<p>My oldest who is living across the country is going through a period of extreme stress. She has lost her appetite and is eating very little. Somedays not at all. She knows it is not good for her. She doesn’t like to cook. Compounding the problem she has a long list of allergies.
I am looking for ideas of food that she can grab and eat. Calories are good.
Problems- allergies to Soy and Peanut make most of the logical choices for quick calories not an option for her. Anyone know of any protein bars that don’t have soy protein or peanuts?
She is also allergic to carrots, celery, apples and most berries.
She also doesn’t want to purchase food that she might not eat and end up throwing away due to spoiling.
She is getting therapy to help her deal with her anxieties and stresses.</p>
<p>Does she have access to a kitchen? With so many allergies, she needs to set aside a couple of hours a week to shop and prepare her food. </p>
<p>Hard boiled eggs and sweet potatoes, roasted in their jackets, are easy to prepare and eat. If she doesn’t want to buy perishables, try dried fruit, frozen vegetables and small cans of tuna or salmon. Hummus makes a good substitute for peanut butter, There is also almond butter, available from health or specialty food stores.</p>
<p>In truth, though, she sounds like she is making smoke-and-mirrors excuses to distract you from what may be a serious problem. I also have kids who turn away from food during stress, but not to the extent that they are eating nothing at all. If this were my kid, I would be on a plane for a visit.</p>
<p>Midwesterner- She was just home for a week. She ate well when she was here. She went back sick which didn’t help. She is seeing her therapist an extra day a week so she is trying to deal with all the stresses in her life.
She has some health issues she needs to deal with and it isn’t helping that she is sick. But feeling overwhelmed to deal with finding new Dr’s. In hindsight I wish she had come home a different week so she could have seen all her regular Dr’s. I am trying to give her the space to manage her own life but the Mom in me would love to go spend a week or two and nurse her back to health.</p>
<p>Tree nuts are high in calories and easy to eat. Besides plain salted nuts you can get almond or cashew butter in most grocery stores. Nutella just spooned out of the jar or on crackers… buy a big bag of pecans at Costco and toss with a bit of olive oil and seasonings (I like Lawry’s seasoned salt, Worchestershire sauce and a dash of Tabasco) then roast in a flat pan until lightly browned and crisp.
Cheese is so easy for students - especially individually packaged ones like Laughing Cow or baby Bonbell. </p>
<p>Are you close by? If it were my kid, I’d stock the kitchen with things that should be easy for her to eat but be pretty worried about whether she needs a different therapy schedule/therapist.</p>
<p>Cross posted with your last post, so ignore what you already answered…</p>
<p>Perhaps with all her other worries the thought of shopping and making choices is too much. Is she where there is a delivery service like Peapod? Would she drink some of the all-in-one canned drinks that provide nutrients, or something like the old “Instant Breakfast” powder into milk?</p>
<p>dragonmom- you hit the nail on the head. With all the other stuff she has going on she can not deal with the thought of going to the market and figuring out what to eat. She has a great therapist. Mentally she is in excellent shape. She knows her issues and is moving forward with dealing with them.
She has a vicious circle going right now. She is sick which zaps her energy. She needs to eat better to get some energy back. But being sick makes even going to the market a huge chore. She picked up a bad cold on the plane trip home. She has asthma that has been under control the last several years. Which has made her not pay as much attention to her breathing as she should. The cold has gone right to the chest and she is having trouble with her breathing. If I was there I would get her to the asthma dr.
Unfortunately I live on the opposite coast.
It is hard when we aren’t there to see them in person to determine how sick they are. Is it a case of rest and self care or does she need a breathing treatment.
I am going to send a care package with tuna,cashews and any other easy ideas that any of you suggest.</p>
<p>The Central Market in our town has “veggie chips” in one of the bin style dispensers. Yummy fried whole slices of veggies but good for you - sweet potatoes, geen beans, carrots, etc, flash fried and salted. High in vitamins. I could eat them daily except I don’t need the extra calories.</p>
<p>How about some quick to heat and eat comfort food – soup or canned chili? The Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup that comes in aseptic packaging (Trader Joe’s or Pacific Brand) is rich and creamy. I just took a quick look at the nutrition info and I don’t think it has any of the ingredients that your D can’t tolerate. Progresso must have some options without celery or carrots. Use a flat-rate priority box from USPS and you can cram it full of heavy items without worrying about shipping costs.</p>
<p>zipyourlips- canned chili is good. I have a flat rate box that I am beginning to fill. So far I have a box of nutrigrain bars, tuna, chili and a Kashi microwave rice pouch.
Dragonmom- I will look at the vege chips. They often have carrot in them as coloring or sometimes hidden soy products. She tries to stay away from many processed chip products due to several itchy swollen throat surprises. She loves those onion ring type chips but they have something in them that swells her throat.
