Recipes from my arsenal. (Tubie-kid meal stuff)

When we started feeding Joel by mouth, we were told to experiment.....which to me, meant shop.  Shop I did.  I bought everything in the dang grocery store, and it added up quick.  Everytime I went in for one item, I left with $40-$60 less in my bank account.....which quickly became $200/month in experimental foods that Joel really didn't like anyway. 

This is what worked better for us....we used basic foods that we already had, and boosted them in calories.  Sure, we still go for the occasional $5 cupcake, but for the most part, I don't have the budget for half most of the meals on pinterest.

Here are a few examples of some of Joel's meals that we make for him:

Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs- 1T. butter, melted in the pan. 
                                              Beat 1 egg + 1 yolk. 
                                              Add 1.5T of heavy whipping cream. 
                                              Add 1/2 of a sausage patty, finely chopped. 
                                              Season. 
                                              Top with shredded cheese.

Regular calorie count of 1.5 scrambled eggs: 120 cals (w/o butter)
Joel's scrambled eggs: 420 calories

Is Joel getting 420 calories for breakfast?  No. Not usually.....typically he'll eat half of what I put in front of him.  However....half of 420 is bigger than half of 120.  (See how smart I am??? ;)

Another easy way to boost breakfasts: buy high calorie bread.  Joel loves Costco's Innkeeper's bread.  Normal loaves of bread are typically 80 calories/slice....Innkeeper's bread is 160 cals/slice.  How many calories are in the bread in your kitchen?  Find out.  If Joel has toast for breakfast, we can easily boost it to a 300 calorie piece of toast by adding a tablespoon of butter, and a smear of peanut butter.

Our goal for Joel is 200 calories for meals, and 100 calories for snacks. Do you have goals?  If not, make some.

Lunch:  Mac-n-cheese:  Add more butter, use cream instead of 2%.  Or you can use olive oil and cheddar cheese...easily 400-500 calories for a 1cup serving.  Mac is an easy way to introduce veggies too....sneak some peas in and see what your child does? (Joel throws his to the dog. HAHA)

Dinner:  We eat a lot of pasta because I love leftovers.  Here's one of my favs, and Joel likes it.
             
              Whole wheat penne
              garlic
              olive oil
              onion
              sun dried tomatoes
              olives
              LOTS OF PESTO
              seasonings
              pine nuts
              top with parm
             (sometimes I add a little butter to Joel's.)

Honestly, I don't know the calorie count on this, but I know it's high.  Olive oil is 120cals/T, pesto is high too, and nuts are generally high in fat....parm too.

We use dinner as a way to introduce veggies.

Snacks:  Peanut butter on apples. Peanut butter on cheez-its, nutella with graham crackers... Our snacks are usually fruit and crackers and dip....My dips are not usually nutritious.  They're good though, and I totally use them to bribe Joel into eating something he may not like.  Joel isn't a big chocolate fan....but if I smear Nutella on a graham cracker (LOVES grahams,) then he'll at least try it to get to the cracker.  With the amount of dairy Joel gets, fiber is a MUST in his diet....so we try to get him as much fruit/veg in his snacks as we can. Did you see the pinterest pin on making your own popscicles?  You can sneak a TON of stuff into popscicles.

Here is one of Joel's my favorite dips:    Mix homemade whipped cream (heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla) with berry flavored cream cheese.  Serve with fruit.  Heavy whipping cream (depends on the brand) can be 60cals/T.  100 calorie snack? Goal met.  {Side note:  This fruit dip will win you major points at any baby shower/MOPS meeting.}

And one last pointer:  Drink your calories!


Next post:  Exercise tips for mommies.  HAHAHA