Knowing absolutely nothing about it, of course. . . .

I second Jeri's suggestion that Carnation Instant Breakfast might very well be a good replacement for the more expensive Ensure.

Some years back, after years of singing in coffeehouses and clubs and going to bed at two or three o'clock in the morning and being able to sleep 'til around noon before my first guitar students came, I wound up going to work for Boeing. This meant a twenty+ mile drive on an overcrowded freeway, then participating in the demolition derby in the Boeing parking lot in an effort to get a parking spot within an hour's walking distance of the plant — and after all this, punching in before 7:00 a.m.!!! Talk about a life-changing experience! No time for breakfast, which left me cranky and ready to eat my Rapid-o-Graph pens by 9:00 a.m. So the night before, I when I made my lunch, I would include a portable breakfast that I could consume in the car as I sat there on the freeway looking at the rear bumper of the car in front of me. One of the breakfast thingies I used to fix was a pint thermos of Carnation Instant Breakfast. Tasty. I particularly like the egg-nog flavor, but they're all pretty good.

But it didn't really stick to my ribs very well. Then I hit on the bright idea of making it with Half and Half (half milk, half cream) instead of just straight milk. That was even more tasty, seemed pretty substantial, and it would usually last me through 'til lunch-time. Especially if I could grab a donut on my morning break.

I eat a whole lot better these days (actual food, most of the time). But playing around a bit with Carnation Instant Breakfast might be worth the experiment.

Don Firth