I need your help! Please share your healthy, high-calorie recipes
June 25, 2024 9:59 AM Subscribe
I have drug-resistant depression. Over the last decade, I've been able to manage it and life in general through a combination of maintaining a healthy weight, exercise, acupuncture, meditation, and a whole bucket of cognitive and behavioral skills to help me through the rough bits. The healthy weight is the key for me - if my weight drops below a certain threshold, everything else fails. Due to unavoidable life circumstances, my weight has dropped significantly below that threshold. I need to put on 7 pounds as quickly as I can from healthy foods, and I am having trouble just brushing my teeth let alone doing recipe research. Please share your favorite healthy, high-calorie, simple to prepare meals, with immense thanks in advance.
Get a ripe avocado. Cut it in half and remove the stone. Optionally, make some vinaigrette with olive oil and put that in the hole where the stone was. Or you can just sprinkle some salt if you want. Then eat the whole thing with a spoon.
posted by quacks like a duck at 10:13 AM on June 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
posted by quacks like a duck at 10:13 AM on June 25, 2024 [7 favorites]
Greek yoghurt (10% or so fat) with any kind of nuts you like and some honey - that’s easy to assemble, tastes good, is nutrient dense, and reasonably healthy by any measure. You can also add banana slices or other fruits, fresh or dried.
posted by meijusa at 10:16 AM on June 25, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by meijusa at 10:16 AM on June 25, 2024 [4 favorites]
I've found the website Kids Eat in Color helpful – the author, a registered dietitian, recommends this smoothie for kids who need to gain weight:
2 bananas
2 cups of whole milk
2 tsp of avocado oil
¼ cup of peanut butter
Makes 2 shakes with about 450 calories each.
I imagine you could substitute other (high-fat) dairy or milk substitutes and other nut butters, as needed. She's got a list of other healthy ways to add calories here. Good luck!
posted by notquitejane at 10:20 AM on June 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
2 bananas
2 cups of whole milk
2 tsp of avocado oil
¼ cup of peanut butter
Makes 2 shakes with about 450 calories each.
I imagine you could substitute other (high-fat) dairy or milk substitutes and other nut butters, as needed. She's got a list of other healthy ways to add calories here. Good luck!
posted by notquitejane at 10:20 AM on June 25, 2024 [6 favorites]
Our grocery store sells excellent fresh guacamole. Guacamole on whole wheat toast is easy and high in healthy calories. (If you have some left, smooth the top down with the back of a spoon, pour bottled lemon juice on top, then tip the excess lemon juice out into the sink so the guacamole doesn't get too lemon-sour—this does much better than plastic wrap at keeping the guacamole nice and unbrowned for the next day.)
posted by metonym at 10:24 AM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by metonym at 10:24 AM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
I have to push back against dairy products suggestions for healthy options. But, of course you should decide for yourself.
Agree with avocado and guacamole. Also nuts, peanut butter and other nut butters. Hummus, tahini, tofu/edamame.
posted by Glinn at 10:32 AM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
Agree with avocado and guacamole. Also nuts, peanut butter and other nut butters. Hummus, tahini, tofu/edamame.
posted by Glinn at 10:32 AM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
I make my son's smoothies with full fat yogurt, peanut butter and also pour in some flax seed oil and lots of chia seeds (which are quite calorie dense). Oh, and frozen fruit. Make super thick and eat like ice cream.
So the recipe is
Put in a suitably-shaped bowl or cup (I like a broad bowl with straight-ish sides):
A couple of table heaping tablespoonfuls of yogurt.
Three tablespoonfuls or more or chia
a quarter cup of peanut butter
1-2 table spoons of flax seed oil
Now at this point I would stir it all together, just so the peanut butter doesn't stick to the blender blades.
Frozen fruit on top. I just buy bags of frozen fruit. If you are so inclinded, avocado is available as a frozen fruit you can buy along with others.
Insert immersion blender. This requires lots of lifting and repositioning because there's no liquid so it's super thick. Spoon and eat like ice cream.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:13 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
So the recipe is
Put in a suitably-shaped bowl or cup (I like a broad bowl with straight-ish sides):
A couple of table heaping tablespoonfuls of yogurt.
Three tablespoonfuls or more or chia
a quarter cup of peanut butter
1-2 table spoons of flax seed oil
Now at this point I would stir it all together, just so the peanut butter doesn't stick to the blender blades.
Frozen fruit on top. I just buy bags of frozen fruit. If you are so inclinded, avocado is available as a frozen fruit you can buy along with others.
Insert immersion blender. This requires lots of lifting and repositioning because there's no liquid so it's super thick. Spoon and eat like ice cream.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:13 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
I mean, whole milk yogurt is incredibly nutrient dense and the fermentation means it's good for gut health.
Anyway, my go-to meals when I need to eat something quick that will keep me full for awhile:
-Peanut butter (or any nut butter) and crackers/on a banana.
-Canned sardines on crackers
But also, reading in between the lines a bit, it sounds like part of the problem here is less what you're eating and more finding the energy to prepare food? Trader Joes and Whole Foods both have a wide range of frozen food and prepared foods, some of it definitely not particularly healthy, but others items are more nutrient rich - can you treat yourself to stocking up on some products like that to help get you through the next few weeks?
posted by coffeecat at 11:16 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Anyway, my go-to meals when I need to eat something quick that will keep me full for awhile:
-Peanut butter (or any nut butter) and crackers/on a banana.
