Boosting Calories


Article Body

Boosting Calories

Every child grows in their own unique way. When you visit the WIC office or the doctor, they measure your child’s height and wight to track their growth. The goal is to ensure they are growing normally, regardless of where they fall on the growth charts. It’s also important to maintain a consistent height-to-weight ratio. If the WIC staff or doctor notice that your child’s weight doesn’t matching their height, they might suggest ways to increase their daily calorie intake.

Feeding kids can be challenging (check out this short article on how to feed your child), so when you’re told your child needs to eat more, it might seem daunting. All foods are made up of different nutrients that contribute to their total calorie content. Some foods are more calorie-dense, meaning they have more calories in a small serving size. For example, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter can have about 200 calories, while 1 CUP of pineapple has only 80 calories.

The key is not to focus on getting your child to eat more food, but rather to increase their calorie intake. You can do this by choosing more calorie-dense foods. If you’re unsure how to find this information, check out this article on how to read a food label.

The below information will be recommendations for children 12 months and older. Children 12 months and older should not be given honey or cow's milk.

Here are some high calorie “boosters”:

  • Cheese – Cube as a snack, melt over vegetables, potatoes, toast, or casseroles, or grate into eggs, rice, soup, and hot cereal
  • Offer whole milk.
    • Use milk, instead of water, to cook hot cereals.
  • Use full-fat yogurt and puddings.
  • Add extra fats to foods such as butter, margarine, oil, cream cheese, mayonnaise, or half & half.
    • Put butter or mayonnaise on vegetables, breads, hot cereals, potatoes, crackers, sandwiches, soups, and casseroles.
  • Add avocado to toast, a sandwich, tacos, or as a side dish.
  • Add peanut butter to bread, crackers, toast, and apple slices.
    • Note: thickly spread peanut butter is a choking hazard for children, especially under 2 years of age. See this article on Choking.
  • Use powdered nonfat dry milk to make “super-milk” by adding ¼ cup powdered milk to 1 cup whole milk, or to milkshakes or yogurt (refrigerate before drinking).
  • Add powdered nonfat milk to mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and casseroles.
    • Note: children under age 2 should not be served powdered milk to drink by itself, but it can be used to add calories to foods.
  • Add Instant Breakfast to whole milk or instant pudding for a sweet treat.
  • Eggs: Layer calories into scrambled eggs by making with half & half, cooking in butter, and adding cheese on top.
  • Add extra olive or canola oil when cooking lean meats, vegetables, stir-fry or soups.
  • Blend a fruit smoothie of 1/2 banana, frozen berries, milk and 1 tablespoon nonfat powdered milk. Add peanut butter for even more calories.
  • Peanut Butter Dough: Mix approximately equal amounts of creamy peanut butter and powdered milk  together.  Aim for dough-like consistency. Sweeten with honey to taste and shape into cookies for your child to eat.

Make Mealtime Count

  • Serve 3 meals plus 2 to 3 planned snacks per day. Make sure snacks are at least 2 hours before a meal.
  • Provide the foods at meals before any liquids.
  • Make meals tasty and fun for the child. Serve “finger foods” that are easy to handle. Keep servings small so they don’t become overwhelmed, but then offer seconds.
  • Don’t scold the child if everything is not eaten.
  • Have children eat with the rest of the family at the table. Children seem to eat more when they are eating with others.
  • Allow for some “quiet time” before family meals to let the child slow down from busy play.
  • Avoid any distractions at mealtimes by turning off the TV/tablets, putting the dog in another room, etc.
  • Try new ways of preparing foods. Some children will eat raw foods but not cooked, or hot but not cold. Allow your child to help fix new foods and plan when to serve them.
  • Avoid large amounts of cookies, candy, cake, chips, pop & Kool-Aid. Sweet snacks are low in nutrients and “fill up” a child too quickly.

Growth takes time so stay consistent without pressuring your child to eat more than their body is telling them to. Refer to this article on how to feed your child while also incorporating the above calorie boosters! Have a picky eater? Check out this article! 

Sources:

Farmingham State college https://www.framingham.edu/Assets/uploads/academics/colleges/science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics/food-and-nutrition/_documents/high-cal-foods-for-toddlers.pdf

https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/healthy-ways-to-increase-calories-and-protein