The ideal dietary components for improving weight often include fats and oils, complex carbohydrates, dairy products manufactured from full-cream milk, and proteins from both plants and animals. What you should eat, however, will depend on your personal weight and health goals.
Gaining weight or building muscle might be just as difficult for some people as losing weight.
You should aim to consume more calories each day than you expend by eating frequent, short meals that are high in calories if you want to acquire weight.
The 8 Best Healthy Foods to Gain Weight are the best for helping you put on weight.
Nuts and Nut Butters
Whole Eggs
Cheese
Greek Yogurt
Lean Meats
Brown Rice
Oats
Whole-Grain Bread
Nuts and Nut Butters
Supporting a diet that consists primarily of nuts and peanut butter can be a wonderful strategy for weight growth.
According to a reliable source, only a tiny handful of raw almonds—roughly 1/4 cup, or 32 grams—contains 170 calories, 6 grammes of protein, and 15 grammes of good fats.
Due to their high calorie content, including only two handfuls of nuts as a snack or part of your breakfast can quickly increase your daily calorie consumption by several hundred.
Smoothies, yoghurt, and crackers are just a few examples of foods that may be quickly transformed into high-calorie snacks by adding walnut butter.
Try this Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, which only requires three ingredients and has 270 calories when made with whole milk. When you’re If you are allergic to nuts or peanuts, choose an appropriate safe substitute like almond or seed butter.
Whole Eggs
However, be sure to get 100% nut butter free of additional sugar or oils. Even better, you can use this straightforward method to make your own homemade almond butter. It’s simple to create and economical to buy.
When it comes to nutritious protein sources, eggs are incredible. They provide an supercheap, and delectable blend of superior protein and lipids. According to a reliable source, a big raw egg weighs about 2 ounces, shell and all, and has roughly 74 calories.
It’s important to eat the entire egg since the yolk is where almost all of the healthy components in eggs are found.
Unless you have an intolerance or allergy, there’s generally no reason to restrict egg consumption for healthy people. If you’re not allergic to eggs, you could easily consume three of them per day.
Eggs can be prepared in a different ways, such as boiling, poaching, frying, scrambling, and baking.
Employ them for:
Salads
meals made with rice
Muffins with cooked eggs
Alternatives to bread
desserts, such as cream brûlée and egg custards (in moderation, of course)
A favourite meal at any time is an omelette. You can add meats, vegetables, and cheese. You can also garnish with sour cream and avocado.
For delicious egg-based breakfasts (or lunches or dinners), try these dishes.
Cheese
For decades, paneer has been a mainstay of many cuisines.
Both calories and fats are present. There are 110 calories and 7 grams of protein in just 1 ounce (or 28 grams) of cheddar cheese, according to a dependable source.
The size of one ounce of paneer is comparable to your thumb’s joint.
Paneer is delicious, so you may simply add more calories by include it in most recipes.
There are innumerable variations of paneer. See which cheeses on this list best fit your preferences.
Many cheeses include saturated fat and cholesterol. All forms of cheese should be consumed in moderation, like with the majority of high-calorie foods.
A delicious meal that combines calories, carbs, and protein is macaroni and cheese. It might serve as a blank slate to add upon other nutrient-dense foods, such as broccoli or peas. Consider adding some bacon or pulled pork for an extra calorie and protein boost.
Try this mac and cheese dish, which has 314 calories per serving and calls for 1 cup (125 grams) of shredded cheddar cheese
Greek Yogurt
Another portable and practical snack choice is whole milk Greek yoghurt.
Greek yoghurt has a well-rounded nutritional composition with a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.
Before you even start adding all of your delectable combinations and toppings, a half cup (170 grams) of plain, whole milk Greek yoghurt has 165 calories and 15 grams of protein .
Yoghurt can be used as a basis to make high-calorie snacks. Here are some suggestions:
Fruit and Yoghurt: Combine 1-2 cups of yoghurt with fruit, either fresh or dried. You can also include coconut, honey, granola, almonds, seeds, or dark chocolate.