-Canned sardines on crackers
But also, reading in between the lines a bit, it sounds like part of the problem here is less what you're eating and more finding the energy to prepare food? Trader Joes and Whole Foods both have a wide range of frozen food and prepared foods, some of it definitely not particularly healthy, but others items are more nutrient rich - can you treat yourself to stocking up on some products like that to help get you through the next few weeks?
posted by coffeecat at 11:16 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you all for your suggestions so far, they are all helpful. I also might not have been completely clear in my ask: I'm assuming this is going to take 3-4 weeks to get back to a healthy weight: do you have main course / dinner recipes? I have someone who is going to help me meal-prep for the week, and I want to make sure I have one, big, solid meal a day.
posted by Silvery Fish at 11:28 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by Silvery Fish at 11:28 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
So healthy food is a broad spectrum and will vary with every person you ask (is meat OK? dairy? gluten? honey? etc.) but I'll aim for vegan here since that covers most restrictions.
Mains / Entrees:
Vegan black bean and avocado enchiladas
Vegan peanut stew
Bruschetta pasta
Coconut curry lentils with spinach
Guacamole salad
Vegetable stir fry (add tofu and noodles for more calories)
Potatoes! Baked potatoes, top with olive oil and salt and pepper and whatever else you want (diced ham, peas, guacamole, salsa, beans, anything)
Sauteed vegetables and diced protein (I use chicken, but tofu or white beans would work) tossed with a lot of pesto, serve over whole wheat pasta or brown rice
Black beans cooked with cumin and garlic and onion, with a LOT of avocado/guacamole, salsa, & whatever other Tex-Mex ingredients you like
Breakfast / Snacks:
If some sugar is OK, granola with whole milk or milk substitute, and berries
If some more sugar is OK, a mango lassi is delicious and has vitamins A, C, and potassium (here's a vegan version if you are avoiding dairy)
posted by castlebravo at 11:40 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Mains / Entrees:
Vegan black bean and avocado enchiladas
Vegan peanut stew
Bruschetta pasta
Coconut curry lentils with spinach
Guacamole salad
Vegetable stir fry (add tofu and noodles for more calories)
Potatoes! Baked potatoes, top with olive oil and salt and pepper and whatever else you want (diced ham, peas, guacamole, salsa, beans, anything)
Sauteed vegetables and diced protein (I use chicken, but tofu or white beans would work) tossed with a lot of pesto, serve over whole wheat pasta or brown rice
Black beans cooked with cumin and garlic and onion, with a LOT of avocado/guacamole, salsa, & whatever other Tex-Mex ingredients you like
Breakfast / Snacks:
If some sugar is OK, granola with whole milk or milk substitute, and berries
If some more sugar is OK, a mango lassi is delicious and has vitamins A, C, and potassium (here's a vegan version if you are avoiding dairy)
posted by castlebravo at 11:40 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
I'm going to focus on things that are easy and healthy to try to get you past that part.
Gorp (good old raisins and peanuts) is calorie dense, filling, easy, and decently good for you. Get a can of salted peanuts, a moderate sized tub of raisins and mix. Feeling like a treat? Put in some semisweet chocolate chips. In the short term, it's OK to give yourself permission to buy premade trail mix, but be aware that those will have more sugar than what you make.
Nice Cream - peel some ripe bananas and break them into moderate chunks and freeze overnight. The next day, put a couple handfuls into a food processor (blenders will work, but they struggle. Blitz until it looks like rough meal. Add 1/2 t of vanilla and while the motor is running, drizzle in oat milk or heck, even cream until it gets to a texture like soft serve. Variations: 1. add 2T cocoa powder, and use cold coffee to bring it together. 1. You can add peanut butter for more calories. 3. drop the vanilla and oat milk and add a handful of frozen berries and use fruit juice to bring it together or instead of fruit juice, use fresh or canned pineapple or a peeled tangerine or an orange.
Hummus and pita bread and kalamata olives
Veggie pita sandwiches - cut a pita in half, spread herbed cream cheese inside (this is easy to make, but you can also buy it), add in sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, and alfalfa sprouts.
If you want to add calories that aren't heinous to your diet, add nuts to things. Put pine nuts or broken pecans or walnuts into salads. Chop the nuts and use them as a crust on fish. Take your favorite cut of fish (salmon, trout, catfish, etc.), pat dry, brush with oil, and cover with minced nuts, pushing the nuts into the flesh. Bake 450F for 10-11 minutes.
Pasta salad - cook 1lb of pasta (ziti is probably best), drain and rinse in cold water. Put into a large bowl and add: 2 cans of tuna, drained, 1/4 c of mayo, 1/4 c of sour cream, 2-4 diced tomatoes, 1 peeled diced cucumber, 1-2 bunches of sliced scallions, 8 ounces of cheese (brie, havarti, gouda, edam, cheddar, dill, feta, gorgonzola all work well) cut into small cubes, black pepper, 3-4 T minced fresh herbs or 2t dried. Refrigerate for several hours before mealtime. This makes a LOT. Don't like mayo? Drop it and the sour cream and sub in store bought Italian dressing or oil and vinegar. Too much pasta? Add more veg. Don't like tuna? Substitute 1/2 a rotisserie chicken cooled and diced.
posted by plinth at 11:55 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Gorp (good old raisins and peanuts) is calorie dense, filling, easy, and decently good for you. Get a can of salted peanuts, a moderate sized tub of raisins and mix. Feeling like a treat? Put in some semisweet chocolate chips. In the short term, it's OK to give yourself permission to buy premade trail mix, but be aware that those will have more sugar than what you make.
