When the character awakens, he has lost all Resonance and technomancer abilities, has acquired the appropriate Infected (Banshee, Dzoo-noo-qua, Goblin, Nosferatu, Vampire, or Wendigo) Quality (see Positive Infected Qualities, p. 79, Runner’s Companion), and has an Essence of 1 and Magic of 1 (or retains her own Magic attribute, if higher).

Nutrition
Type: P • Range: T • Duration: P • DV: (F÷2)
The Nutrition spell provides a voluntary target with nourishment, allowing them to live off pure mana. One hit is enough to satisfy the target for a few hours, with extra hits increasing the quality of the “meal.” This spell prevents starvation and dehydration, but it does have its down side. Those who abuse this spell for long periods of time risk becoming addicted to magical nourishment (see p.247,SR4).

Personal Nutrition
Type: P • Range: T • Duration: S • DV: (F÷2)-3
This spell provides the caster with nourishment, allowing him to live off pure mana. One hit is enough to satisfy the caster for as long as the spell is sustained, with extra hits increasing the quality of the “meal.” This spell prevents starvation and dehydration, but it does have its down side. Those who abuse this spell for long periods of time risk becoming addicted to magical nourishment (see p.247,SR4).

-snip-
The reason I don't think it works is because the Dietary Requirement Weakness isn't a 'food' thing. It's more like a vitamin, perhaps: something that the critter must have at a certain interval. "Without the specified requirement in its diet, the critter eventually sickens and dies."
-/snip-

Another quality to seriously consider is Addiction, which can either represent a character’s addiction to using the Essence Drain power (Addiction: Essence) or to being subject to the Essence Drain power (Addiction: Essence Drain).

“RENFIELD”
Duration: 7 days Effect: Agility +1, Intuition +1, Strength +1, Euphoria, Immunity (Age), +1 Initiative Pass
“Renfield” is an alchemical compound made from the blood of someone Infected with HMHVV I, and it is used by these creatures to create vampiric pawns. The creator draws some of his own blood and performs certain enchantments on it; this costs him a point of his own Essence. He then injects this drug into his chosen pawn (who may or may not be a willing volunteer).
Once the pawn has become addicted to the drug, he gains the Carrier (HMHVV I) Quality (p. 66) and the Dietary Requirement (“Renfield”) and Essence Loss weaknesses. Once transformed, the pawn is dependent upon the drug for his own Essence. Each dose gives him 1D6 points of Essence. “Renfield’ has a threshold of 3 for the Addiction Test, and it is both mentally and physically addictive.

CARRIER Bonus: 5 BP
The character is HMHVV-positive but not Infected, or the character is Infected but carrying multiple strains. Her bodily fluids carry a virus that she cannot express—such as a human carrying the retrovirus that creates fomóraig—which the character can pass on to others. Only an Infected with the Infection power can become a carrier for a retrovirus that is spread only via the Infection power. Any Infected the character cre- ates becomes a carrier for all species of HMHVV for which the character is a carrier. The character receives a –2 negative dice pool modifier to all Social Tests against other metahumans and sasquatches that know she is HMHVV-positive.
This quality may be taken more than once, each for a different strain. The dice pool modifier is cumulative. A character cannot carry the strains for both vampires and nosferatu.

Cellular Repair: This specialized regenerative treatment repairs permanent cellular damage caused by neurotoxins or radiation, eradicates resulting disabilities, restores attribute loss due to disease or severe physical trauma, and even heals Essence loss inflicted by a critter with the Energy Drain or Essence Drain powers (see p. 288, SR4, and p. 99, Street Magic). It will not fix hereditary problems or disabilities integral to the subject’s own genetic expression.

I really don't think it even words for the blood, either, at least in terms of the minimal 'must eat/drink X once a month' requirement. But, the GM might allow it. The spell itself is written as incredibly weak—"a few hours"—but you can keep casting it, I guess.

The reason I don't think it works is because the Dietary Requirement Weakness isn't a 'food' thing. It's more like a vitamin, perhaps: something that the critter must have at a certain interval. "Without the specified requirement in its diet, the critter eventually sickens and dies."

You can eat anything you want (subject to individual restrictions), but Nutrition doesn't satisfy dietary requirement Weaknesses. Sorry. Neither does it count for Essence Drain, which isn't a dietary requirement to begin with. Essence Drain Infected don't drain Essence because it's food. They do it because they have the Essence Loss Weakness.

Nutrition *could* help, say, a Ghoul (limited diet) avoid some of their need, but I think you're right that it's way more trouble than just getting raw meat.

Neraph, I think you'll find that I didn't say the Paranormal Weakness 'Dietary Requirement' was malnutrition at all. RAW, the spell doesn't say it satisfies that extraordinary requirement.

It obviously can never give Essence for the Essence Drain 'diet'; that part is rock solid.

True on both points, but I was mentioning that someone else said something about malnutrition. Sorry for not making that more clear.

Also, RAW it does make itself clear. The spell says that it nourishes the body off of pure mana, so whatever your body may need to survive the spell provides. Just because it does not specifically state that allowance does not mean it cannot be logically reached.

Maybe the magi-scientists of the 2072's are so focused on creating some sort of object for the ghoulies and others to consume that they simply missed the obvious? It's happened that way countless times in the past (although notably with things other than cannabalism).

The real problem (if we say it works for 'special' requirements) is the rules-mandated addiction, I assume.