[Rosinante]

I try to eat whole foods, and always cook from scratch. Happy to bulk freeze, as there's only one of me.

I try to avoid wheat and dairy as they Appear to cause water retention. Goodbye cheese on toast.

I try to avoid red meat but I eat fish and poultry and the occasional egg from RSPCA-approved sources.

I love beans but lack good recipes for them - I don't really like tomato-based sauces.

I love tofu and soy milk and soy protein ~ but don't know whether there's such a thing as too much soya?

I love all veggies, apart from artichokes, ewwwwww.

On days when I'm eating according to all of the above 100% of the time, I find it very hard to keep my calories up, and I want to resist the temptation of going too low.

I wondered if anyone could point me towards any links/recipes/threads/books where I could get ideas for higher calorie recipes?

I know I can always fill up on dried fruit and peanut butter but that feels like eating because I 'have to', I'd rather work out a day's balanced meals.

Thankyou!

[rockinrobin]

How about adding in nuts to your salads? Avocado? Chickpeas? Fuller fat dressings and mayonnaise?

Quinoa is also a little bit on the higher side, calorically. You can do lots with that. Lentils too. Sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes can up your calories as well.

cookinglight.com comes to mind with recipes that are on the higher side. Simply because when they give a recipe, their serving sizes are ridiculously tiny and I usually double it. Lots of great recipes there.

And let me just add - that boy I wish I had this *problem* . I can't fathom it.

[Glory87]

Ditto was Robin said. I would just add the wonderful, higher calorie healthy foods that I had to limit during weight loss Cashews in stir fries, sliced avocado on sandwiches, kidney beans on salad (no red sauce!). Cook with a little more olive oil. Make your own salad dressings with delicious, healthy ingredients like walnut oil.

[Rosinante]

OK, thanks guys!

[festivus]

Try cooking up some quinoa, and add canned black beans, cauliflower and a little hot sauce (or other spices of your choice). It sounds funky, but it's super filling and definitely higher on the calories.

Otherwise, definitely add nuts and avocado to your salads.

Is yogurt still out? I'd recommend trying to keep that in your diet with other dairy removed and see if you still have issues. Yogurt is supposed to aid digestion and studies have shown it helps burn belly fat.

I eat a 1/2 cup of plain low fat yogurt and add 1 tablespoon of agave nectar and 1 and 1/2 cups of fresh cut strawberries, that's a 200 calorie snack.