Re:
I'll say for 1 thing...certainly olive oil or udo's oil (fish oils, etc), added to the diet are very health (in moderation) or protein shakes. You won't notice the taste (I haven't), and they're dense enough to add 1 or 200 calories eassssily.
As far as gaining weight goes, one of the biggest probs I always had was because I tried to do the PERFECT make a bunch of meals in advance, and have them prepared ahead of time, and eat correct portions of protein and carbs.
A few probs I ran into...
1. Regular, tasteful healthy meals get expensive if you're eating for gain/bulk. It's not cheap to eat 6 chicken breasts a day, or continuously down tuna (not a favorite of mine due to aftertaste and breath, and mayo isn't a good fat to add).
2. Trying to BRING eggs everywhere grosses people out. If you plan right, it can work, but eating that many eggs at a time, can get you in trouble given their sulfurous smell. I rarely eat bulk eggs @ work or around people.
Solutions...
1. Bulky protein shakes + olive oils/udo oil. Add milk (skim, milk fat isn't good). Some creams (like heavy cream has good fat) and I know times I've added ice cream to thicken it or add sugar. Doesn't sound healthy, but only a few scoops. Point is, a few scoop of ice cream won't hurt you if you're gunning for 3500 cal+.
2. Eggs and Protein. Form your base of foods, then SUPPLEMENT. We know cottage cheese and eggs are good, and by volume/size, they're the cheapest along with Protein powder, so go there if you like them. Learn variations of them. Trying to stuff food down can be tough, but your appetite will expand. Normally I do it over 30 minutes, or if I'm hungry, all at once. I ate a tub of cottage cheese while watching RollerBaller last night, just before crashing and wasn't in the mood.
Point is, the easier you make it on yourself, the longer you will stick with it. I was making tons of salad with decent dressing (loaded with fat), veggies, fruits, and some meats, but I always found preparation to be tough (where could I find the time to lift and prepare and eat?) Food would be left around and go bad (life get's in the way, so sometimes I'd toss down a protein shake on the go) And expenses got high, given that I was wasting food.
Sure now, I still buy delicacies, but nowhere near what I was doing in amounts of chicken. Obviously if you have to consume ALOT and you get bored easily, go for multiple chicken breasts, but for the college guys, this isn't the cheapest route, besides we're not trying to open a damn restaurant here, we just want to lift and grow.
A-Unit
