?).

Stina2012

What's the rules with eggs and dairy? Eggs would be good for Riley to get some protein and fats too!

joyfultrex

pedi told us to do egg yolk to up calories and gain weight. DS prefers them scrambled with BM. They aren't as dry and the BM (or formula) adds extra calories. They are also easier to self feed.

coco2787

The yogurt melts?

gutsymama

So many good ideas already - thanks! 

We have tried egg yolk and he was not a fan, but it's been awhile and we should probably try again. That will be first on the list. @Stina2012 Eggs and dairy are technically supposed to wait until a year, and GI doc has told us to wait until a year on adult yogurt, but with eggs it's the whites that can be an allergen so yolks are usually ok and Luke has had egg product in his lipids anyway so we know he's not allergic.

@MRads mmmmmm cookie butter....drool. We may have to try that. And I have made those exact energy bites for me and DH! I wonder if Luke would eat bits of them? And, confession: I have let Luke lick and nom my peanut-filled granola bars and he loves it, so we know he's not allergic. We should try hummus; but I'm wondering if the cheese would just result in gagging like the banana cookies, because of the texture? We shall see. He's kind of picky. And still not interested in feeding himself. I have let him taste a cheese stick I was eating and he gave me his wtf face. 

@LadyBlue07 I didn't think about putting something *on* the puffs - that just might do the trick. 

@Asbromle I bet he would devour some vanilla wafers. I hadn't thought about those. And he's getting plenty of BM and fruit and a little veg in his meals, so I think that would be fine for a snack. He chomped right down on a thin mint and some chocolate chex (whoops - as you can see we are very concerned about only feeding the most healthful things!).

DenverBride2005

Yep I also vote for scrambled egg yolk or whole milk yogurt or yogurt drops. The drops dissolve pretty fast so I think they're fine to give once they're sitting?

arlingirl

I know ppl avoid juice because of calories (and sugar!) but if you need calories...maybe some juice?? I don't know.

gutsymama

Also, we've done the yogis and creamies but he's kind of lost interest in the creamies lately for some reason. I need to get some more yogis and see if he comes back around. 

gutsymama

@maryannespier I will probably give him some baked sweet potato pureed with butter this weekend. But it just feels wrong, doesn't it?

MRads

mimi4347 said:

@maryannespier I will probably give him some baked sweet potato pureed with butter this weekend. But it just feels wrong, doesn't it?

The only thing wrong about it is it is lacking a bit of cinnamon. Yuuuum.

sdtchica13

I third the shredded cheese and yogurt melts. Also, if the pedi okays it, you can do tofu bites. Take firm tofu, cut into small pieces and roll it in crushed graham cracker so he can pick them up. Corri loved that as a baby (she still loves tofu)!

fieldpetal

My LO hardly eats anything: he doesn't like yogurt, bananas, puffs... He's just not that into food yet. But he seemed to really like cottage cheese. My pedi said small amounts of dairy are okay. It's high in protein, and I was really glad I found something he'd eat.

opheliainwaders

Lyra seems to like stuff better when it has more flavor these days - for example, she likes avocado, but she LOVES guacamole (no salt, tho), And she will gobble up spinach when we saute it in garlic. Maybe try some more exciting combinations of flavors for him?

Also, I know you've got to get the calories in, but maybe letting him touch some other textures and shapes of food when you don't NEED him to eat might help him get acquainted with his options, and more inclined to eventually put them in his mouth?

gutsymama

@MRads Lucas seems to not like cinnamon. I'm a little horrified by this. 

rondosa

Hey Mimi when the dr said no dairy was that specific to Luke or just in general? I know our pedi OK'd yogurt even adult, and I found an organic 12%fat version that's plain and DS loves it...I didn't even know yogurt went over "full fat" 4% versions that are common. I second nut butters, if he likes puffs, get some rice rusks and spread stuff on them (as pp suggested). DS luuuurves rice rusks (aka mum-mums), he chomps on them happily. They'd be a good vehicle for fatty stuff as opposed to puffs (I can't imagine spreading anything on them).

The other thing I thought of...if you have time to make some chicken noodle soup, when you make the stock (boiling the whole chicken), when you skim off the fat off the top before you make the actual soup, save it and use it to thin out some purées for Luke. Adrian hates puréed meat but I can use some of the stock/fat to thin puréed veggies, and I also give him some small pieces of the dark meat and he'll eat a bit of those. Hope that helps.

gutsymama

@rondosa She told us it would be a good idea to stick to baby yogurt pouches for now instead of trying adult yogurt to avoid potentially giving him something he couldn't handle.

Married071709

Thank you for posting this! I've been meaning to for a couple days but haven't been able to. Great ideas so far!

We give DD small pieces of whatever we eat. I quit cooking with salt and we just add it at the table.

What about a smoothie of some sort with fruit, kale or spinach, tofu, thinned with BM? You could freeze in an ice cube tray and put in a mesh holder or make it a little bit thicker and spoon feed.

opheliainwaders

Married071709 said:

Thank you for posting this! I've been meaning to for a couple days but haven't been able to. Great ideas so far! We give DD small pieces of whatever we eat. I quit cooking with salt and we just add it at the table. What about a smoothie of some sort with fruit, kale or spinach, tofu, thinned with BM? You could freeze in an ice cube tray and put in a mesh holder or make it a little bit thicker and spoon feed.

Ooh, also, a smoothie was how I taught L to drink through a straw (she now will do it with water, but BOY did she want some strawberry-mango-banana goop). I don't know whether the straw would be overwhelming for him at this point, but I know our LOs are similar ages and sometimes she surprises me with a random skill I wasn't expecting her to have. He might also be able to drink a smoothie out of a bottle with an X cut in the nipple (is that even kosher these days? IDK).

JTA2426

We are working on weight gain here too. I give the twins whole wheat toast with butter, yogurt melts, sweet potatoes with butter, black eyed peas...some things are better received than others. The toast may get to the gummy consistency he doesn't like. Do you have a way to increase the calories in his drip feeds? What does Dr Gut say about that,
I guess I should ask. Btw, in my humble opinion, y'all have enough worries without stressing over what's "healthy." Let the short gut kid eat whatever he likes and will tolerate!!

gutsymama

Thanks, everyone! 

@JTA2426 we are working on upping his overnight calories, just increasing slowly to make sure he tolerates it. And he's doing a good job of eating solids, although I would like to try giving him some homemade and/or whole food instead of just purees - but he wants to munch on puffs all the time, so I guess I'm mostly just looking to replace the puffs with something that's got a little more value.