HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN FOODS FOR INFANTS,BABIES & TODDLERS

HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN FOODS FOR INFANTS, BABIES & TODDLERS:

1. My baby is not gaining weight!
2. How to increase my baby’s weight?
3. What foods help in increasing my baby’s weight?
4. What is the ideal weight and height?
5. My baby is hale and healthy but the weight is so less. What do I do?

These are the array of questions running in most of the mothers and this leads to serious stress in some mothers. I know how tough it is to handle the questions a mother of a non-chubby(but really hale and healthy) receives even if she is so confident that her child is perfectly fit and healthy.

HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN FOODS FOR INFANTS, BABIES & TODDLERS:

HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN FOODS FOR INFANTS, BABIES & TODDLERS:

Many parents have written to me asking for suggestions on this and my only reply would be as follows ” Never bother about weight if your baby is healthy, active, achieving milestones right”. My insight on weight gain is that it is majorly dependent on genetics and more individual-centric. Hence you can’t compare baby X and baby Y of the same age, eating the same food, doing the same activities and you can never see the same weight gain for both the babies.

There are thousand more factors behind weight gain. And I always believe being chubby/plump/fat is not necessarily a sign of a healthy baby and being thin/lean doesn’t mean a baby is weak.Focus on growing a non-fussy eater and offer every single possible homemade healthy food you can(You can find my experience on growing a non-fussy eater here). Let the baby enjoy the table time and let it never be a battle.

I always stress about providing healthy homemade foods to babies regularly and cultivate healthy eating habits from day one and never bother about how much they eat and how much they gain. If you feel your baby isn’t gaining enough weight and your intuition says it is a serious issue please consult your paediatrician and take necessary steps. Do not trust any over the counter weight gain supplements, be it small brands or big brands. They might end putting your child at a lifelong risk.

I am not an expert honestly. I am just here with a few food options which might help in optimal and healthy weight gain in your little ones and all of them are very nutritious and energy dense. So none of them will have any side effects. These might work for you and not me and vice versa too. This is just an attempt to help you with whatever I have known and learnt. These are the results of my experiences, word of mouth from experienced mothers and friends, studies, doctor advice and personal knowledge. This is not equivalent to an expert or medical advice. This can not/should not replace a medical practitioner’s advice. I hope and wish this helps you to some extent.

Few reasons for poor/slow weight gain or weight loss:

• Your genetic history might have a very slow weight gaining pattern.(Like us in the family ;P )
• You might have introduced solids even before six months
• You might have replaced breastfeed with solids before one year
• Baby has poor sucking reflux or cleft lip/palate
• The baby formula being improperly prepared
• A baby who is fed on a schedule or based on diet chart will gain less than a baby who is always fed on demand
• Poor latching, poor nursing pattern, Usage of the pacifier, Some illness at birth, Ear infection, thrush, anaemia, tongue-tie, reflux are few other reasons.
• Breastfeeding mother not eating enough(quantity & quality)
• Too less variety or too much variety of solids introduced
• Too many liquids like gruels, juices, thin down porridges and juices before one year

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Healthy Weight Gain Foods

HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN FOODS FOR INFANTS, BABIES & TODDLERS:

1.Breastmilk:

The purest and the most lovable food available for babies is mother’s milk. This is the richest source of nutrients and it never depletes. Breastfeeding up to 2 years is strictly recommended and exclusive breastfeeding till 6 months is mandatory. No matter what the mother eats, babies receive enough nutrition from mother’s milk. The fat present is mother’s milk is constant irrespective of mother’s diet. Never think of replacing mother feed with any food on this earth at least until 1 year. Have a word with a doctor/lactation consultant if you have any issues with respect to feeding. However, you can alter the type of fat and try to keep up the supply of breast milk with the help of a few special foods for lactating mothers. If you are unable to breastfeed, please replace only with formula and not any animal milk until one year. Early introduction of animal milk might lead to indigestion issues and again become a reason for weight loss. Ensure to only complement breast milk or formula with solids until one year.




Diet Charts for all age groups are available here . Please ensure not to include more frequent solids than mentioned in the above diet charts

Here is the collection of foods which help lactating mothers to maintain supply and improve-Click here

2.Milk & Milk products:

Cow’s milk or Buffalo milk is a strict no-till 1 year of age in babies. However, all milk products like homemade ghee, butter, curd, cheese, paneer can be offered after 6 months of age in moderation to babies if the baby is not lactose intolerant. Use full-fat cream milk for babies above 1 year(preferably plain milk) and only milk products on daily basis for babies below 1 year.

Recipes for homemade milk products:

Home made Curd

Home made Paneer/Cottage Cheese

Homemade Cheese

 

Homemade butter

I shall soon post all homemade ghee & fresh cream recipes with detailed images.

Paneer /Cheese Based Recipes: Click on the text below each image to view the detailed recipe

 

3.High Calorie/Good fat fruits and Vegetables:

As I start reading more to write down baby food recipes I found that certain fruits and vegetables which are rich in good fat and calorie can also help in healthy and optimal weight gain. Few such fruits and vegetables are chikku/sapodilla,banana(Kerala banana),mango,avocado,potato,sweet potatoes,pear,peas,peach,butter fruit. Try to offer them as fresh fruit puree or mashed fruits or finger foods. You can offer potatoes after cooking them well.

HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN FOODS FOR INFANTS, BABIES & TODDLERS:

( Click on the underlined text to view the detailed recipe)

 

Avocado puree

Butter fruit Smoothie

Apple pear banana puree

Chikku Puree

ABC smoothie

Kerala banana

Mango Muffins

Baked Potato Wedges

Sweet potato Tikkis

 

4.Ragi/Finger Millet:

This is one of the miracle grains I would call. It has loads of nutrients.

Recipes with ragi: ( Click on the underlined text to view the detailed recipe)

• Sprouted Ragi Porridge Mix
• Ragi Porridge
• Ragi Adai
• Eggless ragi pancake
• Instant Ragi Dosa
• Instant Wheat Ragi Dosa
• Ragi Milk Carrot halwa
• Ragi Pidi Kozhukkattai
• Pepper Ragi Balls
• Eggless Ragi Cake
• Eggless Ragi Choco chip Cake
• Eggless Ragi rajgira Cookies
• Eggless Palmsugar Ragi Cookies
• Ragi Choco balls-A no-bake recipe
• Ragi Idly/Dosa

5.Lentils/Pulses/Legumes:

Lentils/legumes/pulses are grains which are known for its protein content and including at least a portion of them in the daily meal is absolutely essential even for elders. When it comes to babies pulses like moong dhal and urad dhal greatly help in healthy weight gain. You can slowly introduce all types of pulses and legumes like soya beans, whole channa dhal, roasted Bengal gram, Bengal gram, groundnut, peas, green moong, masoor dhal etc. Include hing or garlic while cooking them if you fear about gastric issues.

Healthy Weight Gain Foods Recipes: ( Click on the underlined text to view the detailed recipe)

• RBG Porridge mix
• Urad dhal porridge mix
• Green gram porridge mix
• Green gram dosa
• RBG Thuvaiyal
• Moong dhal rice
• Urad dhal rice
• Toor dhal rice
• Drumstick Moong dhal mash
• Ven Pongal
• Sprouted green gram salad
• Green peas dosa
• Sathu Maavu
• Green Peas masala
• Moong dhal Chilla
• Moong dhal Dosa

6.Dry fruits/Whole Nuts:

Dry fruits and whole nuts are the quickest and easiest options for immediate energy gain. But always use them in moderation. I would recommend you to offer nuts as such for elder babies. I add badam or cashew paste in all gravies. Click on the underlined text to view the detailed recipe

• ABC Smoothie
• Dry Fruits Milk
• Instant Dry fruits ladoo
• Carrot Kheer
• Figs and nuts ladoo
• Dry fruit bar
• Kesar Badam Mix for milk
• Peanut bars
• Red Rice Puttu
• Sago Kheer

7.Whole grains/Millets/Staple grains:

Any whole grain with the bran is an excellent source of nutrition and powerhouse of good calories. So always prefer brown rice, red rice, red poha, millets for your babies and infants. Read more about each millet in detail here. Eating millets daily is not advisable for anyone. Any whole grain or millet is recommended only for moderate use. Whenever I suggest millets or whole grains for weight gain in kids, the next question which pops up is, “How come they are suggested for weight loss in adults and weight gain in kids?”. Millets are nutrient dense and they are neither weight- loss nor weight -gain foods. They regulate your metabolism and ensure the weight is optimal(neither high nor low). And more importantly, adults & babies/toddlers are totally different. Similarly, poha is usually suggested for people who are on weight loss journeys but I am suggesting here for healthy weight gain due to the recipes(Halwa & ghee roasted)

• Red Poha Halwa
• Whole Wheat Beet halwa
• Whole Wheat Cup Cakes
• Ghee Fried Poha
• Brown Rice Biriyani
• Whole Wheat Pancake

Click the text below each image to get the recipe

All millet recipes:

 

References:

kellymom.com

eatright.org

indiatimes.com

askdrsears.com

WHO papers

Images:pixabay



Notes:

Offering more quantity of any recipe mentioned will not guarantee weight gain in babies & kids. So please do not overfeed/force feed. Let baby decide on the quantity. I repeat weight is just a number so please concentrate on growing a healthy and self-fed baby who can appreciate all varieties of foods with no fuss.

Aim at optimal weight gain which is healthy.

The numbers on weighing scale don’t matter if the baby is fit and fine.

Follow baby’s cues and your intuition than following any random diet charts.

If your baby is healthy, active and falling on a steady curve of development slow weight gain need not be considered as an issue.

Always seek medical assistance before implementing anything.

The above recipes are for babies from 6 months to 5 plus years. Please click each link to know the detailed recipe and age groups.

Please have a word with your doctor and decide on the recipe considering your baby’s health, age and family history of allergies.

The recipes listed are just a sample. For all recipes please refer this page. These are my suggestions based on what I have learnt, what I have experienced and what was advised to me by my doctors, elders, friends, kith and kin.

DO NOT REPRODUCE/COPY any part of this content in any way/form.

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