Table of contents:
- 1. High calorie foods
- 2. Increase your fat intake
- 3. Increase your intake of carbohydrates
- 4. Calories from drinks
- 5. Eat regularly
- 6. Larger portions
- 7. Serve peanut butter, nuts, avocado, and olive oil
Worried because your little one looks thinner than other kids his age? In fact, if the doctor says your child is healthy, you don't need to worry about his weight. However, if the weight of the child is below average, there are several ways you can do to make it smaller.
1. High calorie foods
Children 2 - 3 years old generally need approximately 1,000 kcal per day, and children 4 - 8 years old need 1,200 - 1,400 kcal per day. The average human needs an additional 3,500 kcal to gain 5 ounces of body weight. By adding 500 kcal of calorie intake to your baby's total daily calorie needs, this will help your child gain an additional 5 ounces per week, proportional to underweight children.
2. Increase your fat intake
Adding fat intake to your little one's diet is a quick and easy way to increase calories, because 1 gram of fat contains more calories than other nutritional sources. Olive and canola oil, butter, and trans-fat mayonnaise can be used as ingredients for your little one's food, and an additional 1 tbsp of any of these will increase the calorie count by 45-120 kcal. You can also add cream sauce or melted cheese to rice, pasta, or vegetables as an alternative way of adding calories to your child's diet.
While you are cooking, replace low-fat ingredients with high-fat ingredients. For example, when making oatmeal cereal, use fresh milk instead of just mixing it with water.
3. Increase your intake of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a rich source of nutrients, 4 kcal / gram, although not as much in fat content. You can provide high-carb snacks for your child, such as raisins, dried fruit, and granola. 250 grams of either of these ingredients contains at least 240 kcal, also perfect for adding as a filling for pudding, yogurt, or cereal.
You can also increase your little one's daily carbohydrate intake by adding honey or juice to fresh fruit or oatmeal cereal.
4. Calories from drinks
If your little one is not fond of eating, you can help him gain weight with the calorie intake contained in several drinks. Fresh fruit juices, fresh milk, yogurt, and smoothies containing yogurt usually have more than 100 kcal per serving (8 ounces / 250 ml). These drinks are also rich in vitamins and minerals, because dairy products contain up to 8 grams of protein per serving. You can buy special formulas for growing children with chocolate or vanilla flavors that are available at supermarkets or pharmacies.
5. Eat regularly
DO NOT skip meals: skipping meals will eliminate the opportunity for your little one to get enough calorie intake for a day's activities. Get used to eating 3 times a day with 2 intervals between normal meals.
6. Larger portions
Serve two servings of sandwiches at once, instead of just giving one cup. Provide milk in a larger glass, or a large bowl for cereal, and larger fruit.
7. Serve peanut butter, nuts, avocado, and olive oil
These foods are rich in healthy fats and can be used as an additional intake in the diet for your child who likes to exercise. The nutrients contained in these foods will help restore inflammation that may be caused by injuries when your little one is exercising. Foods rich in healthy fats contain high calorie levels as well. Add almond slices to breakfast cereal or salads. Make sandwiches topped with peanut butter, or serve guacamole sauce with avocado for your little one's fries (no saturated fat).
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