High Calorie Foods for Kids: Helping your underweight child gain weight

When your child’s healthcare provider recommends extra calories, adding oil, avocado, smooth nut butter, or full-fat dairy to familiar foods can help increase energy without making portions much bigger.

Start with an individualized growth and feeding plan, then choose additions your child enjoys and can eat safely.

As a dietitian and a mom, I know growth concerns can feel worrying. Getting support is part of caring for your child. You do not need to turn every bite into a battle.

How do I know if my child is underweight?

First things first- before adding a bunch of calories to your child's meals and snacks be sure you actually need to be doing this. Sometimes parents are worried about their child's growth when in actuality, they are growing quite healthy and don't need any intervention.

Growth assessment depends on age and the pattern over time. For ages 2–19, BMI-for-age below the 5th percentile is an underweight screening category, not a diagnosis by itself. Younger children are assessed with age-appropriate growth charts, including weight-for-length. Your child’s healthcare provider considers measurements, feeding, health, and development together.

A downward growth trend or feeding symptoms deserve follow-up. Clothing sizes are not a reliable growth test. Ask for a growth-chart review before starting a calorie-boosting plan.

See CDC BMI categories and WHO chart guidance for younger children.

My Toddler Weight Gain Story

When my oldest child was young the pediatrician told me my child was underweight. As a mom this was disheartening to hear. As a registered dietitian my inner pride was hurt.

Looking back, I want to be clear: being a dietitian does not mean you can prevent every growth concern. Getting help is part of caring for your child.

The pediatrician prescribed a liquid oral supplement to help him gain weight. While oral nutrition supplements can be a good option to help kids grow, I know the end goal would be to help my son grow without having to drink a supplement 1-2 times a day.

I did what the doctor said and provided my son these supplements, but knew this wasn't the only way to help him gain weight. I wanted to explore ways to add energy to his usual foods alongside the prescribed supplement.

Oral nutrition supplements can be useful or medically necessary. Their amount and timing should be individualized alongside food and feeding support. Do not reduce or stop a prescribed supplement without your child’s care team.

Food additions were part of our approach, alongside the pediatrician’s plan. Every child’s growth and feeding needs are different, so our experience is not a promise of the same outcome.

What is Power Packing?

Power packing is also referred to as calorie packing.  I often use this term with clients when helping them find ways to add high calorie foods for kids at meals and snacks.

It means adding energy and nutrients to foods your child already eats. Stir oil into rice, mix smooth nut butter into oatmeal, or add avocado to toast.

This is important because often times children who are small tend to not eat very much at a time. Picky eating is not always to blame, though sometimes it does present a hurdle to weight gain. 

I might see a child who is willing to try a variety of foods, but they simply don't eat a lot of it. This is where power packing comes into play. We want each bite they take to be packed with as much calories and nutrients as possible. That way if they only take a few bites, you still know what they did eat was good for them.

Tips for Helping Your Child Eat More

Helping your child eat more food at meals and snack times can be a trial and error process. Even when you found something that works one week, it might not work the next.

However, I use the following tips with my own children, and recommend them to my WIC clients all the time. They seem to help create consistency, familiarity and a positive attitude around food with children.

Create a set schedule for meals and snacks.

Offer predictable meals and snacks, with flexibility for hunger, illness, activity, and your child’s care plan. Frequent grazing may reduce appetite at meals, but withholding food until a child is “hungry enough” is not the goal.

Plan drinks with your child’s care team.

Water is usually a useful drink between eating opportunities. Large amounts of milk or other caloric drinks may reduce appetite for food, but some children need planned drinks or supplements to meet their needs. Follow the individualized plan rather than a blanket water-only rule.

Eat meals and snacks with your child.

This way they can see you eating the food you prepared. Your child looks up to you and wants to be like you. If you haven't noticed, they often do what you do as a result. By you trying new foods and eating the foods you've prepared, your child will most likely want to follow your example and try them, too.

Involve your child.

Involve your child in planning meals and snacks. Take them to the grocery store to pick out foods. When you get home, find age appropriate kitchen tasks they can do to help prepare the food. Let them set the table.

All of this brings anticipation and excitement to meals and snack time - hopefully leading your child to eat what is on the menu!

Don't force them to eat.

I know you are worried about your child gaining weight. However, forcing food into your child only creates resentment and displeasure around food. You want your child to have a positive eating experience.

