Weight gain powder that is tasteless - does this exist

If you have a good pharmacy near you ask the pharmacist they may able to recommend something.

Can you up the calories in her regular meals?
A dollop more butter here, a sprinkling of cheese, a slightly thicker slice of ham?
Milky/traditional puddings?

I think I'd go that way probably if she has a small appetite as the weight gain supplements would probably fill her up even if she'd drink them.

Does she fancy a scone maybe in the afternoon? Or some nice fruitcake?

While caring for a frail family member with a very poor appetite I was advised by the dietician to “fortify” all his milk and milk based desserts by adding dried milk eg Marvel to it to increase the calories. She advised mixing a jug full every morning ie full fat milk with added Marvel. I can’t remember the ratio now but it’s probably online.

He drank it as small drinks of milk and I used it to make custard, rice pudding, added it hot to mashed potatoes etc. it didn’t seem to affect the taste and went unnoticed.

Further to my previous post I’ve found the instructions on NHS website
www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Food-first_how-to-prepare-a-pint-of-fortified-milk.pdf

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202412/medium-585540-img-9485.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202412/medium-841176-img-9486.jpeg

Just in case you can’t access that NHS website here are 2 screenshots

DH is v v underweight due to severe emphysema. I make a pint of fortified milk each morning. I use Marvel or when its in stock Sainsbury dried milk powder. Four tablespoons whisked into a pint of whole milk. He has that in weetabix and in drinks. He also has 2 supplementary drinks. Ensure plus. Vanilla or mocha flavour which I buy on line (he does had GP prescribed Altrapken...not very nice).

The 2 drinks and the pint of fortified milk come to 1200 calories. So a good start. Then weetabix. A small bowl of tinned prunes, stewed apple and chopped tinned peaches add extra calories and freshness. Anything extra to that is a bonus. Scrambled eggs made with butter, mashed potato with butter and grated cheese added. If he can manage it a little steamed fish with cheese sauce, mince and gravy. He is not a pudding man, but your mum may like a slice of sponge cake with custard and jam.
When I needed to put on weight...chemo related...I followed the Macmillan Build Up diet sheet. Lots of good idea you can find it on their website.
DH had a visit from the community dietician recently. His best advice was to concentrate on the days he eats as well as he can and forget the days he doesnt as it can be depressing for both of us. That gave me a lot of comfort as it is such a worry. It has made me synmpathise so much with families where a child has anorexia. That must be heartbreaking as thry are at the start of their life.

I added a teaspoonful of vanilla Complan to custard, yogurt and soup when my mum was poorly and that seemed to help.

Eating high calorie foods, little and often, and taking care with presentation helped too. So I cut sandwiches into tiny triangles and added a sprig of parsley, grated lemon zest over a tiny sakad - hadn’t done anything like that since ‘O’ level Domestic Science!

You sound like a caring daughter OP. Time in hospital is not good for anyone especially us "elderly".
The dietician said just look for a gentle increase in weight. And I say keep as cheerful as possible with yourself and your mum. And as PP say..... Little and often. Well done to her for getting home.

PS. Look at children sized small puddings and snacks.

Thank you all so much for some great ideas and lovely comments. I knew you'd have great advice and experience

Is your mom having full fat foods . Like full fat milk,butter ,cream. When my mom had poor appetite and only wanted porridge I used 80g dry weight oats ,used double cream to cook it usually 300ml or more and sweetened with dark brown sugar. She had it 3 times a day and eat the lot. She loved chocolates while not healthy but it helped getting calories into her, plus when she fancied them chocolate coated biscuits especially those with thick chocolate. After couple of weeks.
She still had porridge for breakfast and dinner but would have cottage pie with cheese on top of the potato. But still wanted porridge so made small bowl but only after she eat the pie. She did put on weight and the dark brown sugar helped with her bowels . As without it she would have been constipated.
I know it sounds like treating her like a child but it's the only way I got my mom to eat.