Nice Cream - peel some ripe bananas and break them into moderate chunks and freeze overnight. The next day, put a couple handfuls into a food processor (blenders will work, but they struggle. Blitz until it looks like rough meal. Add 1/2 t of vanilla and while the motor is running, drizzle in oat milk or heck, even cream until it gets to a texture like soft serve. Variations: 1. add 2T cocoa powder, and use cold coffee to bring it together. 1. You can add peanut butter for more calories. 3. drop the vanilla and oat milk and add a handful of frozen berries and use fruit juice to bring it together or instead of fruit juice, use fresh or canned pineapple or a peeled tangerine or an orange.
Hummus and pita bread and kalamata olives
Veggie pita sandwiches - cut a pita in half, spread herbed cream cheese inside (this is easy to make, but you can also buy it), add in sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, and alfalfa sprouts.
If you want to add calories that aren't heinous to your diet, add nuts to things. Put pine nuts or broken pecans or walnuts into salads. Chop the nuts and use them as a crust on fish. Take your favorite cut of fish (salmon, trout, catfish, etc.), pat dry, brush with oil, and cover with minced nuts, pushing the nuts into the flesh. Bake 450F for 10-11 minutes.
Pasta salad - cook 1lb of pasta (ziti is probably best), drain and rinse in cold water. Put into a large bowl and add: 2 cans of tuna, drained, 1/4 c of mayo, 1/4 c of sour cream, 2-4 diced tomatoes, 1 peeled diced cucumber, 1-2 bunches of sliced scallions, 8 ounces of cheese (brie, havarti, gouda, edam, cheddar, dill, feta, gorgonzola all work well) cut into small cubes, black pepper, 3-4 T minced fresh herbs or 2t dried. Refrigerate for several hours before mealtime. This makes a LOT. Don't like mayo? Drop it and the sour cream and sub in store bought Italian dressing or oil and vinegar. Too much pasta? Add more veg. Don't like tuna? Substitute 1/2 a rotisserie chicken cooled and diced.
posted by plinth at 11:55 AM on June 25, 2024 [3 favorites]
Must your healthy option be food? Two high calorie Ensure/Boost drinks a day will yield an extra 700 calories and are about the same effort as brushing your teeth.
posted by shock muppet at 12:16 PM on June 25, 2024 [12 favorites]
posted by shock muppet at 12:16 PM on June 25, 2024 [12 favorites]
Is your diet normally healthy and balanced? Then have your helper make your favourites but make them extra calorific.
What I mean by that is, have them finish a dish with a drizzle of nice, flavourful oil e.g. sesame for a stir fry or pumpkin seed oil for vegetable soup. Or have them add a sprinkle of seeds and nuts, or add extra protein like whole eggs or meat. Have them use full fat X instead of low fat X, replace natural yogurt with Greek…basically, increase the calories in your normal diet until your weight has recovered. The easiest way to do that without increasing portion size or frequency of meals is to add calorie dense things like a bit more oil, seeds, nuts or proteins or make higher calorie substitutions.
Do the same for any snacks and other meals. Have cream in your coffee, not milk, use the normal hummus, not the low fat etc. Once your weight has recovered, switch back to your normal versions of these dishes/snacks.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:25 PM on June 25, 2024 [5 favorites]
What I mean by that is, have them finish a dish with a drizzle of nice, flavourful oil e.g. sesame for a stir fry or pumpkin seed oil for vegetable soup. Or have them add a sprinkle of seeds and nuts, or add extra protein like whole eggs or meat. Have them use full fat X instead of low fat X, replace natural yogurt with Greek…basically, increase the calories in your normal diet until your weight has recovered. The easiest way to do that without increasing portion size or frequency of meals is to add calorie dense things like a bit more oil, seeds, nuts or proteins or make higher calorie substitutions.
Do the same for any snacks and other meals. Have cream in your coffee, not milk, use the normal hummus, not the low fat etc. Once your weight has recovered, switch back to your normal versions of these dishes/snacks.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:25 PM on June 25, 2024 [5 favorites]
Remember that many recommendations for "healthy" foods are considered healthy because they naturally reduce calorie intake. In other cases, aspects of their "healthiness" will make it difficult to increase calories - for example, fiber is great, but it also fills you up without calories. Right now, it sounds like your priority is caloric intake. So eat a variety of high calorie foods like pasta, cheese, avocado, beans, white rice, fried foods, and make sure to add oil and butter, and add a soda or juice or milkshake. Once you get back to a healthy weight, you can cut down on the sugary drinks and add some low calorie foods like cucumber.
Also check out the Reddit GainIt community: FAQ and recipes
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:43 PM on June 25, 2024 [10 favorites]
Also check out the Reddit GainIt community: FAQ and recipes
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:43 PM on June 25, 2024 [10 favorites]
It's really hard to put on weight on a healthy, vegan diet, though nuts and nut butters are good.
Adding in some dairy and other animal proteins is helpful, if it is an option. You still need the vegs and the fiber, so I understand why you feel like it's a big project.
