I can't eat a lot of stuff. How can I make sure I get enough calories?

June 25, 2017 9:27 AM

I'm on a very low inflammatory diet for the time being. How should I eat every day to make sure I have enough energy and calories to sustain me?

I'm having to eat a pretty bland, low inflammatory diet for the next while to try and treat some health issues I've been having. It's really boring and not that interesting, but I'm trying to make do with what's what. Things I can eat seem to be:

vegetables, most fruit, quinoa, eggs, chicken, fish, almond butter, smoothie type things with plant protein, hummus, avocados, rice cakes and rice, gluten-free bread, oats, almond milk, good oils (coconut, olive oil) ... stuff like this.

Things that are out are dairy, most gluten, sugar, coffee, alchohol etc. so NOT fun :/

I'm trying also to sustain my energy levels, and not lose tooo much weight too fast because it makes me feel bad (I've already lost maybe 15 pounds in 6 weeks and it's taking my body some time to adjust to this. I needed to loose some weight, but I don't want to drop another 15 too fast.)

I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate all this into actual meals, or at least stuff I can just whip up. I like to cook, but I have a toddler and can't spend hours every day making elaborate plant-based meals.

What should I be eating throughout the day to make sure I get at least 1500 calories, if not more each day? If anyone has any meal plan ideas with this diet, I'd be thrilled, or just things I can eat throughout the day so I'm not famished and my energy stays solid. I've been doing a lot of smoothies, chicken and veggies, quinoa, eggs, etc. But sometimes I just feel very meh about everything there is too eat.

posted by Rocket26 to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Protein will be really important for your energy level, so build meals (and even some snacks) around eggs, chicken, and fish. Fortunately, these are all very versatile items. And use lots of vegetables and fruit in your meals. The color variations will stimulate your interest and your appetite. Seasonings will also help to jazz up what you eat. You could also whip up some salsas in advance and eat them with the fish or chicken when you only have the time/interest to cook them plainly.

For recipe ideas, check out some of the paleo and low-carb sites.
posted by DrGail at 9:40 AM on June 25, 2017

Make oatmeal with almond milk and sweeten it with dried fruit and cinnamon, if you aren't allowed maple syrup or agave. Put avocado on your rice cakes.
posted by puddledork at 9:54 AM on June 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

You'll find a lot of recipes that work for you in Primal / Paleo sources. Two I like: Nom Nom Paleo, Mark's Daily Apple. Some of the stuff is about weight loss, but just ignore that.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:01 AM on June 25, 2017

Focus on eating more of the high calorie items on your list. Work in extra avocado, almond butter and oils into your salad bowls or on your fish.

I deal with my need to constantly snack by making a big fruit bowl first thing in the morning after breakfast - grapes pulled off the vine, oranges peeled, blueberries and blackberries portioned. Bananas pulled of the clump and placed where I will remember them. Basically, I make it very easy for me to hit my fruit target for the day by doing the work upfront so I don't have to think about it during the day.
posted by srboisvert at 10:04 AM on June 25, 2017

For a convenient, high-calorie snack, eat an apple with almond butter by putting a dab of almond butter on the apple before you take each bite. You can load 1000 calories of peanut butter onto a single apple, and almond butter has very similar calorie density. It's shelf-stable (for a few months), requires no preparation, and uses only ingredients that are easily sourced in most places I've been. Also, unlike some of my go-to foods, the combination of apples and peanut butter is appealing to many people I know.

Practice this at home before you try it "in the field," but using an apple and peanut butter I can eat a thousand calories in 15 minutes while walking. I repackage peanut butter into a small plastic jar (it used to hold bouillon cubes) that I can grip between my ring and pinky fingers and the palm of my left hand. I use the thumb and index finger of the same hand to pinch an apple. With my right hand I use a knife to load peanut butter onto the apple. Then I wedge the knife between the middle finger and the index and ring fingers of my left hand, transfer the apple to my right hand, and take a bite. (You may read this description and think, "Oh, that's so easy I could do it while driving!" Please don't.)

You mention hummus, so I guess chickpeas are allowed. Are you allowed spices, or would they aggravate your inflammation? If you're allowed spices, make curried chickpeas. And if other bean-type things are allowed, you can do the same with lentils, beans, and soy beans. Load them up with olive oil for more calories.
posted by d. z. wang at 10:25 AM on June 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

I know it's summer and turning in the oven is not always optimal, but roast (or grill, if you have that option) a whole bunch of vegetables and eat them throughout the week. The different flavors and textures may break you out of your "meh" state.

I'll roast most any veg: broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, sweet potatoes, frozen artichoke hearts, zucchini, carrots, peppers, green beans. I roast them on a big sheet pan at 400 degrees for about 45 mins to an hour. I slather the veg with olive oil and salt & pepper. You might want to use a little more olive oil to amp up the calories.

For what to do with said roasted veg, eat them plain- cold or warmed, in a salad, sandwich (gf bread), over quinoa or rice, topped with an egg.
posted by sarajane at 10:50 AM on June 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

It sounds like you need sauces in your life - both to get a few more calories in and to make your food more exciting.

You could make a peanut sauce to have on veggies (or use almond butter if peanuts are out), hummus and cooked grains gets more exciting with some good hot sauce or cilantro sauce on top (two big handfuls of cilantro, a small handful of mint, a small cucumber or two, a little oil and vinegar/lime juice and some salt in a blender is great. Add an avocado or use some almond-based yogurt if you want more fat/calories in there). Plain soy or almond yogurt (unsweetened) mixed with a ton of finely chopped chives, mint, parsley, garlic/onion and any other spices you like make a great dip/dressing that's sort of like a green goddess-y ranch.

For snacks, you could make roasted chickpeas -- drain a can of chickpeas, toss with olive oil, salt and whatever spices you like (I like smoked paprika, oregano and nutritional yeast) and roast for about 20 minutes at 400.

If hummus is working for you, but you're bored of it. Think about trying out red lentil hummus, white bean dip, black bean dip, etc, to try some new flavors.
posted by snaw at 12:46 PM on June 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Load up the rice crackers with avocados/guach and hummus.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:55 PM on June 25, 2017

I second the advice to add sauces. Can you have salsa? What about a squeeze of lemon or lime or zest of it on your chicken/fish/tofu? Dijon mustard? What spices do you like? Those are the things that will make it possible to want to eat these things, which sounds like part of the challenge for you right now.

For example, a tahini dressing might be just the ticket. Feel free to add salad dressings to stuff besides salad: put it on roasted veggies etc. Dressings are easy to make with an immersion blender or you can do what I do, the lazy way: put everything in a jar and shake it before you want to use it. Here are some dressing recipes I'm guessing fit within your restrictions:
Soy vinaigrette
Creamy green goddess
Mediterranean vinaigrette
Carrot-ginger dressing
posted by purple_bird at 11:15 AM on June 26, 2017