Weight Gain Techniques
Follow an eating routine. Don’t wait until you are feeling hungry before you enjoy a meal – eat at regular intervals. Try scheduling breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks at the same time every day.
Enjoy foods that are higher in protein and calories. You can add more protein and calories to other foods that you are currently enjoying. For example, add peanut butter to your smoothies or ice cream as a side to your dessert.
Eat 5-6 smaller meals every day instead of the typical three meals a day plan. By eating more often, you will be supplying your body with more opportunities for calories and protein. You will also benefit from having a steady source of energy to ward off feeling tired or sluggish.
Cook with protein-fortified milk. Using this type of milk instead of regular milk when making foods such as mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cream sauces, soups, or pancakes will increase the protein of your foods.
Drink milkshakes, smoothies, soups, or juices even if you don’t feel like eating solid foods. These types of foods can still provide the calories and protein your body needs.
Be active and have fun! Your body may trigger your appetite if you are able to incorporate a short walk or other light exercise. Plus – studies show that people feel better when they exercise each day!
Ideas to Add More Protein to Your Diet
Hard or semi-soft cheese:
Melt on sandwiches, tortillas, hamburgers, vegetables, eggs, desserts, stewed fruits, and pies.
Grate and sprinkle on soups, sauces, casseroles, vegetable dishes, noodles, rice, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes
Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese:
Add onto casseroles, spaghetti, noodles, and egg dishes
Milk
Use milk instead of water in drinks and while cooking. Also you could use in hot cereals, soups, cocoa, and pudding.
Non-fat instead of dry milk
Use in casseroles, meatloaf, breads, sauces, cream soups, pudding, macaroni and cheese, muffins, custard, and mashed potatoes
Ice cream, yogurt, and frozen yogurt
These treats can be added to carbonated drinks, pies, fruits, cereal, and milk-based drinks such as milkshakes
Eggs
Toss chopped hard-boiled eggs to salads, salad dressings, casseroles, and vegetables.
Make custard with eggs, milk, and sugar.
Add extra hard-boiled eggs to deviled egg filling andsandwich spread.
Beat eggs into sauces, pureed vegetables, and mashed potatoes.
Add extra eggs into omelets, scrambled eggs, quiches, and
pancake batter.
Nuts, wheat germ, and seeds
Sprinkle these onto fruit, ice cream, yogurt, cereal, vegetables,
salads, and toast
Add them to your favorite casserole, bread, muffins, pancakes, or
cookies.
Use instead of breadcrumbs in your recipes
Blend with parsley or spinach to make a sauce for pasta or
vegetables.
Peanut butter or other nut butters
Spread these on sandwiches, muffins, crackers, pancakes, fruit
slices, or waffles.
Use as a dip for raw vegetables.
Blend with milk or swirl through ice cream and yogurt.
Meat, poultry, and fish
Chop cooked meat or fish and add to vegetables, salads, soups, casseroles, sauces, omelets, quiches, and sandwich filings.
Beans, tofu, and legumes
Add to pasta, soup, salads, grain dishes or casseroles.
Mash cooked beans with cheese and milk.
Meal replacements, supplements, and protein powder
Use “instant breakfast powder” in milk drinks and desserts
Mix with ice cream, milk, and fruit flavoring for a high-protein
milkshake.
Ideas to Add More Calories To Your Diet
Milk
Pour over hot or cold cereal
Choose whole milk instead of low-fat or fat-free milk.
Mix together with hamburger or meatloaf
Make hot chocolate with milk instead of water.
Cheese
Melt over casseroles, potatoes, pasta, and vegetables.
Add when making omelets or sandwiches.
Granola
Sprinkle over: vegetables, yogurt, ice cream, fruit, custard, or
pudding.
Layer with fruit, bake, and enjoy a warm snack.
Use in cookie or muffin recipes.
Dried fruits (such as apricots, raisins, dates, and prunes)
Add them to your muffin, bread, cookie, cakes, rice, or grain.
Add them to muffins, cookies, breads, rice and grain dishes, cakes,
cereals, puddings, stuffing, and cooked vegetables such as
potatoes, yams, or butternut squash.
Bake in pies.
Combine with granola or nuts for a fun snack.
Eggs
Make custard with milk, eggs, and sugar
Add chopped hard-boiled eggs to salads, vegetables, casseroles,
and salad dressings.
Add extra hard-boiled yolks to deviled egg filling and sandwich
spread.
Beat eggs into mashed potatoes, pureed vegetables, and sauces.
Add extra eggs or egg whites to quiches, scrambled eggs, omelets,
puddings, or pancake batter.
2014 Ideas from: Eating Hints - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services