Once when some friends and I were in a similar situation, we had a lot of risotto. When you've learnt how to make it, you can add all sorts of stuff in, but peas are the best. Basically the concept was to make something where you can get enough calories from a small portion because we all felt large portions were overwhelming.
However, now is the time to eat all the gelato, which I find easier to eat than ice cream, if you can get it.
Another sweet option is toast with tahini and date syrup.
You can make pesto with all the nuts, not only pine nuts, but also in particular almonds and walnuts. Add some sort of herbs, hard cheese and oil, and blend together for a delicious pasta sauce. Apart from herbs, you can use sun-dried tomatoes or grilled bell peppers in oil from a jar. Store bought pesto is generally fine, specially the "freshly made" type you get in plastic tubs rather than glas jars.
Tapenade is very rich in calories and a great vegan solution. I like it on toast with tomato slices on top.
Duck breast is super easy to cook and very calorific. I usually serve it with a salad made with frisé, slices of orange and apple and a dressing made with the duck fat and balsamic vinegar. And maybe a couple of potatoes, roasted or boiled.
If you live in a place where you can get freshly smoked fish, they are excellent nourishment, because they are full of Omega-3 fatty acids and good for your brain health. But IMO, smoked fish don't taste very good when they are preserved, neither vacuum-packed nor tinned. Tinned tuna and sardines can be very tasty though, both in sandwiches and in salads.
A Spanish tortilla is great for breakfast, lunch and dinner though you may need your helper to make them. This recipe works perfectly, but I need to halve it, because I can turn the whole version.
There are a lot of good recipes with eggplants that require a lot of olive oil, which is good for you. And you get all the health benefits of the eggplant, wether served in Mediterranean styles, as a curry or in Chinese or Japanese food. I'm not posting recipes because they all take a bit of effort, but if your helper is up to it, I will post a bunch. Most of these are vegan.
posted by mumimor at 1:00 PM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
Adding in some dairy and other animal proteins is helpful, if it is an option. You still need the vegs and the fiber, so I understand why you feel like it's a big project.
Once when some friends and I were in a similar situation, we had a lot of risotto. When you've learnt how to make it, you can add all sorts of stuff in, but peas are the best. Basically the concept was to make something where you can get enough calories from a small portion because we all felt large portions were overwhelming.
However, now is the time to eat all the gelato, which I find easier to eat than ice cream, if you can get it.
Another sweet option is toast with tahini and date syrup.
You can make pesto with all the nuts, not only pine nuts, but also in particular almonds and walnuts. Add some sort of herbs, hard cheese and oil, and blend together for a delicious pasta sauce. Apart from herbs, you can use sun-dried tomatoes or grilled bell peppers in oil from a jar. Store bought pesto is generally fine, specially the "freshly made" type you get in plastic tubs rather than glas jars.
Tapenade is very rich in calories and a great vegan solution. I like it on toast with tomato slices on top.
Duck breast is super easy to cook and very calorific. I usually serve it with a salad made with frisé, slices of orange and apple and a dressing made with the duck fat and balsamic vinegar. And maybe a couple of potatoes, roasted or boiled.
If you live in a place where you can get freshly smoked fish, they are excellent nourishment, because they are full of Omega-3 fatty acids and good for your brain health. But IMO, smoked fish don't taste very good when they are preserved, neither vacuum-packed nor tinned. Tinned tuna and sardines can be very tasty though, both in sandwiches and in salads.
A Spanish tortilla is great for breakfast, lunch and dinner though you may need your helper to make them. This recipe works perfectly, but I need to halve it, because I can turn the whole version.
There are a lot of good recipes with eggplants that require a lot of olive oil, which is good for you. And you get all the health benefits of the eggplant, wether served in Mediterranean styles, as a curry or in Chinese or Japanese food. I'm not posting recipes because they all take a bit of effort, but if your helper is up to it, I will post a bunch. Most of these are vegan.
posted by mumimor at 1:00 PM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
Mix peanut butter and honey, enjoy on toast, crackers or just on a spoon. Make peanut butter oatmeal honey cookies. I'd use chopped apricots instead of raisins, and maybe add chocolate. Baking is work, so you can mash together peanut butter, honey, whole oatmeal, oil, a pinch of salt, maybe chopped apricots or dates, and roll it in balls. Or, again, spoon.
Do you eat dairy? Baked sweet or white potato with butter and sour cream.
Cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches, or just slice off strips of some nice Swiss(Havarti, Gouda, cheddar, etc.,) while you read a book. Add avocado to that grilled cheese.
You can make your own ice cream with almond milk, honey, and vanilla, maybe chopped dates. Or freeze that and add to fruit in the blender for a nice smoothie.
Salmon is high in the good fat, can be cooked many ways. It's fast and easy, but you shouldn't have it more than 2x a week.
I rarely eat dairy, and really miss whole milk yogurt with sliced peaches, drizzled with honey.
If you eat meat, cheeseburgers with avocado and bacon. Put them in a corn tortilla if you don't want the bread. Bacon is not good for you, but it has lots of calories.
Pizza with thin whole grain crust if you avoid white bread, sauce, cheese, veg.
Date bars are old school and so good. Dates are very high in natural sugars; add some to smoothies.
