Smoothie Ideas for G Tube Feeding

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This content is sponsored by Festival Foods. The thoughts below are entirely my own. I am not a medical professional and the following is our experience.

Our son was two years old when his g-tube was placed. He was dangerously underweight and started with formula. He experienced sugar highs and lows, which resulted in behavioral problems. When he was no longer dangerously underweight, we transitioned to a blended diet. He needed feedings high in nutritional value, calories, protein and fat. Within a week of starting on real food, we noticed improvements in him. Within a month, his cognition improved, his vocabulary expanded, his hair and nails grew rapidly, and his behavioral problems were not as intense.

I try to use organic ingredients whenever possible, but it's not necessary – real food is what matters! The produce section at Festival Foods offers an excellent array of options for fresh produce. Festival Foods' produce is sourced from local growers so it is days fresher. Items that are Peak This Week are the freshest in-season items. Supporting local businesses is important to me, and I trust the quality of ingredients sold at Festival Foods. Here are 3 recipes for g-tube blends that we use*:

Recipe 1: Coconut Milk, Quinoa, Pear, Pineapple, PB2, Kale

Our Blendtec can make five servings at one time. Pro tip: be sure you have approximately 20 ounces of liquid in your jar before adding solid ingredients and blending. Add water if necessary.

For each set of five 8-10 ounce servings, I used:

1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup dry quinoa, cooked and cooled
2 pears, sliced
1.5 cups pineapple, diced
2 Tbsp PB2 powdered peanut butter
1/2 flowering kale, cooked and cooled

Each 8-10 ounce feeding contains approximately 295 calories, 15.6 g fat, and 6.1 g protein.

Recipe 2: Coconut Milk, Chicken Breasts, Quinoa, Kale, Apples, Acorn Squash

With a package of chicken breasts, I can make 10 tube feedings! Since my Blendtec makes five servings at a time, I blended the following ingredients twice to make 10 total feedings.

1 can coconut milk
1-2 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled and diced
1/2 cup dry quinoa, cooked and cooled
1/2 flowering kale, cooked and cooled
3 apples, diced
1 acorn squash, cooked, cooled and peeled

Each 8-10 ounce feeding contains approximately 256 calories, 15 g fat, and 11 g protein.

Recipe 3: Coconut Milk, Bananas, Amaranth

This recipe doesn't contain vegetables, but it was one of my go-to's when we were desperate for my son to gain weight. Amaranth is an ancient grain that packs a surprising caloric punch! You can easily adjust this recipe to include some vegetables (toss in some spinach!), or add more protein with cow's milk if your tubie can handle dairy.

1 can coconut milk
3 bananas, peeled
1 cup dry amaranth, cooked and cooled

Each 8-10 ounce feeding contains approximately 346 calories, 17 g fat, and 7 g protein.

For 21 tips about the g-tube blended diet, see this post.

*Each individual may have different needs when it comes to volume. Our son was used to 8-ounce feedings of formula, so we transitioned to 8-ounce feedings with whole food blends that were comparable in caloric content. I suggest starting slowly and working your way up. Consult your doctor as well.

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Source: https://littlemamajama.com/3-recipes-for-g-tube-blends/

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