Best weight gaining drinks?

nifty · December 2010

So - I was poking around but didn't see a thread on this, of course I am sure there is one somewhere. Any points in the right direction would be appreciated. Above and beyond the Boost and Ensure - any recommendations on good protein powders or additional shakes etc. that help for weight gain. THANKS!

CLRRN · December 2010

Works for us
Hey there....my life partner (Mike) completed his treatment in June. PEG was removed in Oct and he has been able to maintain/gain weight on Scandishake. You mix one pack w/8 oz of whole milk and it yields 600 calories!!!!! Initially Mike was drinking 4/day but since his swallowing is improving he now drinks 2-3 (usually 3). You have to order from the manufacturer-Axcan Scandipharm

There may be other high calorie drinks out there but this one has worked for him. He prefers the vanilla flavor over the others. Suggest trying the sample pack to see what flavor your fancy

Good luck!!!

Chris and Mike

Hondo · December 2010

Ensure
I use Ensure, it may not be the most calories but I like the taste of it.

adventurebob · December 2010

cashew milk
1 cup raw organic cashews or almonds or walnuts
3 cups filtered water
Blend until liquid
32 oz =960 calories

Add 4 TBSP Hemp Pro70 = 140 more calories
1 TBSP Olive Oil = 120 calories

Always nice to throw some berries or an apple in. I throw in kale and spinach too.

Hondo · December 2010

adventurebob said:
cashew milk
1 cup raw organic cashews or almonds or walnuts
3 cups filtered water
Blend until liquid
32 oz =960 calories

Add 4 TBSP Hemp Pro70 = 140 more calories
1 TBSP Olive Oil = 120 calories

Always nice to throw some berries or an apple in. I throw in kale and spinach too.

Hi Bob
That sounds so good I think I am going to give it a try

sweetblood22 · December 2010

Hondo said:
Hi Bob
That sounds so good I think I am going to give it a try

I like to add a scoop of
I like to add a scoop of protein powder to shakes and smoothies.
I like avacado shakes:

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/avocado-shake.html

Can also be made with coconut milk.

sweetblood22 · December 2010

sweetblood22 said:
I like to add a scoop of
I like to add a scoop of protein powder to shakes and smoothies.
I like avacado shakes:

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/avocado-shake.html

Can also be made with coconut milk.

I'm trying to find Claire's
I'm trying to find Claire's smoothie recipe it was like 500 cals for 2/3 cup. Micktissues other half.

I lost the recipe off my phone when it crashed. That was really good too. Anyone have that one?

Dazey · December 2010

power shake
1 bottle Boost Plus 360 calories
1 4 oz container Activia Yogurt 110 calories
1 scoop EAS Soy Protein Powder 170 calories
banana 70 calories
glutamine
multi vitamin
aloe water ( amount your choice)_____________
710 calories

Place in Magic Bullet. Enjoy. Fruit is optional and you can change as desired.

I am 14 months post treatment and this got me through. I still have this as my morning starter even though I am eating most things now. Good luck. Dazey

DrMary · December 2010

Dazey said:
power shake
1 bottle Boost Plus 360 calories
1 4 oz container Activia Yogurt 110 calories
1 scoop EAS Soy Protein Powder 170 calories
banana 70 calories
glutamine
multi vitamin
aloe water ( amount your choice)_____________
710 calories

Place in Magic Bullet. Enjoy. Fruit is optional and you can change as desired.

I am 14 months post treatment and this got me through. I still have this as my morning starter even though I am eating most things now. Good luck. Dazey

Our standby
Because he was able to tolerate it back when his stomach was really bad, I'm afraid to change the recipe:

1/2 cup CarboGain (pure maltodextrin powder)
1 scoop BlueBonnet Vanilla Whey Isolate
1 teaspoon L-glutamine
1 cup milk (we use 2%)
2 tablespoons vanilla syrup (Torani)

We bought a $15 Hamilton smoothie blender - doesn't take up much space.

Reasons for the choices: the BlueBonnet (vanilla) whey has only whey isolate and natural vanilla flavor - no sweeteners. Many of the other brands (and other Bluebonnet flavors) use sweeteners; I want to avoid aspartame, stevia, etc.

The Torani vanilla syrup has only vanilla, sugar and minimal preservatives - other flavors really bothered him.

This is about 500 calories (I used to push that up to 600 by adding 2 tablespoons heavy cream, as I was told to push the fat in the beginning). The maltodextrin provides a constant source of carbohydrates for hours.

2 of these and 3 Boost Plus makes 2080 calories. Supplement that with "real food" and you're able to gain 1-2 lbs per week. We used to add in "cream of everything soup" - basically whatever vegetables we'd cooked lately, in a blender, with cream and then thinned with vegetable stock.

mswijiknyc · December 2010

Dietician at the hospital
told us to start using Carnation Instant Breakfast a couple times a day with milk and ice cream. My advice - use Ben and Jerry's Vanilla or other flavor you like. The calorie count is high AND they are careful what goes into their products. Either that or Breyer's. Guessing you have enough artificial stuff going on right now

rozaroo · December 2010

mswijiknyc said:
Dietician at the hospital
told us to start using Carnation Instant Breakfast a couple times a day with milk and ice cream. My advice - use Ben and Jerry's Vanilla or other flavor you like. The calorie count is high AND they are careful what goes into their products. Either that or Breyer's. Guessing you have enough artificial stuff going on right now

Carnation
Carnation instant breakfast worked for me also. I would add ice cream, banana, canned fruit & protien powder.Along with my canned food. I gained weight during treatment & did
not loose a lb.