Still looking for a balance bar type of product without soy or peanut.</p>
<p>Is she allergic to all types of nuts? If not, Lara Bars might be an option. They have a variety of flavors on the website (<a href=“https://www.larabar.com/secure/index_.php[/url]”>https://www.larabar.com/secure/index_.php</a>) and ingredients are very simple. No soy, but some of them do have different types of nuts and berries. </p>
<p>Does she have a blender? Something simple like the Magic Bullet might be really helpful for quick morning shakes. 1 cup Haagen Daaz ice cream, 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, and a package of Carnation instant breakfast can pack a powerful caloric punch (950 calories!).</p>
<p>Heavy whipping cream can really help to up calories in general. Pancakes, oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc. All can be high-calorie if the whipping cream is added.</p>
<p>Thanks. Larabars sound like a good option. I don’t know how she feels about dates but it is worth a try.</p>
<p>Liquid calories are good - what about hot chocolate, spiced cider, or gatorade powders? Banana chips, crackers, chex mix / trail mix, and fruit cups are a few other packable ideas. I like the freeze-dried fruits from the “Just Tomatoes” company - the mango and pineapple are like candy. The cashew or almond Wha Guru Chew bars might be ok for her (they do contain soy lecithin, but no soy protein) - they taste great but are really chewy and can be gooey/sloppy ! Homemade cookies, bars, or other treats would probably also be good (most chewy cookies or bars can be frozen and reheated in the microwave in about 30 seconds to make a nice treat without having to worry about them spoiling)</p>
<p>If her dietary restrictions make it difficult for her to eat out or buy frozen meals, maybe a simple cookbook (along the lines of 15 minute meals with 5 ingredients or less) that you flag a couple recipes in (“this sounds really good and quick!”) would help make shopping and cooking a more manageable task for her?</p>
<p>Make sure she knows it’s ok to occasionally have cookies or pizza for breakfast or ice cream for lunch. Eating when you’ve lost your appetite is tough, and it’s even worse if you try to stick to socially acceptable definitions of meals</p>
<p>How about some of the frozen AMy’s meals (the ones without tofu)? We love the indian ones, although they are fairly low calorie. Also, a milkshake a day (maybe with some added nonfat milk powder for higher nutritional punch) or yogurt/fruit smoothy would help pack on the calories</p>
<p>mom60: on the tuna front, I suggest the kind packed in pouches without additional liquid. Easy to open, cheaper to ship.</p>
<p>I found some energy bars called “Bumble Bars” that appear to be soy-free. Some of the flavors are also nut free. Their web site makes the ingredient information for each flavor easily accessible, unlike many.</p>
<p>Many otherwise acceptable items contain soy lecithin, unfortunately…</p>
<p>Instant oatmeal,
plain yourgurt can add grapes and bananas.
hummus and pita chips
Trader Joes already brown rice(microwaveable pouch) just add eggs and veggies
Almonds
string cheese
sauteed polenta with fresh spinach and cheese</p>
<p>One of nature’s most perfect foods is the sweet potato/yam. Just microwave. Filling, healthy, packed with nutrients, energy producing and yummy. They also store well.</p>
<p>This might be helpful:</p>
<p>[The</a> 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating - Well Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating - The New York Times”>The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating - The New York Times)</p>
<p>The problem with a lot of prepared foods is that, even though they may not have an allergen in the ingredients, they may have been prepared in an environment or on machinery where the allergen can contaminate the food. It happens a great deal, which is why canned soups, frozen meals and energy bars may not be worth the risk.</p>
<p>DD found she was much better all day if she dumped some cereal into a yogurt for breakfast. Fast, easy to take with her, and provided a good boost to start the day. So much depends on getting that good start. Having a flavored tuna pouch (doesn’t require refrigeration) to dump on a salad or bread at lunch also helped. Once those are taken care of dinner does not seem so daunting.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas.
In addition to the allergies she is a picky eater.
She likes some of the Amy’s frozen food items but she is on a tight budget and she hates to spend the money on them. She wishes she had a trader joes nearby.
I picked up a few things at the market. Tuna in the pouch, rice in a pouch that you just have to microwave, tapioca pudding. I am going to stop at Tradr Joe’s on the way to the post office to pick up some cashews and see what kind of bars they have. Maybe beef jerky (though she finds different flavors and brands of beef jerky hit and miss regarding a reaction) Also a box of Emergen C.
I am also going to suggest a trip to the market to pick up yogurt.
I think once she begins getting something in her stomach she should feel better. She is drinking lots of gatorade.
When she was in high school she would keep in her purse baggies with cashews, m &m’s, dried cherries and raisins. I think I will also send her some premade bags.
I spoke with her today and she is feeling better.
The Mom in me also picked up a peak flow meter for her at the drugstore. I am going to send that along with her asthma care sheet from her at home Dr. Just a little hint that she might need to take a bit better care of herself.</p>
<p>So glad that she is feeling better. I love the idea of the peak flow meter since they don’t reallly take care of that unless nagged. When a family member needed hospitalization, we ended up with a respiratory therapy plastic hose and valve that was like a game “how many little balls can you keep up for how long”… if you have one of those around from previous asthma problems maybe send it too.</p>