Need recipes/ideas

[posiepurrs]

As you may recall, my husband has been ill for sometime now. On top of a transplant he also caught Covid while in the hospital last January. It affected his sense of taste and smell. He isn’t eating much at all because he says food tastes like garbage. I need recipes or ideas to try that are high protein. The catch is he won’t eat much meat, bread, potatoes, rice, or sweets. He is over 6 feet tall and is down to 123 pounds. He won’t touch the protein shakes like Ensure or Boost. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[betsygee]

Wow, that's tough. How about beans? Bean and cheese burritos, or beans cooked into stews.

Lentils and Chickpeas With Greens
Instant Pot Black Beans
Quinoa and Black Beans (quinoa also has protein)

 

[Winchester]

Will he eat soups? How about vegetable soup? No meat, just vegetables in a tomato-y broth with a few herbs. Corn chowder? Vegetarian chili?

If he's lost his sense of smell or taste, how about adding some spiciness to food? Not a lot, but a bit of some stronger spices. Cinnamon is good, for example. Lemon or vinegar for a bit of acidity. Would he eat yogurt or puddings made with whole milk? How about something with peanut butter? Peanut butter on crackers. Apple slices with peanut butter.

Eggs?

That's a hard one!

 

[neely]

I thought this article might be helpful and have some suggestions for increasing your husband's appetite:
How to Eat Well When You Lose Your Sense of Taste or Smell

 

[Jem]

If food "tastes like garbage" (poor guy) then perhaps extremely bland food would be an option for him. He's not going to be eating to enjoy it just filling his belly...there's going to be a mental aspect that he needs to get past as well. Something that he knows and expects to taste good just won't so he'll be very discouraged. If he eats something he knows is SUPPOSE to be bland, he may be more apt to just choke it down because he has to.
I obviously don't know what things taste like to him, but strong flavors could be altered for him, which might make them taste worse, but the opposite could be true as well and really strong flavors might be able to cut thru making some foods enjoyable. IDK...
I would probably start with things that he can just shovel in his mouth...baked beans, bland chili, oatmeal etc...If he doesn't have to take too much time to chew (and taste)...he might be more apt to get some meat in him...hence the chili.
If he's still good about eating raw veggies, hummus or a dip made with cottage cheese or greek yogurt could get some extra protein in him and guacamole would give him some good fat.
Eggs are a great source of protein, that aren't overpowering flavor wise...and if scrambled, they don't hang out too long in the mouth before having to be swallowed.
Cottage cheese with tuna is a good protein packed meal...apparently people who work out will eat this...

 

[Pywacket21]

When I was doing chemo, nothing had taste. Water tasted like dirt. It was hard. I found highly spiced things were easier to get down. Finally I just decided taste or not, I HAD to eat SOMETHING. I lost 34 pounds, which was a good thing, but a hard way to do it.
Have you spoken to his Dr? I think there are appetite stimulants available, or a dietician?
It’s hard to watch.
Best wishes.

 

[posiepurrs]

Thanks everyone. His doctor suggested cannabis to stimulate his appetite. He tried it last night but says it just mostly made him sleepy. He has been trying to eat better after finding out how little he weighed and since I got stern with him and told him I didn’t believe he was trying to get well. He won’t eat eggs or peanut butter. He has been eating mixed nuts though. He eats a lot of soups. I told him that tonight I am making a new recipe and he seemed interested.

 

[Jem]

Hi posiepurrs !!
So my husband and I are currently recovering from covid. My senses have diminished considerably, but I also still have sinusitis, which could be why. My husband on the other hand, has lost his.
One the bright side, there are a few things that he has eaten that has managed to cut thru and provide a little bit of flavor.
I'm not sure if this will help your husband or not, but...
I made some lemon, garlic pork medallions and he said that a hint of the lemon came thru.
We had grilled cheese once and he always dips his in ketchup, and the taste of the ketchup came thru.
I was eating cheetos last night and he wanted to try some, and he could (although barely) taste it.
He also wanted a snack the other night and had some cheese-it crackers with peanut butter, and the peanut butter did come thru a bit, he described it as eating plain peanuts though...the sugary flavor wasn't there.

Going off of several of these, I wonder if high acidic/vinegar flavors would do him some good. pickles, or anything pickled really (beets, eggs, olives etc...) using relishes or things like sauerkraut if he likes that sort of thing.
He could use ketchup on more things or I wonder if mustard would make its way to his senses. My husband hasn't had any mustard yet so we're not sure.
Perhaps a wine or balsamic vinegar reduction on certain meats would be tasty? Or better yet, a balsamic reduction as a dressing for dipping veggies?
Putting lemon juice on cooked veggies might be a nice treat....

The scientist in me also wonders if pairing a strong acid (vinegar) with a fat is making some things taste more than others as the oil coats the mouth for longer leaving the acid flavor longer...which could theoretically help with promoting more taste??????

Idk, I hope some of these gives you some ideas...and that it actually works...