Hi guys,
Did the heading grab your attention? Now that I have it here's my question.
(For those of you who are attempting to lose weight, don't try this at home.)
I lost 20 pounds and 4 inches off my waist line in two months. Sound like a winner? Not when you're 80 years old and weighed 145 to start with. I lost my weight along with my beard, taste buds, saliva glands, and dentures after 40 radiation treatments for throat and tongue cancer. In case you're wondering, I BEAT IT!
I am now packing in fat food,( Sara Lee Cheese Cake and two scoops of ice cream every night, and that ain't easy when everything tastes like wet cardboard and you ain't got no teeth) I fix and eat a lot of instant pudding. This is made with two cups of milk. Now comes the question,( took me long enough to get around to it) Will adding unsalted butter to the two cups of milk help me to put more weight on? If so how much butter should I add? I have gained back a few pounds and my taste buds are beginning to detect sugar and salt but it's a slow process. Any suggestions? Thanks, tom

I hate to laugh, but you are very amusing. Radiation treatment will do all of that to a body, you are lucky you came back with testicles). I don't know if you want a lot of cholesterol because that may clog up what you want to keep open, like veins and then there is your heart. You are so luck, I would hate to see you do any damage, speedy.

If you want to know, I would melt the butter first, use l tablespoon to l cup of milk. That should do it, but on the other hand, why don't you use coffee cream, l/2 and l/2 which would have the same effect as the butter only far richer and more fattening and very high in cholesterol. Good luck, speedy and don't over do it.

Oh Tom, I am so sorry to hear about what you have gone through. I am very glad that you were able to beat this! Radiation does a major job on our sense of taste.

I don't think mixing butter into the pudding is the wisest move. It would change the consistency and make it a bit greasy. You might want to try making some high protein shakes to supplement whatever you normally are able to eat. Here is a recipe that should pack on the pounds.

HIGH PROTEIN, HIGH CALORIE SHAKE
Ingredients:
1 cup of full fat milk
3 tablespoons full-cream milk powder
2 scoops of ice cream
1 tbsp chocolate syrup, or 1/4 cup fruit
Honey or sugar to taste (optional)
Method:
Blend all items together in a blender to make a delicious shake.
A cup of shake provides about 400 calories per serving.

You can experiment with adding foods, peanut butter, fruits (banana, strawberries,. ). You can also go to the health food section of your grocery store or a health food store and find a weight gaining supplement packed with vitamins, minerals, and other necessary health essentials. I would add that supplement in with all the shakes, taking away 1 to 2 Tbsp of the full-cream milk powder. Drink at least 2 shakes a day if you can.

Since you are having problem with solid foods, here are some other ideas for you. It is important that you find healthier additions to add to your diet.

There is a yogurt made for babies/children that is very high in calories, it is called Yo-Baby. Scan all the yogurts in the dairy section. Find the one with the highest calorie content.

Avocados, soft cheeses, potatoes (sweet & regular), cooked vegs until mushy w/olive oil.

I am gathering that cooking for yourself is rather limited? If so, start searching the grocery & specialty food stores in your area for prepared meals. Although the nutritional value is rather limited, if you are taking the supplements in the shakes, I would be more concerned about getting calories into your body. Look for Rice Pudding, Cream Based Soups, Macaroni & Cheese. Those are just a few ideas. Look at what they have that you will be able to swallow with minimum chewing. I know money is an issue, so shop wisely. Check the frozen food section and see what is available. There are a number of items from gourmet shops that are ready to eat. Squash or sweet potato with butter & maple flavorings. Take your time and read the labels.

If you do cook and you would like some healthy but fattening recipes, let me know. I will take a look through my file, post back with some that you will be able to eat.

P.S. Sorry Tickle, didn't see your post. Took me a while to write this. I think half & half might be the better option to butter.

Hey I agree with both you, (Tickle and pitbulls advice) WITH the exception of: use low fat or skim milk, and use a butter substitute, and honey only.
No matter what, I Still... only believe in wheat products, pasta, rice cereals, breads, there's no circumstance where mac and cheese or any processed food is healthy for your heart! Bad food no matter what the case, is still bad , especially on cholestrol, like he needs any more problems! When you ill, in any sense, correct nutrition is so important, you can eat natural foods, in the right portions and gain weight, but it still can't be processed foods. I've been in this field too long and done too much research, and it does make a difference. Whey protein is great for gaining healthy weight, fruits,like bananas, yogurt. Avoid soups or foods in a creamy sauce, like gravy, boullion, go for tomatoe based soups and sauces. Otherwise your advise is right on!

I know, loveless, I was worried about that too. The butter in pudding is a bit much. But, most oncologists will tell you to eat whatever you can tolerate to get yourself back or close to proper weight after going through a routine as Tom did. Then, once the weight is back on, you adjust your diet accordingly. I tried to give as many good examples as I could think of but with the chewing problem it is hard and I had to give a few bad. Do you have any other ideas of food he could eat that would give him the caloric content without the bad fats that wouldn't require chewing? My late husband lost his sense of taste the way Tom has, and it was quite a challenge to find things he could tolerate even with the use of teeth. He used to complain that meat tasted the way he imagined burnt tires would taste like! Ack! :(

When living on the farm in the US I subscribed to Mother Earth News magazine. That was 20 years ago (gosh)! Soups thickened with whole wheat flower were a big treat, and that included tomatoes, garlic, onion, carrots, basically all end of season accoutrements and sausage meat or whatever was available.

I am getting hungry so probably will leave you now, I have italian sausage in the oven with tomatoes, garlic and seasoning. Bye.

Is your mouth watering.

Ok, now that the burnt tires has left a terrible thought, I think I can come up with alternatives, but Yeech! Rubypitbull! Any kind of beans, pinto, kidney, white, mashed up, puréed, you ge the idea, vey soft, protein. How about black bean burgers, just cut up. Any kind of fish, like shrimp, scallops, can be cut up pretty small and broiled or boiled to a very soft state. What we call Congee (kind of brown rice), so cook with lots of water with chopped up really fine meats like chicken, turkey, boiled shredded pork, even fish, a toss of soy sauce, low sodium salt or sea salt to taste, sesame oil, pepper, garlic powder, (lite on the salt,) add 1 tbsp of milk concentrate. Try mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, mashed of course, how about baby food? Low fat/no fat ice cream, frozen yogurt, cold natural applesauce, sprinkle with wheat germ or milled flax seed (2 tbsp). If you have a juicer or food processor you can eat everything, just got to get use to taste and texture and how to blend it with other foods, so your are nutritionally sound for the day!

Thanks guys,

Since I already had the unsalted butter, ( I tried half and half last week but figured butter had more fat and ,(what da hell! Butter comes from milk don't it?) I melted some and mixed it in with the pudding. I though the pudding was a little lumpy until I realized that the butter had solidified into little chunks. OH well! Back to the drawing board. I printed out your posts and will give them a try. Yours for more fat!! Tom