Some of my characters have a high-burn metabolism, so I've looked up a lot of nutrition-dense recipes. This page has the Lasagna Bomb (816+ calories), Cheesy Garlic Bread (480 calories/slice), Italian Chopped Salad (673 calories), and Unipalooza Cake (547 calories). https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/13051287.html
Then there's the just plain fun stuff.
* Reverse the usual lightening tactics and replace a low-calorie item with a high-calorie one. For example, say you love curry. Use potatoes instead of cauliflower, or pour curry sauce over cooked whole oats instead of rice.
* Instead of empty calorie desserts, seek full calorie desserts that are both high-calorie and nutritious. One of my favorites is sweet potato pie: high in fiber, assorted nutrients, and one slice is more Vitamin A than you need all day. Chia pudding or jam isn't just sweet, it adds fiber and more nutrients. And so on.
* Shove in extra ingredients. Almost any "kitchen sink" cookie recipe can be turned into a foodcookie by loading it with nuts, clinical-grade chocolate, coconut, dried fruit, etc.
* Travel recipes can be very dense. Old waybread recipes, hippie breads, seedcakes, dried fruit bricks, etc. are all good. Good lembas facsimiles usually use nut flour and are high-calorie. Your local international store likely has date or apricot bricks and halva by the slab in the Middle Eastern section. These are things you can chuck in your sport bag to devour after a workout or event. Things like this:
Try this ...
You can find lists of high-calorie foods:
31 High-Calorie Fruits That Will Help You Gain Weight
22 Most High Calorie Vegetables to Grow in Garden
Nuts and Seeds Highest in Calories
34 Grains and Pasta Highest in Calories - Nutrition Data Tools
Pick a food and search for recipes using it.
To find sport recipes online, "gainer" is a useful search term (in English).
10 Delicious Homemade Weight Gainer Shake Recipes With 800+ Calories
40 Best Protein Shakes for Weight Gain (25g+ of protein)
31 High Calorie Meal Prep Recipes for Weight Gain
There are also lots of "keto" recipes high in fat. It's not a great diet unto itself, but individual recipes can be good.
50 Keto Recipes — High in Healthy Fats + Low in Carbs
Mediterranean is a great all-round diet, tends to go lower calorie on average, but there are plenty of high-calorie dishes especially pasta.
Generate a 3000 Calorie mediterranean diet meal plan
Some of my characters have a high-burn metabolism, so I've looked up a lot of nutrition-dense recipes. This page has the Lasagna Bomb (816+ calories), Cheesy Garlic Bread (480 calories/slice), Italian Chopped Salad (673 calories), and Unipalooza Cake (547 calories).
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/13051287.html
Then there's the just plain fun stuff.
* Reverse the usual lightening tactics and replace a low-calorie item with a high-calorie one. For example, say you love curry. Use potatoes instead of cauliflower, or pour curry sauce over cooked whole oats instead of rice.
* Instead of empty calorie desserts, seek full calorie desserts that are both high-calorie and nutritious. One of my favorites is sweet potato pie: high in fiber, assorted nutrients, and one slice is more Vitamin A than you need all day. Chia pudding or jam isn't just sweet, it adds fiber and more nutrients. And so on.
* Shove in extra ingredients. Almost any "kitchen sink" cookie recipe can be turned into a foodcookie by loading it with nuts, clinical-grade chocolate, coconut, dried fruit, etc.
* Travel recipes can be very dense. Old waybread recipes, hippie breads, seedcakes, dried fruit bricks, etc. are all good. Good lembas facsimiles usually use nut flour and are high-calorie. Your local international store likely has date or apricot bricks and halva by the slab in the Middle Eastern section. These are things you can chuck in your sport bag to devour after a workout or event. Things like this:
The Dense & Rich Date & Fruit Bread Of Your Dreams
https://www.notquitenigella.com/2017/06/11/date-fruit-bread/
Have fun looking for high-burn foods. They're awesome.