I am not feeling well, but I am hungry. What should I eat?

[Amblydoper]

I have had an upset stomach all day, and have not eaten since this morning, but now I am starving. Nothing sounds edible, but I need to eat. What do you dopers suggest munching on when you are sick?

[Alice The Goon]

Soup or bouillon, toast with just a hint of jam, or my old standby- a Filet-o-Fish from McDonald's. It's so practically tasteless and benign, yet satisfies as a quick something if you feel nauseous.

[Frank]

Chicken broth. Which can, in a pinch, be obtained by heating up some Campbell's and draining out the liquid into a cup. Accompanied, if you feel brave, by a test nibble on a saltine. You'll notice this is high sodium, but it has worked for me.

[Enter the Flagon]

I keep a jar of applesauce in the cupboard for just such occasions. It's the one thing I can eat when I can't eat anything else.

Of couse, this jar remains perennially unopened, as I also keep an industrial-sized bottle of antacid in the medicine cabinet.

Hope you feel better soon.

[NajaNivea]

Good quality, preferably microbrew ginger ale. Ginger is well known to settle a tossing belly. Follow with saltine crackers or toast, or if you're feeling really adventurous, order some good chicken noodle soup as take out.
There, there. <fluffs your pillow>
Do you want to watch cartoons or I Love Lucy?

[Amblydoper]

Oh, chix noodle soup sounds good... I think I have some!
The Filet-o-Fish sounds nauseating. Maybe chix nuggets...

[Captain_C]

Toast, lightly toasted. That always gets my appetite back.

[NajaNivea]

Plain, salty stuff like crackers or pretzels, peppermint or ginger in various forms, and certain sodas are my best standbys. I have a lot of experience in nausea .
Hope you're feeling well soon. Queasy sucks.

[Hey, It's That Guy!]

Saltine crackers, which I hate, so I usually go with the somewhat tastier Ritz or Club crackers. Any are good for when you have an upset stomach. Plain, white foods work well -- lightly toasted bread, a little pasta without sauce. Also drink Gatorade, in case you're losing fluids from either end.

[lowbrass]

Jello.

[GuanoLad]

Spaghetti-O's

Slides down the throat, hardly any effort involved in preparation, filling and tasty.

[Quartz]

Flat coca-cola.

[twickster]

Another vote for toast. Skip the jam though.

[Walkabout]

If you have an upset stomach, you should be on the BRAT diet - Bread, Rice, Applesauce, or Toast. Nothing greasy, nothing containing milk, nothing spicy.

A little Coke might help, too.

[Lionne]

Originally Posted by Captain_C

Toast, lightly toasted. That always gets my appetite back.

Yes, exactly. The only time I eat toast is when I'm ill. And I add butter.

[Aangelica]

Toast.

My mother swears by raw celery for upset stomach, which seems to actually work for me.

[overlyverbose]

Originally Posted by lowbrass

Jello.

Good suggestion. Jello also has a side benefit: depending on which kind you eat, you get a rainbow of colors if you happen to throw it up.

[rucciface]

Maybe a milkshake? Tasty and soothing.

[DrDeth]

Toast. Crackers. Soup. Soup and crackers.

[Audrey Levins]

Saltines work well for me when I feel ill. Bland and salty and easy to eat.

Wendy's Frosty is also a go-to for me. Cools and coats my stomach. It's a necessity if I have a hangover. I dunno if there's any actual dairy in it, but I've never had dairy issues so that's not a problem for me. YMMV.

[cookeze]

Vanilla ice cream for me. I never eat it except when I have an upset stomach.

[Projammer]

Cliche, but chicken noodle soup and saltines always work for me.

[Amblydoper]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I feel much better today, but still don't have much of an appetite. I cooked up some chicken noodle (Lipton, not campbell's) and had a piece of bread too (never been a "toast" guy). I also had some gatorade when I got to work this morning.

[Hockey Monkey]

My standby is egg-drop soup if I can manage to go get it. If not, I settle for saltine crackers with maybe some peanut butter, or toast. The ginger ale option is great settling your stomach.

[gigi]

Tapioca or rice pudding. Assuming you like them when you're not sick.

[teela brown]

Originally Posted by Hockey Monkey

My standby is egg-drop soup if I can manage to go get it.

Me, too. Except even when I'm sick, it's a snap to make a very plain one at home.

Ingredients: one can of broth, one egg. Heat the broth to boiling in the microwave while you beat the egg, then slowly pour the egg into the broth, stirring slowly. Voila, instant egg-drop soup, and it's plain and easy to digest when you're a sickie.

[cher3]

I vote for not eating something you rather like when you're not sick. I can't stand most chicken soups, because I associate it with the Campbell's I only eat when I'm completely wretched. (Bland, salty and my husband can cook it.)

[arseNal]

Strangely enough, I and many people I know like to have a spicy broth when feeling ill. I had a gf who would ask me to make one of those spicy ramen noodle packages whenever she was feeling queasy so that she can have some of the fiery soup.

[cher3]

I've been known to make garlic soup for a cold or flu, but I don't think I'd want it if I were feeling queasy.

(Whole head of garlic simmered in a quart or so of water with sage, peppercorns, parsley and a dollop of olive oil. Salt to taste, strain and enjoy. You can do the egg drop thing with it, too, if you want.)

[pulovar]

I eat mashed potatoes and drink warmish water when I'm sick.

[Dijon Warlock]

I've heard great things about ginger ale for this problem, although our family's standby was 7-UP.

I've also heard saltines advised to pregnant women with morning sickness to settle the stomach.

I'm glad others have mentioned eggs, because I was afraid I would cause hurling with this:

My favorite comfort food when sick as a child was a slice of toast with butter, cut into one inch squares, and mixed into a bowl with a chopped up soft-boiled egg (white kind of solid but yolk still runny) with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Absolute heaven when you're watching Captain Kangaroo and trying not to puke into the roasting pan on the floor by the living room couch on a school day.