I would not not limit fiber, it does fill you up, but it also helps with sugar regulation and obv. poopin', which is a good thing while you're adding calories.
It's trawberry season - add cream or ice cream.
High-Calorie Snacks for When You Need To Gain Weight
And, of course, try to have bigger portions.
It sounds like you have a balancing act; impressive achievement, good luck getting back to eq2uilibrium.
posted by theora55 at 1:09 PM on June 25, 2024
Do you eat dairy? Baked sweet or white potato with butter and sour cream.
Cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches, or just slice off strips of some nice Swiss(Havarti, Gouda, cheddar, etc.,) while you read a book. Add avocado to that grilled cheese.
You can make your own ice cream with almond milk, honey, and vanilla, maybe chopped dates. Or freeze that and add to fruit in the blender for a nice smoothie.
Salmon is high in the good fat, can be cooked many ways. It's fast and easy, but you shouldn't have it more than 2x a week.
I rarely eat dairy, and really miss whole milk yogurt with sliced peaches, drizzled with honey.
If you eat meat, cheeseburgers with avocado and bacon. Put them in a corn tortilla if you don't want the bread. Bacon is not good for you, but it has lots of calories.
Pizza with thin whole grain crust if you avoid white bread, sauce, cheese, veg.
Date bars are old school and so good. Dates are very high in natural sugars; add some to smoothies.
I would not not limit fiber, it does fill you up, but it also helps with sugar regulation and obv. poopin', which is a good thing while you're adding calories.
It's trawberry season - add cream or ice cream.
High-Calorie Snacks for When You Need To Gain Weight
And, of course, try to have bigger portions.
It sounds like you have a balancing act; impressive achievement, good luck getting back to eq2uilibrium.
posted by theora55 at 1:09 PM on June 25, 2024
What are your parameters for "healthy?" Often it is used as a code for "won't make you gain weight" but you might need it to mean "nourishing" or "nutritionally complete" or "well-rounded." And "will make you gain weight."
I'll also point you to:
How to Feed Yourself When You're Depressed
The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don't Die
Sometimes "healthy" also means "made entirely from scratch (to avoid things that will make you gain weight 🙃)." That is the enemy.
posted by meemzi at 1:38 PM on June 25, 2024 [8 favorites]
- baked potato with butter, portion of steak/chicken/fish, bag salad
- frozen mozzarella sticks, frozen breaded zucchini, marinara
- box mac & cheese with peas or tuna
- package ramen with boiled egg and frozen vegetables (melt a slice of American cheese into it) (advanced: add fresh vegetables like bok choy, marinate your egg)
- microwave can of refried beans, add shredded cheese, microwave again, eat with chips and salsa. (Salsa is blended vegetables. It's got nutrition.)
- toast with egg and a ripe avocado plus drizzle of soy sauce
- poptarts with peanut butter and ice cream
- ravioli (from the store) and marinara (from the store)
I'll also point you to:
How to Feed Yourself When You're Depressed
The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don't Die
Sometimes "healthy" also means "made entirely from scratch (to avoid things that will make you gain weight 🙃)." That is the enemy.
posted by meemzi at 1:38 PM on June 25, 2024 [8 favorites]
Sliced apples and almond butter are my go-to effortless breakfast
posted by cross_impact at 2:00 PM on June 25, 2024
posted by cross_impact at 2:00 PM on June 25, 2024
When you're in a rush - Cheesy Ramen!
It's so tasty, very fast, very cheap, and turns out cheese tastes great with any flavour of packaged ramen soup.
Get a large bowl. Put 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, or several slices of cheese, into the bowl. The total amount of cheese should be about the size of your palm. You can use any kind of cheese that melts smoothly - marble, mozzarella, havarti, jack, two American processed cheese slices... whatever!
Drop in a tablespoon of solid butter (the butter can be omitted, but it does add yummy richness and extra calories)
Place a brick of dry ramen noodles on top of the cheese.
Sprinkle the ramen flavour packet on top (I find the full pack is usually too salty, so I just do half).
* If you want more nutrients, take a big handful of baby spinach, rough-chop it, and nestle it around the ramen brick.
Pour boiling water into the bowl until the ramen is submerged.
Put a plate on top of the bowl to keep in the steam, and let the ramen and spinach soften for a few minutes. The cheese and butter will melt.
Stir it all together and enjoy a creamy, salty, ooey-gooey cheesy noodle soup!
Bonus points - add an egg on top as well! You can poach it in a pot of water and use that pot of water for your soup. Or cook the egg separately (even in the microwave!) and just add it at the end. A runny egg yolk is great with ramen; scrambled is good too!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:15 PM on June 25, 2024 [4 favorites]
It's so tasty, very fast, very cheap, and turns out cheese tastes great with any flavour of packaged ramen soup.
Get a large bowl. Put 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, or several slices of cheese, into the bowl. The total amount of cheese should be about the size of your palm. You can use any kind of cheese that melts smoothly - marble, mozzarella, havarti, jack, two American processed cheese slices... whatever!
Drop in a tablespoon of solid butter (the butter can be omitted, but it does add yummy richness and extra calories)
Place a brick of dry ramen noodles on top of the cheese.
Sprinkle the ramen flavour packet on top (I find the full pack is usually too salty, so I just do half).
* If you want more nutrients, take a big handful of baby spinach, rough-chop it, and nestle it around the ramen brick.
