Recipes help - high calorie (healthy), high protein or slow cooker grub!

[superfrizbee]

My son has additional needs and needs a fortified diet of extra calories and protein. He is generally not fussy but as he's two he sometimes eats very little if he's in that kind of mood. We cook lots of different things but I feel a bit stuck in a rut. I would love some help thinking of more ideas. In particular things I can do in a slow cooker which aren't just your bog standard casseroles and soups!

These are the kind of things we make:

Breakfast: pancakes, peanut butter toast, eggy bread
Lunch: jacket potatoes, hit and miss on sandwiches and toasties, won't eat eggs as eggs, pasta dishes
Dinner: spaghetti bol, smoked mackerel risotto, chilli con carne, pasta and sauce, curries, sausage casserole with beans.

He doesn't really do desserts. I would love some healthy yet still high protein/calorie ideas. I struggle with snacks too apart from cheese and dried fruits.

Like most parents I'm very time poor (therapy and appointments too). But I do like to cook from scratch, hence way anything I can chuck in a slow cooker I'm all for!

 

[redneckhippy]

https://www.emilieeats.com/chickpea-pumpkin-coconut-curry-vegan/

I have this in the slow cooker right now and it smells amazing. I used full fat coconut milk and also added some coconut oil. I also add olive oil or coconut oil to most of my son's foods.

 

[redneckhippy]

Since your son eats mackerel, another thing my son really likes are sardine & banana patties. I mix a tin of sardines (or salmon) with two mashed bananas, add a bit of curry powder and baked them for 20 min and that's always a hit. (My son is 2 also)

 

[LoraLoo]

Breakfast ideas- waffles, porridge, baked oats, breakfast muffins (like baked mini omelettes with bacon, mushrooms etc- not sure with the egg thing though?)

Lunch- ravioli, spaghetti hoops and whole meal toast, bagel with cream cheese and ham?

Dinner ideas- Fish pie, lasagne, mousakka, Shepards pie, macaroni cheese, sweet and sour chicken with rice and veggies, baked potatoes with diff fillings, beef stroganoff, carbonara, cheese and onion or steak pie, Hungarian goulash, corned beef hash, home made chicken nuggets, chicken with mash and veg (can cook the chicken whole in the slow cooker) toad in the hole?

Snacks- rice crackers, breadsticks, yoghurts, cheese triangles, slices of ham with veg batons, pitta bread with hummuos, fruit with a bit of Nutella?

Puddings- jelly, yogurt with meringue and fruit, rice pudding, custard and banana, ice cream and berries?

Sorry if they aren't the type of ideas you're looking for, was just thinking of typical meals in our household., and meals where you could potentially add extra calories with milk, cream, cheese butter etc

 

[NickyKB]

Sorry I've got no advice except if he likes avocado then it can be added to bump up calories or as a snack as a guacamole dip.

How do you make your smoked mackerel risotto? it sounds yummy!

 

[Sarah lo]

Both my kids love pesto chicken, despite both of them being fussy eaters. It doesn't go in the slow cooker but it only takes about 10-15 minutes to cook.
I put a handful of sliced baby potatoes in the steamer and while they're cooking I dry fry some French beans and garlic in a frying pan, before adding some diced chicken and mushrooms and a little olive oil. When the chicken is browned, add a small tub of creme fraiche (or you could use double cream for extra calories) plus 2 big spoonfuls of pesto. Add some halved cherry tomatoes for the last couple of minutes just till they start to go a bit soft, then add the steamed potatoes at the end and mix it all up.

 

[superfrizbee]

Sorry I've got no advice except if he likes avocado then it can be added to bump up calories or as a snack as a guacamole dip.

How do you make your smoked mackerel risotto? it sounds yummy!

I buy the vacuum sealed smoked mackerel. It's really easy to flake it off the skin so I do that.

I use risotto rice and cook it in chicken stock. I normally also add some fried onions, garlic and some lemon and parsley seasoning. When the rice is nearly done I add the smoked mackerel, some chopped up hard boiled eggs and some peas. I also add a dollop of cream or philidelphia. It's yummy! I serve it up with some baby corn just because my kids love them and it gives a bit of crunch.

Edit: I forgot the optional splash of white wine!

 

[Bella1185]

Lasagna! Can be made ahead of time, in oven, crockpot, however you like with whatever ingredients you choose. I make a vegetarian one that's very healthy but you can add whatever layers he might eat.