Eating well while sick

[jkonick]

Over the past week, I've come down with some sort of nasty stomach thing that has been slowly destroying my insides, and as a result of this my diet has been drastastically scaled back to a few simple things such as rice, bread, apple sauce and bananas. I've been going insane. I tortured myself the other day by walking around Chinatown and window shopping for roast ducks. My mouth said yes but my stomach said no.

What have you done while sick and restricted to tasteless things? What won't push me over the edge, but might taste good? Now I'm off to make another piece of plain toast...

[mizducky]

Over the past week, I've come down with some sort of nasty stomach thing that has been slowly destroying my insides, and as a result of this my diet has been drastastically scaled back to a few simple things such as rice, bread, apple sauce and bananas. I've been going insane. I tortured myself the other day by walking around Chinatown and window shopping for roast ducks. My mouth said yes but my stomach said no.

What have you done while sick and restricted to tasteless things? What won't push me over the edge, but might taste good? Now I'm off to make another piece of plain toast...

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Well, the good news is that your appetite seems to be in good shape even if your stomach isn't. I can tell when I'm *really* sick, because I lose all interest in food whatsoever.

My suggestion would be to try broths. There's a reason behind all the chicken soup lore--a nice mild poultry broth is good nutrition, gentle on the tummy, and tasty too. If you simmer a smallish amount of raw white rice in it for a couple of hours till the rice semi-dissolves and thickens the broth, you have the Chinese rice porridge known as congee, which is also great when you're feeling poorly. Or you can put in some simple noodles, some ginger, and even some garlic if you simmer it till its nice and soft.

Another thing I eat when I'm feeling poorly: I boil up a bunch of pasta, and then season it with soy sauce and maybe a little bit of sesame oil. I find fermented soy products (in moderate amounts) really soothing to my stomach somehow.

If you've been keeping these kinds of foods, or the BRAT (bananas/rice/applesauce/toast) diet down okay for a couple of days, I think you could try some simply-prepared chicken breast next.

In general, think stuff that's mildly seasoned, and long-simmered, so that it won't make your stomach work any harder than it may be ready for. I'd stay away from raw fruits and vegetables and most dairy for awhile--they're a bit harder to digest. A possible exception might be a good-quality plain yogurt--but try it cautiously at first to see if your tummy is okay with it.

Edited July 13, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[Luckylies]

sounds like time for perogi.

[Milagai]

I don't know what kind of food you're used to,

but things like ginger, cumin, garlic, and many other

spices are very medicinal for soothing unhappy

GI tracts. They perk up any otherwise bland food

(soup, congee, whatever) and make it much more

appetizing.

Milagai

[jkonick]

Thanks for the suggestions all! I'm starting to feel better but I don't want to push it yet... looks like congee's on the menu for tomorrow.

[ThatGrrl]

Initially, and I'm speaking from the perspective of one usually up against a hangover when this happens, I reach for Coca-Cola (the original; accept no substitutes) and plain Saltine crackers. I also stock real ginger ale, from the health food aisle/store. The kind that will verify to you it truly contains ginger, unlike the "ginger flavoring" you'll get in something like Schwepps or Canada Dry. The taste is rather sharp, however. If you can't get past that, on a weak tummy, it obviously won't help.

When the sickness isn't tummy-related, but I'm running a fever, nothing satisfies me like mint chocolate chip ice cream. Very cooling. Got me through a seriously bad night with chicken pox, when I was a kid. I've held to it, ever since.

I'm definitely going to keep that congee tip, in mind. Thanks!