What is good to eat when you have no appetite?

I am super sick right now and haven’t eaten much in a few days. It’s getting to the point where I am gonna need to force myself to eat something to keep my strength up but everything just sounds terrible to me right now. I have been subsisting mostly on small glasses of milk and the occasional packet of instant oatmeal.

Any suggestions on things to eat that go down easy and has nutritional value? Flavor is pretty far down on my list of requirements right now and I’m finding myself exhausted after chewing a few bites. Any serious suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

rhythmisaprancer, (edited )
@rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social avatar

While you can go for a period without many calories, you will need electrolytes. The recommendations for things like Pedialyte will help with that, but for foods you may just have to try what works for you. It's so personal.

Stay hydrated and "salted" and go from there. If you can't keep it down then it isn't for you. Salty foods will help you retain water.

FauxPseudo,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

I used to have to force feed myself when I wasn’t hungry. Ramen was essential for priming the appetite. But not the bad stuff. Good stuff like Black Shin

ADHDefy, (edited )
@ADHDefy@kbin.social avatar

Chicken soup, plain white rice, buttered toast, peanut butter, and crackers are all things I can usually tolerate when I feel that way. Sometimes banana or vanilla yogurt. I hope you feel better soon!

Aevironis,
@Aevironis@lemmy.world avatar

I was really sick and couldn’t eat much of anything for 2 months and lived mostly on the chocolate Soylent. I had issues staying hydrated so I also drank a lot of Liquid IV (Pina colada and watermelon were my favorites).

As I started to tolerate more solid food I ate: canned soup purees like butternut squash/tomato bisque/pea soup, powdered soup mixes from Bob’s Red Mill or Knorr, steel cut oatmeal with mushrooms and chicken broth cooked in a pressure cooker, rolled oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit, grits, plain rice crackers, nut thins, fage 5% yogurt, bananas plain or blended up with milk, applesauce, cottage cheese, carrots cooked to mush. Also ate a lot of sweet potatoes and russet potatoes, I cooked a bunch of them whole in the pressure cooker at once and then I’d eat them all week.

Some of my friends recommended Huel or Plenny shakes but I never got around to ordering any.

I’d also avoid anything with too much oil, fat, hot spices, or sugar which can irritate the stomach and limit cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale which can be hard to digest.

Hope you feel better soon.

thal3s,
@thal3s@sh.itjust.works avatar

When nothing at all sounds good but youre in need of protein, try soy milk. It’s cold, smooth and easy to get down.

FReddit,

Hang in!

lemmylommy,

Add some good (low sugar and low added fats) peanut butter or any other nut butter and/or ground nuts to your oats. Makes for a healthy and calorie rich meal that keeps you sated for a while. It’s easy on the stomach, does not cause the blood sugar to rise quickly and you can eat it spoon by spoon over the whole day, if necessary.

Also don’t forget to drink plenty. I find tea and highly diluted apple juice (like 10%) are ideal when I am sick.

quinkin,

I’m Australian so Vegemite toast is my go to when I am not feeling well.

cheese_greater,

Not sure if people will scorch this idea but one thing I love when I’m having trouble is scalloped potatoes cut up real small and you just graze it all day. Ginger ale is a nice companion but try to get as low dugar as you can find and use a metal straw and sip very preciously

I know there’s dairy and a bunch of other stuff but it goes down super easy and the trick is to have it in a million pieces so you can really go slow. Hope it helps

TootSweet,

Instant ramen and crack an egg into the boiling water right at the end and stir. Gives it some protein and makes it a more substantial meal.

ReallyKinda,

Hawaiian delight baby food, oyster crackers, broth (better than bouillon and a clove of garlic)

brewbellyblueberry, (edited )

If taste isn’t a concern, I’ve gotten by with chlorella and cocoa chia pudding for longer than I care to admit. I don’t mind the taste of chlorella, but most people apparently don’t find it and other seaweed all that appetizing, but it’s a drink so you can just chug it like a beer or something and neutralize the taste with like a splash of lemon juice or water with lemon juice. Won’t fill your stomach all that much, though.

Miso soup (with wakame and maybe tofu and veggies cut down to tiny pieces?) is also a great addition to that.

sturlabragason,

Buttered toast with salt, grapes (possibly frozen), Gatorade.

_danny, (edited )

My go to is plain white rice with plain chicken thighs if I can stomach meat if not I’ll make it with some chicken broth.

If you’re struggling to eat for more than like a week you probably should bite the bullet and see a doctor. A prolonged lack of appetite can be a sign of some pretty serious stuff.

SzethFriendOfNimi,
@SzethFriendOfNimi@lemmy.world avatar

If you’re able to hold solid foods besides the things like Gatorade/pedialite/ensure fig newtons are pretty calorie dense too.

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