My Challenge

It's been awhile since I have updated about Madeline or CF. Usually the saying goes that "no news is good news." That statement truly defines our lives right now. Madeline is doing extremely well (minus the non-symptomatic Psuedo that is still present inside her). She is happy, entergetic, and has tons of chub! I love staring at her chubby cheeks and fat creases on her wrists. She is clearly gaining weight well and that sure helps the lungs stay in check. Weight gain is always a  battle with CF patients since they have difficultly absorbing their calories in food.

It's no secret that parents work hard to make sure that their CF children pack on the pounds. Sometimes it feels more like a part-time job because sitting and eating mass amounts of calories is so important. But lucky for us, Madeline seems to enjoy particular fatty foods like Jimmy Dean pre-cooked sausage crumbles by the cup fulls, hot dogs, pepperoni, and many high in protein/fat foods.

Even as she contines to put on more weight, I am always looking for extra ways to increase her calorie intake. (Usually CFchildren require 2 times the amount of calories that a "healthy" child  has in one day. She needs nearly 2,000 calories a day!) Sometimes the best way is for us to get those calories in is to use  high calorie shakes as weight boosters (in additional to her already high fat/calorie entree.)

She does well drinking her 350 calorie shake(mixed with Boost Essentials and strawberry milk) three times a day but that has remained the same for months on end. I am now challenging myself to find numerous other shakes to replace her typical "strawberry milk." shake.

So I am officially beginning a "Super Shake Challenge." And as corny as it sounds....it is going to be a challenge for both Madeline and myself. This is what I am including in this challenege:

1. Make a different high calorie/fat shake for her to try
2. Find at least 3 shakes that Madeline loves to drink.
3. Blog about half the shakes I make and she tries (with recipes)

Today we tried:

Berry Freeze
1/3 cup whole milk (or Boost Essentials Plus)
3/4 cup raspberry sherbert
4 strawberries cut up
(optional) 1 packet of splenda
(optional) few ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and serve.

240 calories (with use of milk) or 296 calories (with Boost Essentials Plus)

Madeline liked it and drank it all. She called it "Raspberry Milk". It tastes pretty amazing.
Too bad I cannot drink it!!!

More shakes and reviews coming in this next week....