Pour boiling water into the bowl until the ramen is submerged.
Put a plate on top of the bowl to keep in the steam, and let the ramen and spinach soften for a few minutes. The cheese and butter will melt.
Stir it all together and enjoy a creamy, salty, ooey-gooey cheesy noodle soup!
Bonus points - add an egg on top as well! You can poach it in a pot of water and use that pot of water for your soup. Or cook the egg separately (even in the microwave!) and just add it at the end. A runny egg yolk is great with ramen; scrambled is good too!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:15 PM on June 25, 2024 [4 favorites]
Salmon? Oily fat protein. Bake in oven with tinfoil.
Mix soy sauce and brown sugar for a glaze.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:08 PM on June 25, 2024
Mix soy sauce and brown sugar for a glaze.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:08 PM on June 25, 2024
I gained so much weight when I started making my own butter. I totally understand if you're not up to that right now, though. If you can find a butter or olive oil you love so much you can't stop eating it with crackers or bread, that should do the trick, and there are all sorts of healthier bread and cracker options available.
posted by wheatlets at 3:09 PM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by wheatlets at 3:09 PM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
a few caloric staples not yet mentioned: pasta, coconut, bananas, &, though others have mentioned the oil, you can go to the source: olives (i particularly enjoy castelvetrano & i have to restrain myself from eating too many 😊) 🥕
posted by HearHere at 4:55 PM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by HearHere at 4:55 PM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
This NY Times coconut curry chickpea recipe can be done a lot simpler, and can be made entirely with shelf-stable and/or frozen ingredients. It's one of my go-to pantry meals. To make it simpler, do any or all of the following alterations:
posted by expialidocious at 5:22 PM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
- Skip the onion and bay leaf (if you like, you can get onion-infused oil and use it instead of plain oil) - don't saute for those 8 mins, unless you're using fresh jalapeños
- Substitute chili powder for the jalapeños
- Substitute jarred/prepared ginger and garlic, or use powdered
- Substitute bottled lime juice for fresh
- Skip the cilantro, or use those frozen cubes of it and add them earlier
- For extra vegetable-ness, add a box of frozen spinach or a bag of pre-washed fresh baby spinach about 5 minutes after adding the chickpeas, and keep simmering until the spinach is heated through (if frozen) or lightly wilted (if fresh).
posted by expialidocious at 5:22 PM on June 25, 2024 [2 favorites]
Indian food, assuming clarified butter is on the table for you, has lots of vegetables, flavor, and can be very calorie dense. When I'm very low energy, Deep brand frozen meals are a life saver (the link goes to Target.com, but the best options are at South Asian grocery stores, where the curries are just curry (not combined with basmati). You can also buy parathas and other frozen Indian breads which maybe aren't quite as nutritious as the mains, but also deliciously calorie dense.
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:23 PM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:23 PM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
Agree also to use oils like sesame or olive to finish dishes and add some more calories. Like the best restaurant hummus often comes with a swirl of olive oil.
If you eat tuna salad sandwiches or used canned tuna in general , you can also swap in canned tuna in olive oil. That's my go-to for making tuna/olive/caper pasta (all pantry items! Another good low-energy option) The umami factor is high, I often eat three servings instead of just one....
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:29 PM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
If you eat tuna salad sandwiches or used canned tuna in general , you can also swap in canned tuna in olive oil. That's my go-to for making tuna/olive/caper pasta (all pantry items! Another good low-energy option) The umami factor is high, I often eat three servings instead of just one....
posted by spamandkimchi at 9:29 PM on June 25, 2024 [1 favorite]
Split an avocado - take out the pit and maybe two tablespoons of the flesh - break a fresh egg into the hole and bake in a 180C/350F oven.
If you want it fancy - top with capsicum, cheese, etc before baking. I usually do a dozen at a time.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 11:42 PM on June 25, 2024
If you want it fancy - top with capsicum, cheese, etc before baking. I usually do a dozen at a time.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 11:42 PM on June 25, 2024
I meal prepped the following for the freezer when my mom needed to gain weight without cooking but was sick of snacks and cold foods. They freeze well and can easily be made in bulk. I'm assuming all-eater since I think you would have mentioned otherwise.
Chicken and asparagus risotto. Trade out sugar snap peas or regular peas or spinach or something if you dont like asparagus. Use a huge amount of cheese, plenty of olive oil, otherwise regular risotto recipe. Add mushrooms or anything you like.
Stir fry salmon noodles. Egg noodles, I bought high-protein ones, dress with lots of sesame oil at the end, serve with terikayi sauce, bottled or homemade it has lots of sugar and the salmon has more oils and proteins.
Thai coconut stew, again in a big giant pot. Shocking amounts of coconut cream, not milk, add some rice for body and carbs, your choice of protein, maybe shrimp or pork, otherwise tofu is lovely, bit anything works. Carrots and red bell peppers for sugars.
These are all pretty balanced, filling, comforting, freeze and heat well, and are not too much trouble to cook! One pot for the most part. If your helper is feeling up for more work lasagna is all these things and highly calorific, but also super easy to buy as a frozen meal ready made..
posted by Iteki at 12:59 AM on June 26, 2024
Chicken and asparagus risotto. Trade out sugar snap peas or regular peas or spinach or something if you dont like asparagus. Use a huge amount of cheese, plenty of olive oil, otherwise regular risotto recipe. Add mushrooms or anything you like.