Your job as parent is to prepare and provide healthy meals and snacks for your child. It is your child's job to decide if and how much they will eat.

Keep eating opportunities calm and pressure-free. If your child repeatedly eats very little, cannot manage textures, coughs during meals, or has poor growth, seek assessment instead of waiting for hunger to solve the problem.

Make food fun.

Offer colorful foods to make meals and snacks more appetizing. Serving food in fun ways can make eating a lot more fun, too. It doesn't have to be complicated or a big production. Simply arranging pancakes and banana slices to make a smiley face can make all the difference!

High Calorie Foods for Kids

Choose energy-rich foods that also bring useful nutrients. Oil, avocado, dairy, nut butter, eggs, beans, and grains can all contribute. You do not need to make every bite perfect.

• Avocado
• Olives
• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Peanut butter
• Almond butter
• Whole milk when age-appropriate and recommended in your child’s plan; cow’s milk is not a main drink before 12 months.
• Whole fat Greek yogurt
• Whole fat cottage cheese
• Salmon
• Canned light tuna, with fish choices and frequency appropriate for age
• Beef
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Chia seeds
• Flax seed
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Beans
• Dried fruit
• Bananas
• Oats

Prepare foods safely: For young children, cook hard produce until soft; mash beans; finely grind nuts; spread smooth nut butter thinly; and modify olives, berries, cheese, and sticky dried fruit for feeding skills. Avoid whole nuts and popcorn under age 4. Supervise seated eating. See CDC choking guidance.

Power Packed Meal and Snack Ideas for Kids

Snack Ideas

• Soft banana or softened/grated apple with a thin layer of smooth peanut or almond butter.
• Avocado slices, by themselves or on top of toast.
• Grated cheese or suitable small, soft cheese pieces with age-appropriate crackers.
• Soft cooked vegetables with dip; modify olives for your child’s feeding skills.
• Full-fat cottage cheese with mashed or appropriately cut berries.
• Soft fruit for young children; chewy dried fruit and fruit leather need choking-risk consideration.
• Homemade banana bread, pumpkin bread, or zucchini bread made with oil or butter, topped with a thin layer of smooth nut butter.
• Hummus with soft pita or toast, or cooked vegetables; reserve crunchy chips, pretzels, and hard raw vegetables for children who can safely manage them.
• Homemade muffins made with nut butter, olive oil or canola oil, flax or chia seeds, dried fruit, oats, and/or whole fat milk (these blender banana nut muffins are great).
• Dessert style hummus with pretzels, fresh fruit or graham crackers.
• Energy bites for children who can safely manage their dense or sticky texture (like these peanut butter energy bites or chocolate banana nut energy bites).
• Homemade "nice cream" sandwiches.

Breakfast Ideas

• Smoothies made with whole fat dairy, chia or flax seeds, oats, nut butters and fresh fruit and/or vegetables (like this peanut butter banana oatmeal smoothie).
• Full-fat Greek yogurt with soft fruit and softened oats; avoid hard granola clusters and chewy dried fruit for young children.
• Pancakes or waffles made with whole fat milk, flax seed and topped with nut butter (give these peanut butter protein pancakes a try).
• French toast made with eggs, whole fat milk and topped with a thin layer of smooth nut butter.
• Scrambled eggs cooked in olive oil, made with a splash of whole fat milk, topped with cheese.
• Oatmeal made with whole fat milk, nut butters, flax or chia seeds, and dried or fresh fruit mixed in.
• Cereal made with whole fat milk.

Lunch or Dinner Ideas

• Sauteed or roasted vegetables made with olive or avocado oil, topped with cheese.
• Homemade breaded chicken or fish sticks - dip in sauce of choice after they're baked.
• Meatballs made with ground beef or turkey, cheese and bread crumbs.
• Grilled cheese sandwich made with butter.
• Add powdered milk to soups, or make cream based soups.
• Tuna cheese melts.
• Baked or mashed potatoes with whole fat sour cream and shredded cheese.
• Add shredded cheese into sauces, rice, and pasta.
• Add extra slices of cheese onto sandwiches.
• Make refried beans or refried lentils with olive or avocado oil and top with cheese.
• Add olive or canola oil to soups, rice, or pasta, and top with cheese.
• Quesadillas made with cheese, roasted veggies, or beans.

Hopefully this list gives you some ideas of how to help your child gain weight. If you have other ideas of high calorie foods for kids or tips for parents struggling to help their child gain weight, let us know down in the comments!

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