Meal ideas and shopping list for building-up diet

Meal ideas

We have put together some ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, puddings and snacks. These can help you get more protein and energy into your diet, without having to eat more food. These are just ideas, and you can adapt your own dishes in ways that work best for you. You can use different ingredients from those we have suggested.

If you do not eat dairy products, you can replace:

full fat milk with soya, oat, rice, hazelnut, almond or coconut milk
cream with coconut or soya cream
butter with olive oil, rapeseed oil, vegetable or coconut oil, or dairy-free spreads
yoghurt with soya or coconut yoghurt.

If you have lost your sense of smell, you may want to add some spices to give flavour. Check the packaging to see how hot or spicy it is. If you want to make a dish milder in flavour, try adding natural yoghurt.

Breakfast

Here are some suggestions:

Fried egg and bacon with fried bread.
Scrambled eggs or an omelette with grated cheese. Add toast with butter, plant-based spread or ghee.
Scrambled tofu with spinach and grilled tomatoes.
An English muffin, crumpet or toast spread thickly with butter or dairy-free spread, and honey, jam, peanut butter, chocolate spread or sliced banana.
Stewed fruit, with full-fat dairy or plant-based yoghurt. Add cereal, seeds or nuts.
Porridge made with fortified or plant-based milk. Add cream or a plant-based alternative, sugar, honey, golden syrup, toasted seeds, fresh fruit or jam.
Dalia, cooked as either a savoury or sweet dish.
Cornmeal porridge with condensed milk and coconut.
Caribbean hard-dough (hardo) bread with butter.
Minced beef congee or assorted dumplings. Add some deep-fried peanuts.
Wholewheat cereal such as Weetabix^®, cornflakes or bran flakes with fortified milk or coconut milk and sugar.
A fruit smoothie with added avocado and full-fat yoghurt.

Lunch and lighter meals

Here are some suggestions:

A tuna and cucumber sandwich with butter and mayonnaise or salad cream. Other sandwich fillings include hard-boiled egg, chicken, cheese or falafel.
Baked beans on toast.
Mashed avocado on toast.
Thick vegetable or lentil soup, drizzled with extra olive oil or sprinkled with cheese. Serve with bread of your choice.
Baked potato with baked beans, tuna in mayonnaise or grated cheese. Add extra butter or dairy-free spread.
A warm salad, made with quinoa and roasted vegetables. Add feta cheese, tempeh or tofu and drizzle with olive oil.
Stuffed paratha or chapati with vegetables, rice, vegetable curry or hard-boiled egg and potato curry. Use ghee, butter or extra oil for cooking.

Try having rice pudding, yoghurt or some fruit after lunch too.

Dinner

Here are some suggestions:

Mixed bean chili or stew with rice, other grains or potatoes. Add some grated cheese or vegan cheese.
Noodles, plain rice or fried rice with mixed seafood or meat and vegetables.
Meat or vegetable lasagne, spaghetti bolognese or pasta bake with extra cheese. Add a salad with dressing, mayonnaise or salad cream.
Roast chicken or nut roast with potatoes and fresh vegetables. Add butter to the vegetables and potatoes.
Curry with added beans or lentils, rice, naan bread and salad. Add coconut milk or cream to the curry.
Khichari (lentils and rice), lentil soup or shorba (lamb and chicken soup).
Caribbean chicken with mashed potato, callaloo and sweetcorn. Add butter to the vegetables and butter, cream and cheese to the potatoes.
Steamed fish with black bean sauce and plain rice.
Shepherd’s pie made with minced meat, soya mince, Quorn^™ or lentils. Use fortified milk and butter in the mashed potato, or grated cheese on top. Serve with vegetables topped with butter.

Puddings

Here are some suggestions:

Stewed fruit, or fruit crumble with fresh cream, crème fraiche, yoghurt, custard, ice cream or plant-based alternative.
Fruit fool, yoghurt or fromage frais – choose a full-fat variety.
Fruit or chocolate trifle – choose a full-fat variety.
Rice pudding.
Microwave or ready-made puddings with fresh cream, crème fraiche, yoghurt, custard, ice cream or plant-based alternative.

Try adding ice cream, cream, evaporated milk or a plant-based alternative to cold puddings. Try adding custard made with fortified milk or plant-based milk to hot puddings. You could add sugar or syrup to some ready-made puddings. Try making instant desserts with fortified milk or a dairy-free alternative, such as oat cream or nut butters.

