Tales of a Liquid Diet - Part Two (Recipes)

 

Details about a Liquid Diet after an Alveolar Bone Graft – Part Two

This post is about how we made use of the ingredients I purchased (found in Part One).  I’ll post some recipes we created, and some of the tools that we used.

You’ll notice that there are no bananas included in any of the recipes.  This is pretty unusual, since almost every smoothie recipe online calls for a frozen banana or two!  Unfortunately, Levi does not like mushed up bananas; the taste or the texture.  Usually, bananas are an easy way to add fiber into a smoothie, so we had to be creative.  Boost does have some fiber in it, and I also used frozen strawberries as a way to get some fiber into him.  I had purchased all sorts of different frozen fruits (mango, peaches, avocado, pineapple, etc.) in anticipation of using them in all his smoothies, but I typically only ended up using strawberries.  He was quite sensitive to texture, so I didn’t stray too far from what we knew worked for him. 

 

Here are some of the tools we used every day without fail:

-            Magic Bullet

o   I used this for every meal, dessert and snack.  I initially thought that I would make larger batches of smoothies and milkshakes in our full sized blender, to store or freeze, however that didn’t end up being the case.  I preferred making fresh smoothies at each meal, so they kept their taste and didn’t separate.

-            Fine mesh strainer

o   I used this with several recipes, to ensure they were as smooth as possible. 

Here is an idea of Levi’s meals schedule during the day.  He ate small amounts frequently, to ensure he was getting enough calories. 

-            Breakfast

-            Morning Snack

-            Lunch

-            Dessert

-            Afternoon Snack

-            Supper

-            Dessert

-            Night Snack

I did a bit of research as to how many calories a 10 year old male should be taking in, then I divided that by 6 (3 meals and 3 snacks).  That was where the bulk of his calories came in, and the two desserts were a bonus. 

I am not a dietician, but I do understand basic nutrition, so I did my best to estimate how many calories were in each smoothie or milkshake that I made him.  I won’t post any of those numbers here, since I do not want anyone to rely on my calculations.  I rarely measured ingredients when I made a recipe, and just kind of went with my instinct for what he needed.  My goal with this post is just to provide some general information on recipes we created that worked for us.

 

BASE RECIPES – These are used throughout the main recipes

Super Milk – yields 1 cup liquid

-            1 cup whole milk

-            ¼ cup skim milk powder

o   Whisk together well

Incredibly Super Milk – yields 1 cup liquid

-            ½ cup table cream (18% MF)

-            ½ cup whole milk

-            ¼ cup skim milk powder

o   Whisk together well

Super pudding

-            2 cups Incredibly Super milk

-            Instant pudding mix (102 g box)

o   Chocolate

o   Butterscotch

o   Vanilla

o   Lemon, etc.

-            Add incredibly super milk to box of pudding mix and whisk well until thickened

Zumma Borscht broth

-            Chicken broth

-            Table Cream 18%

-            Dill

-            Salt + Pepper

-            Splash of vinegar

Chicken Broth

-            Place chicken bones (from a rotisserie chicken or regular frozen chicken) into a large pot

-            Add water to cover the carcasse

-            Simmer for 1-2 hours

o   Strain out bones, reserve liquid and use in soups or season accordingly and drink as is

Canned Tomato Soup

-            Make as directed, using table cream instead of water or milk

BLENDED RECIPES (measurements are approximate)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

-            Splash of chocolate Boost

-            1 heaping Tbsp peanut butter

-            2 heaping Tbsp Super Chocolate pudding

2 heaping Tbsp 10% plain Greek yogurt

-            Optional – 1 tsp Caramel sauce (to make it taste like a Reese’s bar)

Berry Smoothie (good one to add powdered multivitamin into)

-            Splash of strawberry Boost

-            2 heaping Tbsp blueberry yogurt

-            2 heaping Tbsp 5% Vanilla Greek yogurt, or 10% plain Greek yogurt

-            2 Tbsp sliced strawberries (fresh or thawed)

Citrus Milkshake

-            Scoop of 5% plain Greek yogurt (OR 10% MF plain Greek yogurt)

-            1 Tbsp lemonade concentrate

-            2 Tbsp orange and pink ice cream (I bought Rainbow ice cream)

-            1 glug pineapple juice

-            Can add some super lemon pudding

Butterscotch smoothie (good one to add French vanilla protein powder to)

-            1/4 cup super butterscotch pudding

-            1 scoop plain 5% MF Greek yogurt (OR 10% MF)

-            Splash of vanilla Boost

Liberte Greek yogurt smoothie

-            2 scoops of

o   Key lime pie, apple pie, coconut,  or mango Liberte Mediterranean yogurt

-            2 scoops 10% plain Greek yogurt

-            Splash of Vanilla Boost

-            (Add caramel sauce to apple pie yogurt)

-            Strain the coconut smoothie

Cinnamon Bun Milkshake

-            Splash of vanilla Boost

-            2 scoops Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream

-            2 scoops Plain Greek yogurt (10% MF)

-            Splash of maple syurp

-            1/8 tsp cinnamon

Lemon Lime milkshake

-            2 scoops super lemon pudding

-            2 scoops Plain Greek yogurt (10% MF)

-            2 scoops green ice cream (from the rainbow ice cream container)

-            Dash of lime juice

Strawberry Milkshake

-            Splash of Strawberry boost

-            2 scoops plain Greek yogurt (10% MF)

-            2 scoops Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream

-            1 spoonful sliced strawberries

-            1 spoonful strawberry jam

Caramel Milkshake

-            Splash of vanilla Boost

-            2 scoops Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream

-            2 scoops 10% plain Greek yogurt

-            2 tsp caramel sauce

 

Breakfasts were usually a Berry Smoothie (since it was easy to add his multivitamin into it), and the rest of the recipes were reserved for snacks and desserts.  His favorites were the Chocolate Peanut Butter smoothie, and the Citrus Milkshake.  Lunch and Supper was always soup, often Zumma Borscht broth, or Chicken broth.  We were given many different kinds of soup during the three weeks, but he liked those two the best.

I always gave him the choice of which recipe he’d like me to make for him.  Typically, our household operates on the premise that whatever is made is eaten, but that had to be adjusted for this situation.  I needed him to have an appetite for the meal, so I asked him what flavors sounded good to him.  We had a list on the fridge, so he could glance at it and tell me what he wanted.  I just made sure to keep a stock of yogurts and Boost in the fridge, and I had previously made a couple batches of chicken broth that I stored in the freezer.   

Having a child on a liquid diet is a big job, and it felt like I was constantly mixing up something for him!  If I had made bigger batches and put them in the fridge, it wouldn’t have been as hands on, but he wouldn’t have eaten them as well.  I’m not saying that we didn’t ever keep extras, or leftovers.  We did, and he did eat them.  It’s just that I understood his need for fresh smoothies at each meal.  We worked together as a team to make sure he was getting appropriate calories and nutrients, while also enjoying what he was eating. 

 

Thanks for reading!