Make sure the food is soft nothing that is hard to chew or swallow .

Such good advice Whiff.
I have just made some porridge and had a bowl myself. It's such a comforting food. Easy to make and eat. Easy to make it high calorie with cream and sugar.
You are right. Whatever the person wants and will eat. Chocolate, jam, honey, butter, cream, whole fat milk, rice pudding, custard. All the things we try and avoid if trying to lose weight!
If it gives the person energy, it will encourage the appetite.

Good luck everyone in OPs situation. And look after your own dietary needs as well. Hooray for freezers and microwaves.

As people get older and sicker their appetites decrease alarmingly.
My father had a fall and was overweight and his weight plummeted by five stone .
He'd loved food and overate and then refused most foods .
I tried Complan and it was refused.
His GP prescribed other supplements .
He said that they tasted like wallpaper paste and worse ,they gave him diarrhoea.
I used make small mini meals and an assortment of snacks in small ramekins .
He'd snack all day and night when he felt like it .
It was all that I could do .
Good luck .

Maxijul powder is tasteless and can be added to any drink, soup liquid etc to give calories.

Have you tried Complan ? Not the individual flavoured sachets, but the tub of powder. It can be added to virtually any drink or sprinkled over food.

Thanks again everyone. I must go and buy more cream - great idea to make porridge with it. I'll have a look for Maxijul Cornishgreenhouse, hadn't heard of that. And I think we'll be making up some Marvel fortified milk!
Very kind of you all to share your experiences, thank you again.

Complan is good - virtually tasteless!

Northern gardener I would suggest NIDO milk powder as opposed to Marvel. There are more calories in it as it's a full cream milk whereas Marvel is a skimmed milk powder. X

As far as I know there is nothing at all on the market that is tasteless for helping people with small appetites to gain weight.

And practically nothing that isn't sweet and fruity - and you do get very tired of the same kind of sythetic taste all the time.

If you are not already doing so, add one or two tablespoons of double cream to your mother's yoghurt portions and to anything else that would benefit by cream being added.

Ban any foodstuffs marked low fat from skimmed milk onwards from her kitchen.

And insist on her being referred with you to a clinical dietrician who can advise on diet and who will know what is on the market, what you can easily make at home etc.

Serve small portions of all the good old fashioned dishes your mother likes, make all gravy and sauce the old way, by melting margarine or butter, adding flour until you have a consistancy that resembles stiff wallpaper paste them add the liquid slowly, stirring vigourously until it is absorbed.

In other words, the exact opposite to what you would do if someone had to loose weight.

It seems peas are high in protein, you could add pea powder to her food

I spent Jan and Feb this year having radiotherapy for oral cancer and my appetite and weight plummeted - mainly cos the treatment affected my taste buds but also my appetite in general. As well as all the good advice above I eventually learnt that liquid foods such as Fortisips and others as mentioned worked providing I avoided fruit flavours. Coffee and Chocolate were my favourites.

Your GP might prescribe them but you are at the mercy of their choice of flavours so I bought mine on Amazon. I find them pretty enjoyable so am using them up when I am short of time for breakfast!

I hope you don't mind me jumping on here, all the advice on here is fab, as a dietitian specialising in older adults all your advice is spot on.

Your mum might find complan a bit more palatable then the prescribed supplements, especially if you make them with the fortified milk with her advanced years she might find it more easier if she take it little and often so for example some after each meal or as a snack.

My son with cancer drinks Huel. (human fuel). It is a meal replacement and he was told to use it as a meal addition midday.

Complain is horrible, so are the little cartons of drinks from the doctor's - I can't think why they bother to make them. They tried to make me drink them after I lost weight due to surgery, I suggested the nurse tried some herself and she took it round to the others and they all agreed they were rubbish.
I suggest you forget about 'healthy eating' and let her eat anything she fancies - sweets, chocolate, crisps, biscuits .... gin!
For the time being!