High-Calorie, High-Protein Diet

Why Should I Eat This Way?

Eating this way may be helpful if you have lost weight, do not feel hungry, or have an higher need for protein, such as with a burn or infection. Eating this way can help you:

  • Have more strength
  • Gain weight or stop losing weight
  • Heal
  • Fight off infection
  • Get better from surgery or sickness faster

A List of Foods You Should Eat

Here are foods that are high in calories and protein. Try to make foods from these lists as part of your snacks and meals:

High-Calorie Foods High-Protein Foods
  • Cheese, cream cheese
  • Whole milk, heavy cream, whipped cream
  • Sour cream
  • Butter, margarine, oil
  • Ice cream
  • Cake, cookies, chocolate
  • Gravy
  • Salad dressing, mayo
  • Avocado
  • Jam, jelly, syrup
  • Honey, sugar
  • Dried fruit
  • Cheese, cottage cheese
  • Milk, soy milk, milk powder
  • Eggs
  • Yogurt
  • Nuts, seeds
  • Peanut butter
  • Tofu and other soy products
  • Beans, peas, lentils
  • Beef, poultry, pork, and other meats
  • Fish and other seafood

Snack Tips

Snack Ideas Calories

Fruit smoothie

Blend 8 ounces whole milk vanilla yogurt + ½ cup orange juice + 1 cup frozen berries

360

Egg and cheese English muffin

1 whole wheat English muffin + 2 teaspoons margarine spread or butter + 1 ounce cheese + 1 egg

365

Peanut butter and banana sandwich

2 slices of bread + 2 tablespoons peanut butter + 1 sliced banana

400

Trail mix

½ cup nuts, seeds, and dried fruit

350

Cereal, milk, and banana

1 cup presweetened wheat cereal + 8 ounces whole milk + 1 banana

360

Yogurt and granola

1 cup whole milk flavored yogurt + ½ cup low-fat granola

440

Tips to Get More Calories and Protein

  • Eat small meals and snacks during the day.
  • Keep pre-made, ready-to-eat snacks on hand while at home, at the office, and on the road.
  • Drink your calories. Pick high-calorie drinks, such as milk, blended coffee drinks, milk shakes, or juice.
  • Add protein powder or powdered milk to your drinks, smoothies, and foods, such as cream soups, scrambled eggs, gravy, and mashed potatoes.
  • Melt cheese onto sandwiches, bread, tortillas, eggs, meat, and veggies.
  • Use milk in place of water when cooking and making foods, such as hot cereal, cocoa, or pudding.
  • Load salads with hardboiled eggs, avocado, nuts, cheese, and dressing.
  • Use peanut butter or creamy salad dressings as a dip for raw veggies.
  • Try drinks like Boost, Ensure, Resource, or Carnation Instant Breakfast.
  • Talk to a dietitian if you need more help.
RESOURCES:

Eat Right—Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
http://www.eatright.org

Nutrition.gov—US Department of Agriculture
http://www.nutrition.gov

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca

Health Canada
https://www.canada.ca

REFERENCES:

High calorie high protein diet. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center website. Available at: https://www.healthwise.net/osumychart/Content/StdDocument.aspx?DOCHWID=custom.hs0105. Accessed February 4, 2021.

ILD nutrition manual: Sample menu: High-calorie, high-protein meals. UCSF Medical Center website. Available at: http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/ild_nutrition_manual/sample_menu_high-calorie_and_high-protein_meals. Accessed February 4, 2021.

Last reviewed December 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Dianne Scheinberg Rishikof MS, RD, LDN