Lean Meats
Salmon and fatty fish, like red meat, are great suppliers of protein and necessary Omega-3 fatty acids, which have many health advantages.
One fillet of boneless wild-caught Atlantic salmon (3 ounces, or 85 grams) has about 155 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 22 grams of high-quality protein, which can help with weight growth or muscle development .
Salmon can be eaten raw in sushi and sashimi or even tried grilled. The cost of fresh or frozen salmon can frequently be a little bit higher, but canned salmon is a speedy and economical choice. Take into account these simple and delectable ways to include salmon in your diet:
Fish on the grill: Marinate fish in your preferred flavours and cook it to perfection.
Baked salmon: For a flavorful and nutritious dish, season the fish with herbs and spices before baking.
Salmon Salad: For a protein-rich lunch, combine cooked salmon with a vibrant green salad.
Salmon tacos: Use your favourite toppings to make tasty salmon tacos.
Prepare a healthy bowl of salmon, vegetables, and whole grains.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with these adaptable and delectable salmon options because adding salmon to your diet can provide a wide range of health advantages.
Brown Rice
Rice is a practical and affordable source of carbohydrates that can be included in your diet plan for weight gain. 204 calories, 44 grams of carbs, and hardly any fat are found in just 1 cup (158 grams) of cooked white rice (reliable source).
A serving of rice can include a lot of calories and carbs because it is also calorie-dense. If you don’t have a big appetite or get full easily, this can be helpful for individuals who need to eat more calories.
You may get microwaveable rice packs with various protein sources if you’re pressed for time or on the run.
Creating a huge amount of rice, letting it cool, and then portioning it into various portions is another common strategy.
For use in a variety of meals throughout the week by combining it with different protein and fat sources. Throughout the day, rice can serve as the major ingredient in a number of smaller meals.
Here’s a quick trick to give cooked rice more flavour, calories, and protein:
Parmesan cheese and butter: Combine butter and Parmesan cheese.
Rice should be combined with paneer, broccoli, and pan.
Add scrambled eggs for an increase in protein.
Include roasted sesame, peanuts, or cashews in your dish.
Rice can also be served with sauces, such as:
Pesto sauce, curry sauce, and Alfredo sauce
A simple rice dish can quickly become a full feast. For a meal that is balanced and contains about 400 calories per dish, try combining wild rice and chicken keel.
Oats
One excellent carb source to include in your meal plan for weight gain is heated porridge made with whole milk.
According to a dependable source, eating 1 cup (237 ml) of cooked porridge (or 1/2 cup dry) will give you about 150 calories plus any additional calories from milk or toppings.
Think about adding these extra calories to your warm oatmeal, overnight oats, or whole milk Greek yoghurt:
Berries Dried Fruits Almond Butter
Flax Seeds Chia Seeds
Young Berries
homemade granola honey maple syrup
A balanced meal plan for weight gain can benefit greatly from the inclusion of ready-to-eat whole grains.
According to a 2016 analysis of 64 studies, people who eat ready-to-eat whole grains absorb more important nutrients, are less likely to develop high blood pressure, and have positive impacts on type 2 diabetes (reliable source).
You can also take into account the following choices when buying whole grains:
Oats, Multigrain, and Wheat Granola Muesli
Try to choose foods with increased fibre content whenever you can if it appeals to you.
It has vitamins, fibre, and protein. A mere half cup of granola contains 200–300 calories
Whole-Grain Bread
Another carbohydrate that works well in a meal plan for weight gain is whole grain bread. You may make a high-calorie, well-balanced lunch by mixing bread with protein-rich foods like eggs, meat, and cheese.
Choose bread that has natural whole grains and seeds when you are purchasing it.
One of the simplest, most adaptable, and portable meals to up your daily calorie consumption is a sandwich. You can include nut butter spreads or avocado to increase calories.
Try one of these sandwich choices. There are many options, ranging from traditional Reubens to wraps and even inventive twists like grilled paneer.
Make sourdough flatbreads using whole grain flour as another experiment. Sourdough flatbreads may provide advantages for additional health advantages because the presence of helpful microorganisms, although additional human studies are required to verify these effects.