Food for DS

[niccig]

DS is 7 yo and about 48" and 50lbs. He is all muscle, I can see the start of a 6 pack and when he flexes he has biceps. So far, he's just exercised at 1 gymnastics class, rec soccer or baseball seasons, and the usual kid running around the playground. He doesn't put on much weight every year, ever since he was a baby. We went through all the things to do to help him gain weight (was very slow to gain). Finally our ped. said he has a high metabolism and I could feed him McDonalds and ice cream every meal and he wouldn't put on weight.

He's going to start to do more gymnastics and I know he'll need more energy from food to fuel all the exercise. He is very strong for his size - makes sense when he's all muscle and little fat.

He eats a variety of food, so I'm looking for ideas to increase calories but in a nutritional way to give him energy he'll need. I'll also need to pack a more protein rich snack for after school.

His typical day with food would be:

Breakfast
Steel cut oats, with egg beaten in it, cinnamon and vanilla. Maple syrup. Greek yogurt with drizzle honey. Glass milk

Scrambled egg, toast, milk and maybe yogurt

Baked oatmeal with syrup and greek yogurt.

Oatmeal pancakes with flax meal, wheat bran, syrup and yogurt

Gosh...he does like his maple syrup!


Lunch
For school it's other PB &J with fruit, nuts, a few pretzels (we have a laptop lunch) snack time is yogurt tube and granola bar or dried seaweed. He also takes dinner leftovers in his thermos, I may make a quesadilla or pasta dish.

After school snack
Usually carb based. He loves goldfish and pretzels. I'll make a smoothie or get him to have apple with cheese. He'll have a yogurt tube.

Dinner,
A protein (fish, chicken, pork, tofu, occasional beef), a vegie, starch is usually quinoa occasionally rice or baked potato. Dh and I don't eat a lot of starches, but DS will have pasta maybe 1 night for dinner a week, if DH and I having something else he won't eat.

Forgot to add dessert. He has ice cream or sorbet and some fruit or some yogurt.



Thanks.

[Seitvonzu]

avocados?

that's my favorite "healthy" calorie/fat dense food :)

[brittone2]

Nitrate/nitrite free pepperoni and cheese cubes?
Deli meat rolled around cream cheese or cream cheese and a sliver of pickle, or wrapped around string cheese, or around cream cheese and green onion. It can be eaten as a big "wrap" or cut into little slices, kind of like sushi (seal edges with some of the cream cheese before you roll if you are going to do this).
Hardboiled or deviled eggs. For some reason in that form my kids will eat multiple (3+) whereas they'd be unlikely to eat 3 scrambled eggs.
Chicken or egg salad make in advance and eaten with crackers, celery, scooped with pepper slices, etc.

Olives? My kids all have a thing for good quality olives.

Sweet potatoes made in advance on the weekend and eaten cold or reheated a bit if you are doing this at home. Serve with some protein (cheese, leftover meat, etc)

Big batches of something like drumsticks as a quick afterschool protein? My kids like that and will eat them cold.

Will he eat cottage cheese? That would open up another protein source. DS1 doesn't like it, but DD, DS2, and I like it. I like it with tomato, salt, and pepper.

You could make something like a custard (some paleo recipes use things like coconut milk, which is very calorie dense and full of nice fats, but I know not all kids go for coconut). Something like that takes a bit of time when you make it, but he could eat it for a snack for the next 2-3 days.

Whole wheat pita pizza?

eta: for his carbier post school snack, can you add in dips with some fat and protein? Yogurt based dips (tzatziki?), hummus, guacamole, etc? Guac if he likes it is also good mixed into hard boiled egg yolks instead of mayo for deviled eggs. I add in cumin, a little chili powder, etc. and mash with the guac or avocado and serve it that way to the kids for a snack. Have you seen the Alton Brown method for doing "hard boiled" eggs in the oven? I did it last night and it is soooo easy to make a bunch at once. My kids will eat those for breakfast, snacks, etc. and you can turn it into egg salad, deviled eggs, eat them plain, add to a regular green salad, etc. THey like using an egg slicer to make it more fun. Hard boiled eggs are safe in the fridge for a week, which is pretty handy IMO.

Some links...I am linking mostly to paleo sites, not that you are going for paleo, but because those are going to incorporate more protein and natural fats than most of the kid snack/food websites.
http://everydaypaleo.com/2012/04/03/school-lunch-ideas/
http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/08-02/what-to-pack-in-a-paleo-school-lunch/
http://angiessuburbanoasis.blogspot.com/2011/08/paleoprimal-school-lunch-ideas.html

Homemade Lara bars are easy if you have a food processor

Quick breads or muffins made with almond flour would be nutritionally dense. Most of the recipes I have use stevia and erythritol but you could tweak with sugar or whatever sweetener you typically use.

Meatballs-you could buy or do homemade. A pain to make, but if you make a bunch at once they are easy to reheat from frozen. You could also make them chicken vs. beef if your family prefers that. Sometimes we do pork/ginger, or chicken and then I serve with wing sauce and sour cream, or the traditional Italian meatball. Oh, my kids like to dip them in ranch dressing...lots of ways to jazz them up a bit.

I know some of those homemade ideas like custard, meatballs (if you make them), quick breads/muffins, etc. are a bit time consuming but if you make a big batch when you have a little time (I know that's not plentiful right now for you!), you have several days' worth of food.

[niccig]

Thanks for the ideas. DS does like avocados, so I'll add that in. I don't mind making some things ahead of time. I have this week before classes to stock the freezer. Last semester I made baked oatmeal and froze and it was great for quick breakfasts. I'll add in some muffins with almond flour. I normally use whole wheat and add in flax meal or wheat germ. I'll look at the recipes. DS loves banana, blueberry, pumpkin or zucchini muffins, so I'll make a couple of batches. DS likes meatballs, hardboiled eggs, cream cheese on a bagel, so these will be easy to add.

