Help for mother

[Kycl2012]

Greetings all,

So my 70 year old mom and I are new to the vegan community. We started on the whole food plant-based diet at the beginning of January. We did it because my mom has a lot of muscular skeletal diseases and I promised to do it with her for support.

I am doing very well on the diet. However, I am worried about my mother. Ever since starting the diet she is not eating enough. It is a fight for me to get her to eat 1000 cal a day. She is eating until she says she feels stuffed but from what I understand about nutrition it is not enough.

Do you all have any suggestions?!

 

[Lou]

There is Nutrient Dense foods and Calorie Dense foods.
WFPB diets stress Nutrient Dense foods. These foods have lots of nutrients, tend to be filling, but do not have a whole lot of calories. Examples of nutrient-dense foods are things like vegetables and grains.

Calorie Dense foods may have nutrients too but are also packed with calories. Since you aren't supposed to have oils and sugars in the WFPB diet that pretty much leaves nuts and seeds.

Seniors who struggle with eating enough frequently turn to products like Ensure and Boost. So my advice is to include a vegan version of Ensure. Maybe even two. they could be consumed between meals. There are some ready made drinks like this. You can probably find Orgain in most grocery stores. Or just order a box online.
Oh! here is a whole list of dairy-free nutrition drinks.

Maybe even better is a homemade one. You can google around for recipes. Somewhere I have an e-book of these. Meanwhile here is one I found.
https://www.planthlete.com/recipes/high-calorie-vegan-green-protein-smoothie/

 

[Forest Nymph]

I would suggest that you speak to a vegan dietitian or nutritionist, and/or read books and watch videos from vegan doctors.

From my amateur opinion though, I think the most important thing would be to make sure she's eating calorie-dense, high nutrient foods as much as possible. Nuts, tofu, beans, and nut butters whenever possible. You can put peanut butter or almond butter into smoothies if she's reluctant to eat more. Make vegan "cheese" with cashews, potatoes and carrots, and serve it over her beans, pasta, or vegetables. Sneak things like tahini in wherever you can, on top of baked potatoes, in the cheese sauce, get really creative with adding high calorie, fatty plant foods that also contain vital nutrients like calcium, protein, and iron.

Good luck and welcome!