Pam M · December 2010

Pam's Lower Sugar Chemo Smoothies
8 oz. Greek yogurt (less sugar, more protein)
scoop protein powder (non-cow may be better - I used egg white based)
med to large banana (fights muscle cramps, too)
2 tbsp peanut butter (also helps blood sugar)

The above has over 500 calories and 50 grams protein. You can add ice cream or Ensure Plus for another calorie boost (120 to 320 more calories), but it will also increase the sugar content, if that's an issue (it was, for me). Bob's addition of hemp and/or olive or flax oil raises the nutrition value (along with 120 calories/tbsp. for most oils).

Good Luck

abbimom · January 2011

protein shakes
A good one with lots of calories is by Muscle milk it is a protein powder. It is called Muscle Milke Collegiate protein powder. One serving (4 scoops) is over 500 calories. It tastes pretty good too. Can also add a banana or an apple and still tastes good. It has different flavors but I tend to stick to vanilla and chocolate. Be creative and try adding different things to it. I also add peanut butter and honey to them. good luck. best wishes,
Linda
mine usually has:
protein powder
L glutamine
banana
chopped apple
frozen blueberries
peanut butter
honey
vanilla extract
yogurt
milk

sweetblood22 · January 2011

abbimom said:
protein shakes
A good one with lots of calories is by Muscle milk it is a protein powder. It is called Muscle Milke Collegiate protein powder. One serving (4 scoops) is over 500 calories. It tastes pretty good too. Can also add a banana or an apple and still tastes good. It has different flavors but I tend to stick to vanilla and chocolate. Be creative and try adding different things to it. I also add peanut butter and honey to them. good luck. best wishes,
Linda
mine usually has:
protein powder
L glutamine
banana
chopped apple
frozen blueberries
peanut butter
honey
vanilla extract
yogurt
milk

Ha! I finally found it!
I thought it was a post from Micktissue but it was actually on a thread DLewis started. I just copied and pasted the whole thing:

As regards my smoothie recipe, it changes constantly based on what Michael can tolerate. I will list a bunch of things that hopefully will help you. Given you are early in the process, you can probably tolerate a lot more now, but know that this will change over time. So starting with the basics, the protein mix I use is called Ultimate Meal. I did a lot of research and this is the most nutrient dense supplement on the market. It has no additives or junk added, so is pretty pure mix of just nurtients. 1/3 cup gives you 18g protein and 170 cals if you just mix with water. I was using Whey protein, but recently have eliminated all dairy as it just adds to the mucous mess.

So here is the basic recipe that I am using today:
1 heaped tablespoon ultimate meal (60 cals)
2 tabs extra virgin olive oil (240 cals)
1 heaped tabs organic smooth almond butter (approx 95 cals - depends on brand)
1/2 cup almond milk (30 cals)
1 tabs maple syrup (approx 70 cals - depends on brand)

Optional (things I used to add previously - not all at once necessarily!):
1/4 avocado (40 cals)
1/2 tub organic full fat yogart (55 cals - I was using Yo Baby Vanilla/Banana brand)
1/2 cup blueberries (approx 30 cals)
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Organic apple juice

Michael is now down to the basics - I serve at room temp with a pretty runny consistency. Feel free to play around with ingredients and consistency to see what works best for you. There is probably something I am missing as my recipe seems to change daily. I used to add a lot of the above ingredients and get up to 800+ calories in about 16 oz, but today I try to focus on the max amount of calories in the smallest volume that he can tolerate.

The Ultimate Meal is pricey - but I feel it is worth it. I get mine at Whole Foods locally, but you can also buy on line at www.ultimatelife.com

Hope this information is useful.

harper rose · January 2011

sweetblood22 said:
Ha! I finally found it!
I thought it was a post from Micktissue but it was actually on a thread DLewis started. I just copied and pasted the whole thing:

As regards my smoothie recipe, it changes constantly based on what Michael can tolerate. I will list a bunch of things that hopefully will help you. Given you are early in the process, you can probably tolerate a lot more now, but know that this will change over time. So starting with the basics, the protein mix I use is called Ultimate Meal. I did a lot of research and this is the most nutrient dense supplement on the market. It has no additives or junk added, so is pretty pure mix of just nurtients. 1/3 cup gives you 18g protein and 170 cals if you just mix with water. I was using Whey protein, but recently have eliminated all dairy as it just adds to the mucous mess.

So here is the basic recipe that I am using today:
1 heaped tablespoon ultimate meal (60 cals)
2 tabs extra virgin olive oil (240 cals)
1 heaped tabs organic smooth almond butter (approx 95 cals - depends on brand)
1/2 cup almond milk (30 cals)
1 tabs maple syrup (approx 70 cals - depends on brand)

Optional (things I used to add previously - not all at once necessarily!):
1/4 avocado (40 cals)
1/2 tub organic full fat yogart (55 cals - I was using Yo Baby Vanilla/Banana brand)
1/2 cup blueberries (approx 30 cals)
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Organic apple juice

Michael is now down to the basics - I serve at room temp with a pretty runny consistency. Feel free to play around with ingredients and consistency to see what works best for you. There is probably something I am missing as my recipe seems to change daily. I used to add a lot of the above ingredients and get up to 800+ calories in about 16 oz, but today I try to focus on the max amount of calories in the smallest volume that he can tolerate.

The Ultimate Meal is pricey - but I feel it is worth it. I get mine at Whole Foods locally, but you can also buy on line at www.ultimatelife.com

Hope this information is useful.

options are a good thing!
I couldn't tolerate the texture of boost or ensure. And due to the placement of the feeding tube...high and under my ribs...was too painful to use. So, I made due with Carnation breakfast with all the extra high calorie/protein add ins. Blending made it do-able. Also, this was more budget friendly for me.

Good luck and hang in there.

Best weight gaining drinks?

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