Stir fry salmon noodles. Egg noodles, I bought high-protein ones, dress with lots of sesame oil at the end, serve with terikayi sauce, bottled or homemade it has lots of sugar and the salmon has more oils and proteins.
Thai coconut stew, again in a big giant pot. Shocking amounts of coconut cream, not milk, add some rice for body and carbs, your choice of protein, maybe shrimp or pork, otherwise tofu is lovely, bit anything works. Carrots and red bell peppers for sugars.
These are all pretty balanced, filling, comforting, freeze and heat well, and are not too much trouble to cook! One pot for the most part. If your helper is feeling up for more work lasagna is all these things and highly calorific, but also super easy to buy as a frozen meal ready made..
posted by Iteki at 12:59 AM on June 26, 2024
I can’t believe no one has mentioned pâté. So good, full of nutrients (it’s liver), very moreish so easy to get lots in. A bazillion calories per serve. Buy fresh from a deli, have it on its own on crackers or fresh crusty bread. Or make a simple banh mí with pare on one half of a baguette, top with tofu, coriander (cilantro), carrot and some kewpie mayo on the other half.
Also: home made mayo if you’re up to it. Eggs, oil, mustard.
posted by t0astie at 3:03 AM on June 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
Also: home made mayo if you’re up to it. Eggs, oil, mustard.
posted by t0astie at 3:03 AM on June 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, I find that high-carb foods produce more weight gain than high-fat or high-protein foods. Carbohydrates cause your body to produce insulin, and insulin drives fat accumulation (granted, this overall theory of weight gain is a bit controversial).
posted by alex1965 at 5:05 AM on June 26, 2024
posted by alex1965 at 5:05 AM on June 26, 2024
Athletes in heavy training require a lot of calories. The advice they are given may be appropriate for you. Example here.
Often foods are considered healthy becase they supply vitamins and minerals, but that is not so important for you. If you are eating a lot, you are going to get plenty of nutrients. I don't see any reason to avoid pizza, lasagna, and ice cream.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:08 AM on June 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
Often foods are considered healthy becase they supply vitamins and minerals, but that is not so important for you. If you are eating a lot, you are going to get plenty of nutrients. I don't see any reason to avoid pizza, lasagna, and ice cream.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:08 AM on June 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
When I was pregnant I put half and half on my cereal instead of milk. It was amazing. Also in my 2nd trimester I somehow made it through 2 jars of peanut butter without trying, mostly as PBJ sandwiches but also sometimes straight out of the jar. These strategies helped me grow a whole other person!
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:43 AM on June 26, 2024
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:43 AM on June 26, 2024
Appearances can be deceptive; you really want to think about calories rather than trust your intuition. If you want to gain 7 pounds in 4 weeks, you need a daily caloric surplus of about 900 calories (roughly 3500 calories/pound * 7 pounds / 28 days.) For example, the Deep brand frozen meals that spamandkimchi recommends are 300-400 calories each. So you'd have to first eat enough to maintain your weight, then also eat one of those at each meal. Or you could get 1800 calories from a large smoothie, which is much easier than eating 5 of those meals.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:17 AM on June 26, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:17 AM on June 26, 2024 [4 favorites]
healthy, high-calorie, simple to prepare
I live with people whose energy to cook really varies, and we have had great success hitting these same descriptors with literally everything I’ve made from Ali Slagle’s cookbook I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To): Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes, a book entirely composed of main dishes for dinner.
I fully recognize that cookbooks can be a real chore to use, but unlike so many other cookbooks, the focus is on the reader and their time. The lists of ingredients and the prep times, as well as the recipes themselves, are blessedly short, the methods to save time and energy are genuinely creative (like mixing all the ingredients for something you bake or broil in the same sheet pan you will use instead of doing that work in a separate bowl), the book’s table of contents lists all the recipes with their page numbers (a shocking rarity), and I’ve been able to get it from my library on Libby on my phone a number of times.
Most refreshingly, you will never see one of those hidden tasks not counted in the timing, like “one stalk of celery, coarsely chopped” or “leftover white rice” in the ingredients list; the time you need to chop that celery stalk or make that rice is written into the text of the recipe itself, as is all the other “prep” work. She also reduces the now-common four-paragraph pre-text from the author about how a recipe entered their life down to a single sentence.
The Amazon listing for the book has a few pretty high-resolution images of the recipe pages if you want to give some a go (though oddly the first image for “pizza pasta” isn’t from the book at all!) — I’ve made the pork sausage burgers and the all-corner-pieces baked pasta in the last two images and can vouch for both as delightful and easy.
posted by mdonley at 8:58 AM on June 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
I live with people whose energy to cook really varies, and we have had great success hitting these same descriptors with literally everything I’ve made from Ali Slagle’s cookbook I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To): Low-Effort, High-Reward Recipes, a book entirely composed of main dishes for dinner.
I fully recognize that cookbooks can be a real chore to use, but unlike so many other cookbooks, the focus is on the reader and their time. The lists of ingredients and the prep times, as well as the recipes themselves, are blessedly short, the methods to save time and energy are genuinely creative (like mixing all the ingredients for something you bake or broil in the same sheet pan you will use instead of doing that work in a separate bowl), the book’s table of contents lists all the recipes with their page numbers (a shocking rarity), and I’ve been able to get it from my library on Libby on my phone a number of times.
