Healthy Fat Foods for Underweight Children

Recently, a nutritionist told me that my daughter was underweight and that I should be feeding her healthy fats to bring the weight up. Healthy fats? This prompted a weeklong search for some of the best healthy fat foods that are perfect for a toddler to help put on some weight. The search was kind of difficult as these days the majority of answers are related to reducing fat for overweight children and not trying to increase the fat intake. These healthy fat foods are perfect for toddlers and children that are underweight.

Healthy Fat Foods for Toddlers: 
Avocado: While it may be difficult to get your toddler to eat avocado due to it's color and texture, if you can manage to get your child to eat some of this healthy and fatty vegetable then you are in luck. Try rolling up some crushed avocado into a tortilla as a tasty little snack. Avocado slices with apples are another tasty and healthy fatty treat that children may like.

Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is rich and creamy and usually pretty tempting to toddlers and young children. A healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwich is one way to pack on some added fat in your child's diet. Your child may also like peanut butter and apples or peanut butter and celery. Anything with peanut butter on it or in it is a great start to a hig fat yet healthy diet!

Cheese: Whole milk cheeses such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or mozzarella are perfect for adding some healthy fats into a child's diet. Most toddlers love cheese sticks or those little cheese shapes that come in the bag. You can add cheese to nearly anything that your toddler eats to increase the fat content in your child's diet. The healthy fat in cheese along with the vitamin D from the milk is a great addition to a child's diet.

Fish: While children should have a limited intake of fish that are high in mercury content such as tuna and salmon, there are plenty of fish options that are still high in omega 3 fatty acids which are excellent for your health. Most kids love fish sticks and some even like fish sandwiches so try to get your children to eat fish at least 2 times per week for healthy fats that are perfect for any diet!

Olives: Children either love them or hate them! Try to get your child to eat olives at a young age to promote an acquired taste to this treat. If your child is not fully accepting of olives as a plain snack, try this-chop stuffed olives about 6 or 7 and mix them into two table spoons of cream cheese that has been softened. Spread the olive and cream cheese into celery sticks and serve. This tasty little treat will usually go over quite well with children and the olives make the snack a good high fat treat that is still healthy for children.

The Top 3 Weight Gain Diet Tips

You're not alone; quite a few people out there are looking to add weight to their frames. The problem is most information caters to the majority, people who need to lose weight. There can be a number of reasons a person needs to gain weight ranging from metabolism problems, health problems or just simply the desire to look strong and fit. The good news is gaining weight does not have to be a chore or even difficult but the only way you will gain is by following these diets consistently.

When starting a weight gain diet it is recommended to eat at least 5-6 separate meals per day. This will allow you to eat more, become less full and develop a consistent eating habit. Most people will need to eat between 2,500 and 4,000 calories per day to gain weight. So for example if you determined you need to eat 3,000 calories per day that would be 500 calories over 6 meals. In addition to eating 6 meals there are several other helpers you can add to your diet including weight gainer shakes and even if you must fast food in moderation.

 Weight Gain Diet Tip Number #1 
Didn't your mother ever tell you to drink a glass of milk every day? Milk is a great way to add additional calories that are nutritionally valuable. Milk contains high amounts of protein as well as calcium and other beneficial vitamins. The truth is the more milk you drink the better off you will be in adding sufficient calories to your diet. Try adding milk with each meal you eat, this will add another 200-300 calories per meal alone. The best milk to drink for calories of course would be whole milk. You can even go as extreme as the famous GOMAD diet which suggests drinking 1 gallon of milk a day. If you can handle that much milk there is no way you will not add some weight.

Weight Gain Diet Tip Number #2 
Another easy way to pack on calories is using the addition of weight gainer shakes. Weight gainer shakes can be either purchased or home made from various ingredients. Purchased weight gainer shakes range anywhere from 300-1500 calories per serving! Now beware most of these shakes are not cheap and can be quiet expensive, however if you can afford it they are very convenient. Making homemade weight gainer shakes can be less expensive and very easy. Some commonly used ingredients for homemade shakes include peanut butter, milk, oatmeal, Flax seed oil and protein powder.

 Weight Gain Diet Tip Number #3 
For those with sensitive stomachs using carbohydrates to gain weight is very beneficial. Simple plain foods like whole grain bagels and pasta can pack on pounds quickly. In fact only 4oz of pasta can add up to 400 calories per serving and one whole grain bagel up to 300 calories. You can also add healthy fats to your diet to gain weight as well such as almonds or flax oil. Though fat calories may be scarcer in most foods they add 9 calories per gram which is more than twice as much per gram of carbohydrates.

 So the basics of your weight gain diet should include 5-6 meals per day, 2,500 + calories and make sure you get some protein! If you want to make sure as much of your weight possible is muscle be sure to include a weight program 3 or more days weekly.