From what I've read, he should have a protein and carb before practice and then protein after practice.

I did just read that chocolate milk is a great after workout recovery drink. Some studies said that it's better than the Gatorades etc (not that I let DS have those), and much better than just water. I've never let DS had it because of extra sugar, but if he's exercising much more, it might be something to have after practice sometimes. He loves the greek yogurts, so I could have a small container of that at times too.

[hillview]

greek yogurt is a great protein

[curiousgeorge]

My DS is 3.5 and eating like a truck driver right now so I'm like you, looking for options for more healthy food!

He loves yogurt mixed with granola, we do either greek or full fat yogurt with the nature's path pumpkin flax granola from Costco. It travels well because you can put them in separate containers and then mix them once he's ready to eat it.

Have you tried quiche? I see your DS will eat eggs (mine won't, no matter how hard I try) but he does love quiche (with ketchup for dipping of course).

Will your DS dip his apple slices or pretzels in peanut butter? That's a good way to add some protein.

We also like to make a "pancake" for breakfast or lunch that my DH found a recipe for online somewhere. It sounds really random but it's great! It's 1.5TB of yogurt, 1.5TB of oat bran and one egg. Mix it all together and cook it just like a pancake (it does better with a few small pancakes than one large one). It is great with peanut butter on it or dipped in maple syrup. My DS thinks that's what real pancakes are since that's all he's had for the past few months. I love it too, so although I know it sounds random I can attest it really is tasty.

Lara bars are a great snack.

So are smoothies. Do you make those? We use frozen bananas to help keep ours thick, throw in some yogurt and other fruit and blend it with a bit of milk and it's an easy on-the-go snack.

Also, my DS really likes turkey sausages so sometimes I'll just give him a few of those as a snack (with ketchup for dipping although maple syrup is fantastic too).

Would you mind sharing how you add the egg to the steel cut oatmeal? My DS loves steel cut oatmeal but hates eggs. I'd love to figure out how to sneak an egg in there!

[Cuckoomamma]

My oldest (11) danced from 9:00-8:00pm 5 days a week for 3 weeks this summer and then, only a little bit less per day for the rest of the summer. She's always been incredibly thin, tall and muscular. I think the food suggestions you've been given are great. I'd encourage you to keep checking into the ideal beverage for your ds.

Dd's teachers have told them not to drink gatorade and to just drink water. I'd be concerned that the sugar in the milk would make him drink more than necessary and keep him from eating a more nutritious snack. Dd eats tons of protein. She's still not gaining, but she has the energy to keep dancing!

[DrSally]

Wow, I'd like that metabolism, hehe. Great ideas posted already. I was going to say Greek yogurt, so that's great that he likes it! I bulk up mine w/fruit, almonds, and some Kashi cereal. Now that's a serious snack (for me).

I think it's good, too, that you offer a lot of nuts. I'd add EVOO to a lot of things you cook for him. Good fats. I like the idea of adding wheat germ to things as well.

Lately, my kids are really liking this white cheddar from costco on a multigrain cracker (they happen to be gluten free, I like them). They add turkey if they want. That's a nice snack for all of us.

[niccig]

Dd's teachers have told them not to drink gatorade and to just drink water. I'd be concerned that the sugar in the milk would make him drink more than necessary and keep him from eating a more nutritious snack. Dd eats tons of protein. She's still not gaining, but she has the energy to keep dancing!

That's a good point about sugar in the chocolate milk may mean he doesn't eat later. After practice, we will be going home for dinner, so I don't want any drink to fill him up too much.

[niccig]

Wow, I'd like that metabolism, hehe. Great ideas posted already. I was going to say Greek yogurt, so that's great that he likes it! I bulk up mine w/fruit, almonds, and some Kashi cereal. Now that's a serious snack (for me).

I think it's good, too, that you offer a lot of nuts. I'd add EVOO to a lot of things you cook for him. Good fats. I like the idea of adding wheat germ to things as well.

Lately, my kids are really liking this white cheddar from costco on a multigrain cracker (they happen to be gluten free, I like them). They add turkey if they want. That's a nice snack for all of us.

I wish I had that metabolism too. It's DH's side of the family. Everyone is skinny until 30 and then they pack on the weight as used to eating crap and not gaining. DS carries more muscle than DH ever did and is more athletic - I like to say that's my side of the family, but it's not. Because of the family history of poor eating, becoming diabetic (his dad and sister), and cholesterol issues, I've been careful with DS's diet. I don't want him to get addicted to donuts for breakfast (yes, MIL thinks that is a perfectly fine breakfast food) and then struggle as an adult with healthy food choices. She can't believe he'll eat steel cut oats every day by choice.

Thanks for the cheese suggestion. DS loves TJs toscano cheese crusted with pepper. A few slices of that will be a good snack. He's not much of a cracker fan though. He will need to eat good carbs too.

I'll have to experiment and see what extra food and when DS will need to have it.

[niccig]

Update.
DS had his first practice and even though he had eaten his usual dinner before practice, he came home and wolfed down cheese slices, ice cream, a smoothie with mango, 1/2 banana, milk, yogurt and flax seeds, and started munching on cheese puffs. During his break time, he ate a quinoa-pumpkin muffin and carrot sticks.

I was worried he wouldn't eat enough to deal with the extra exercise :rotflmao: I'll bring a cooler bag next time with more snacks for him to eat on the way home in the car. The regular practice will be after school and before dinner, so I'll see how much he needs to eat before practice and immediately after practice as we're going to have dinner once we walk into the house.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I need to make more muffins, hit the grocery store for more food for DS.