Most refreshingly, you will never see one of those hidden tasks not counted in the timing, like “one stalk of celery, coarsely chopped” or “leftover white rice” in the ingredients list; the time you need to chop that celery stalk or make that rice is written into the text of the recipe itself, as is all the other “prep” work. She also reduces the now-common four-paragraph pre-text from the author about how a recipe entered their life down to a single sentence.
The Amazon listing for the book has a few pretty high-resolution images of the recipe pages if you want to give some a go (though oddly the first image for “pizza pasta” isn’t from the book at all!) — I’ve made the pork sausage burgers and the all-corner-pieces baked pasta in the last two images and can vouch for both as delightful and easy.
posted by mdonley at 8:58 AM on June 26, 2024 [1 favorite]
You didn’t specify vegetarian, so, if you eat meat — eat the fat. Maybe this is obvious, but it’s been so unfashionable for decades that we forget. Don’t limit yourself to the low-fat cuts.
One old way to catch it all is to make pan gravy out of whatever fat leaves the broiled or roasted meat; another is to put some barley in the stew — both ways bind fat to starch which makes it tastier.
If this seems useful I’ll look up specific recipes.
posted by clew at 9:33 AM on June 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
One old way to catch it all is to make pan gravy out of whatever fat leaves the broiled or roasted meat; another is to put some barley in the stew — both ways bind fat to starch which makes it tastier.
If this seems useful I’ll look up specific recipes.
posted by clew at 9:33 AM on June 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
I'm a vegan who's gained a decent amount of muscle weight in the last six months. My go to dinner for when I really can't be arsed is as many Impossible nuggets as I feel like I can handle, a handful of waffle fries, and some frozen broccoli florets with olive oil and salt, all in the air fryer for 15 mins. Then I use that lot to scoop my way through a big thing of hummus.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:15 PM on June 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:15 PM on June 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
One of the potato's many virtues is it's caloric density! The Inca did a great job bioengineering that. Explore the many wonderful things people have done to potatoes! If you can find carne asada fries, a dish of that will run you about 2000 calories. If you get sick of Western flavors for the august potato, try Dìsānxiān, a classic Northern Chinese dish; there are a number of Chinese potato preparations which are a delightful contrast, because they're usually kept crisp.
If by "healthy" you mean "includes vegetables," try the classic Southern dish of collard greens, braised in (traditionally bacon, but olive oil also works) fat, with vinegar — kale or another tough dark leafy green would also work. (I am prepared for Southerners to inform me that ONLY collard greens can be prepared in this manner.)
If by "healthy" you mean "not red meat," oily fishes are your friend: salmon! bluefish! mackerel! anchovies! Good tinned fish, smeared on whole-wheat bread with butter, needs nothing else, and there is a lot of good tinned fish out there these days.
posted by pollytropos at 2:15 PM on June 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
If by "healthy" you mean "includes vegetables," try the classic Southern dish of collard greens, braised in (traditionally bacon, but olive oil also works) fat, with vinegar — kale or another tough dark leafy green would also work. (I am prepared for Southerners to inform me that ONLY collard greens can be prepared in this manner.)
If by "healthy" you mean "not red meat," oily fishes are your friend: salmon! bluefish! mackerel! anchovies! Good tinned fish, smeared on whole-wheat bread with butter, needs nothing else, and there is a lot of good tinned fish out there these days.
posted by pollytropos at 2:15 PM on June 26, 2024 [2 favorites]
Breakfast:
If you can't eat much first thing, have a kettle ready and make tea or coffee or hot chocolate with butter, cream, coconut cream or coconut oil. A single scoop of protein powder is good too (so not too thick). Drinking even half a cup often starts the metabolism going.
But basically, add some fats/calories to all your drinks.
Make-ahead breakfast:
Prepare a tray/casserole dish of frittata.
A bag of frozen vegetables (carrot, broccoli & potato) and some chopped up sausage in the oven until its semi-cooked. Then beat a tray of eggs, mixed with something to thicken, I throw in some more oil or mayonnaise to increase the calories, and a looot of cheese.
Pour in, and bake. You can also throw in leftover rice etc.
Cut into about 8 slices. Keep one or two in the fridge, put the rest individually in the freezer, and heat & eat a slice as a grab and go breakfast.
posted by Elysum at 6:43 PM on August 12, 2024
If you can't eat much first thing, have a kettle ready and make tea or coffee or hot chocolate with butter, cream, coconut cream or coconut oil. A single scoop of protein powder is good too (so not too thick). Drinking even half a cup often starts the metabolism going.
But basically, add some fats/calories to all your drinks.
Make-ahead breakfast:
Prepare a tray/casserole dish of frittata.
A bag of frozen vegetables (carrot, broccoli & potato) and some chopped up sausage in the oven until its semi-cooked. Then beat a tray of eggs, mixed with something to thicken, I throw in some more oil or mayonnaise to increase the calories, and a looot of cheese.
Pour in, and bake. You can also throw in leftover rice etc.
Cut into about 8 slices. Keep one or two in the fridge, put the rest individually in the freezer, and heat & eat a slice as a grab and go breakfast.
posted by Elysum at 6:43 PM on August 12, 2024
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posted by latkes at 10:12 AM on June 25, 2024 [10 favorites]