You could also try making some puddings using different ready-made or powdered supplements. Manufacturers of nutritional products often have recipe booklets. Check the packets or their websites for more information.

Snacks

Keep snacks handy to have between meals. For example:

unsalted nuts
pasteurised cheese
dried fruit
biscuits
fruit loaf with butter
cakes or scones with jam and cream
breadsticks and dips
full-fat yoghurts or fromage frais.

If you are out of the house for some time, think about taking snacks or a nourishing drink with you.

Drinks

Use fortified milk or a plant-based alternative when making hot drinks. If your doctor, nurse or dietitian has prescribed high-energy powder supplements, you can add this to hot or cold drinks. Your doctor or dietitian can tell you how much to add.

You can drink ready-made nutritional supplement drinks straight from the container. You may want to heat the drinks, or use them in recipes. You can drink them between meals to help you put on weight. In some situations, you may have them instead of a meal.

You might want to make your own drinks. Here are some examples:

Fruit smoothie – blend banana, peaches, strawberries or other soft fruit (fresh or frozen) with fortified milk, fruit juice, ice cream, yoghurt or a plant-based alternative. Add avocado for extra calories.
Milk smoothie – blend 200ml of full-fat milk, 2 tablespoons of milk powder, 2 scoops of ice cream and some milkshake syrup or powder. Blend until well-mixed and frothy. You can change the flavour of the ice cream to match the milkshake syrup or powder.
Nutritious milkshake – mix fortified milk with puréed fruit or a fruit yoghurt. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of a high-energy powder supplement if prescribed by your GP or dietitian. A scoop of ice cream will add extra energy. Use non-dairy products for a vegan alternative.

Shopping list

Here is a list of items you might want to stock up on. It can help you to have foods available which are high in energy and protein. We have listed foods that last for longer. Check expiry dates of items such as dairy foods and bakery items. You will still need to shop for fresh fruit and vegetables. If you eat meat and fish, you will need to buy these fresh or frozen.

For the store cupboard

You might want to buy:

porridge oats, oatmeal, cereals
sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, honey
bread, paratha, chapatis, naan, pitta, muffins, crumpets, tortillas
sweet breads and pastries, croissants, Danish pastries
pasta
rice
sweet and savoury biscuits, cakes
nuts, seeds, sev, Bombay mix
evaporated milk, condensed milk, dried milk powder
drinking chocolate, malted drinks
dried fruit, tinned fruit
tinned vegetables, baked beans
peanut butter, jam, marmalade, chocolate spread
puddings such as tinned custard, instant desserts, rice pudding
jelly
oil, ghee
mayonnaise, salad cream, oil-based salad dressings
tins or packets of soup
tins of fish, such as mackerel or sardines
full sugar squash drinks, cordials
chocolate.

For the fridge

You might want to buy:

full-fat milk, plant-based milk
cream, crème fraiche, plant-based alternative
butter, margarine, vegan spread
full-fat pasteurised cheese, vegan cheese
eggs
full-fat hummus and dips
pakoras, samosas, bhajis, spring rolls
full-fat yoghurt, fromage frais, lassi, plant-based yoghurts
ready-made smoothies, milkshakes
ready-made puddings such as trifle, crème caramel, fruit crumble or steamed puddings
ready-made custard.

For the freezer

You might want to buy:

ice cream, ice lollies or sorbet
kulfi
frozen ready meals
frozen fruit
frozen vegetables
grated cheese.

References

Below is a sample of the sources used in our information about the building-up diet. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at informationproductionteam@macmillan.org.uk

Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS). The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN). Available from www.bapen.org.uk/education/nutrition-support/nutrition-by-mouth/oral-nutritional-supplements-ons [accessed July 2023].

Dietary advice with or without oral nutritional supplements for disease-related malnutrition in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, Issue 12. Available from DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD002008.pub5. [accessed July 2023].

Muscaritoli M, Arends J et al. ESPEN practical guideline: Clinical Nutrition in Cancer. Clinical Nutrition 40 (2021). 2898-2913. Available from www.espen.org/files/ESPEN-Guidelines/ESPEN-practical-guideline-clinical-nutrition-in-cancer.pdf [accessed July 2023].

Cancer Information Development team

Author

Macmillan Centre of Clinical Expertise

Reviewer

Date reviewed

Reviewed: 01 April 2025

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Next review: 01 April 2028

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