How to enrich the diet to regain weight or rectify insufficient intake?

It is essential to ensure that the body receives the calories and protein it needs to maintain a good nutrition and reach the surgery in good shape. When intake is reduced and/or weight loss occurs, it is recommended to follow a balanced diet and enrich the dishes eaten.
The following are ideas for enriching dishes with both calories and protein.

WHAT DO WE RECOMMEND?

It is important to take advantage of the times of the day when appetite is greatest (usually in the morning) to try to eat more nutritious or enriched foods. For example, if you are in the mood for yoghurt, you can make it more nutritious by adding different ingredients without increasing its volume too much: a spoonful of powdered milk, a spoonful of chopped or ground nuts or 100% nut butter, honey, jam, cream, pieces of fresh or dried fruit or cereal. You can also eat a Greek yoghurt or a yoghurt commercially enriched with protein (about 15 g per unit).

Dish Ideas to enrich a dish
Soups
  • Add a tablespoon of virgin olive oil.
  • Add an egg while cooking and blend as a consommé.
  • Add chopped or grated hard-boiled egg on top.
  • Add shaved ham or chicken or croutons.
  • Add grated mozzarella cheese.
  • Add mini-meatballs to the broth.
Creamy and puréed soup
  • Make sure that they always include potato or legumes in addition to the vegetables.
  • Add a tablespoon of virgin olive oil, cream, dextrinated cereals or legume flour.
  • Add cheese (semi-aged, aged or individually-wrapped cheese) to the creamy soup either crushed, diced or grated on top.
  • Add a grated hard-boiled egg on top or blended into the dish.
  • Add a tablespoon of tahini (sesame paste) or other 100% nut butters (almond, hazelnut or peanut).
  • Add tofu cubes on top or blended into the creamy soup.
Salads
  • Add nuts and dried fruit (raisins, dates, dried apricots).
  • Add avocado or olives.
  • Add tofu cubes.
  • Include protein-rich foods such as eggs, tinned tuna or shredded chicken.
  • Add bits of fresh cheese or mozzarella.
  • Dress with plenty of virgin olive oil or with dressings and vinaigrettes based on virgin olive oil, honey, mayonnaise or yoghurt (Greek or protein-rich yoghurt can be used).
Pasta and rice
  • Prepare them with other ingredients, such as sautéed minced meat, minced chicken, fish, tofu, seitan or texturised soybeans.
  • Dress with sauces that include virgin olive oil, ground nuts or 100% nut butter, milk cream or cream, vegetable cream, béchamel sauce, etc.
  • If sauces are made with milk or cream, add a tablespoon of skim milk powder.
  • Add grated cheese on top.
  • Add hard-boiled egg, tinned tuna, chicken, tofu, seitan or avocado to pasta or rice salads.
Vegetables
  • Dress with virgin olive oil, vinaigrettes with honey or sauces like béchamel or mayonnaise.
  • Coat them with bread crumbs and egg or legume flour. Serve with hard-boiled egg or tinned tuna, or sauté with ham cubes.
Meat and fish
  • Serve with sauce or coat with bread crumbs, flour and egg.
Milk
  • Add a tablespoon of powdered milk.
  • Mix with crumbled Maria-style biscuits, breakfast cereals, granola or dextrinised cereals.
  • Add small amounts of cocoa powder, condensed milk or honey.
Yoghurt
  • Prioritise protein-rich yoghurt (15g of protein per unit) or Greek-style yoghurt, and add: powdered milk, ground nuts or 100% nut butter, dried fruit (coconut, banana, apricots, raisins, dates, etc.), fruit cubes in syrup, Maria-style biscuits, breakfast cereals, dextrinised cereals, condensed milk, honey or jam.

Nutrient-dense dishes include a large amount of calories and nutrients in a very small volume of food. Chicken or cod croquettes, or frozen empanadas (meat, tuna, egg, cheese, etc.) can be prepared and fried or reheated on the spot. You can also have nutritious pâtés to spread on toast or sandwiches, calorie-rich soups which can be kept in the refrigerator and eaten directly (hot or cold) and sweet foods as dessert or to eat between meals, such as flan, puddings, home-made sponge cakes or Greek-style or protein-rich yoghurt.

Some suggested recipes:

Pork and potato croquettes

Avocado, banana and walnut cream

Microwave cake with canned peaches

Carrot and walnut microwave cake

Pea purée

Fish cakes

Protein-rich apple egg flan

Prepare complete smoothies with fresh fruit, whole and protein-rich dairy products, plant-based milk, nuts, dried fruits, dried fruit, biscuits, etc.

Some suggested recipes:

Walnut and strawberry smoothie

Protein-rich cocoa banana smoothie

Protein-rich vegan smoothie

See more nutrient-dense recipes by entering ‘Lack of appetite’ in the search engine.

Adapt the recommendations to a diet that facilitates digestion.
See more recipes with high nutritional density by entering ‘Lack of appetite’ and ‘Abdominal pain’ or ‘Acid reflux’ in the search engine.