Tips on Increasing Protein & Calories for a Full Liquid Diet

Your doctor may put you on a full liquid diet before or after a medical procedure, and it is imperative to follow his instructions carefully. Full liquid diets include foods that are naturally liquid or that are liquid at room temperature. Most of the time, allowed foods include strained soup, broth, milk, ice cream, juice and soda. You may also have some types of blended and strained foods on a full liquid diet. Adding certain ingredients to liquid foods helps boost protein content while increasing calories.

Stirring powders into broth or pudding, as well as blending them into your smoothie, increases both calories and protein. Dried milk, instant breakfast powders or protein powders come in a variety of flavors and blend perfectly into your liquid foods. Protein powder, for example, has about 50 calories and 5 grams of protein per tablespoon. Since it can be easy to go overboard on protein intake when using protein powders, check with your doctor before adding this type of supplement to your diet.

Peanut, almond or soy nut butter each have approximately 100 calories and 7 grams of protein per tablespoon. These foods are not liquid, but you can add them to liquid foods in a blender to increase caloric and protein content. Mix vanilla frozen yogurt, milk, chocolate syrup and your favorite nut butter in the blender for a chocolate nut-butter milkshake. Avoid varieties that have nut solids or are labeled as "chunky."

Mix a jar of meat-based baby food in a blender with broth, heat it on the stove and enjoy it as a type of strained stew. One 2 1/2 ounce jar of beef-based baby food adds 70 calories and 8 grams of protein to your diet. Chicken, ham and turkey varieties of baby food provide about the same amount of calories and protein.

Silken tofu is a very soft type of tofu that has the consistency of pudding. A 4-ounce serving of silken tofu has 75 calories and 7 grams of protein. Add silken tofu to smoothies, milkshakes or pudding. Blend silken tofu with orange juice and milk to make a creamy orange smoothie. If you are in the mood for something savory, blend silken tofu with chicken or beef broth. After heating the mixture on the stove, you'll have a delicious, thick soup.

Check with your health care provider before upping your calories and protein on your own. Your physician may have you on a specific diet plan to prepare your body for surgery or recovery. If you have had intestinal surgery, increasing your protein intake can make it take longer for your body to heal, since protein can be difficult for your digestive tract to break down.