The basics of critical care nutrition include an initial patient assessment, the prescribing an appropriate diet whilst being mindful of the diagnosis and disease severity, deciding on a method of delivery of that diet, setting goals for the nutritional intervention, and finally, assessing whether these goals are in fact being met. The goals of critical care nutrition are to meet resting energy requirements as well as to supply sufficient essential and conditionally essential amino acids and all other micro and macro nutrient needs of that patient. A plethora of methods are available to us to achieve this, including a variety of diet and feeding tube options for the still preferred enteral nutrition route as well as multiple solution options and peripheral and central line options for parental nutrition. In some cases, partial parenteral and enteral nutrition best supplies the patient’s nutritional needs.