Not quite sure if this is the right forum, but I can’t make the others fit…
Basically, my boyfriend is sick sick. He is under the care of a doctor, I’m not looking for medical advice, just practical advice.
He’s been ordered to rest for at least two weeks, to drink lots of fluids, and to eat plenty of protein. Well, that might be easier if he managed to eat at all. He’s so nauseous he can barely keep anything down, he’s even having trouble with just fluids.
I’ve been fixing him soups, of which he manages a spoon or two, and he’s painstackingly working through some cashews, one at a time. He’s eaten maybe a days worth of food in a week. I’m getting worried.
So what I’m looking for is examples of food that in your experience are easy for a sick person to keep down. Protein-rich would be preferable, but anything is better than nothing at this point.
BTW, he is going to be fine, eventually. Its a perfectly straightforward, albeit nasty bug he’s fallen afoul of.
The classic diet for someone who is having trouble keepin anything down is the BRAT diet–bread, rice, applesauce, toast. Not very high in protein, but easy on the stomach and better than no food at all. Maybe put peanut butter on the toast to get in some more protein.
You might also want to look into getting him some kind of protein supplement if protein is a big concern–look for them in a health food store.
I recommend the cookbook What to Eat When You Have Cancer for general ideas - there are lots of good options in the chemo section. I’d keep going with different soups, maybe some different kinds of breads. And generally, if you find something he can eat, go with it - he can work on balancing his diet later.
And I second asking the doctor. At the very least, there are a bunch of anti-nausea medicines out there you can try.
Unless he’s really, really skinny to start with, two weeks without much food won’t hurt him. Two weeks without liquids will. Will he drink water? Apple juice? Heck, even soda pop at this point (there isn’t enough caffeine to dehydrate him, contrary to popular belief). He might like the Ensure meal replacement, if it’s very, very cold. Peppermint tea tastes good and can stimulate appetite. Pedialyte, Gatorade or homemade electrolyte solutions can taste good when you’re sick.
Avoiding dehydration is the important thing. He’ll eat when his body can handle it again.
Would smoothies be too much? I make mine from water, greens such as lettuce, a couple of bananas, some frozen fruit, a glob of honey, some hemp oil, and liquid vitamins. Blend into a thick liquid, and drink. You could add more water, if it needs to be thinner.
I’m not sure if this satisfies the protein requirement, though.
The kids and I just went through a couple weeks of each having tummy bugs for a few days at a time. I wound up buying a bunch of cans of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup (in various noodle permutations) which seemed to hit the spot nicely. They’re not real high in protein, but there’s a little bit of chicken, and they didn’t upset our tummies.
Other than that: juices and sorbets always feel good to me when I’ve got an upset tummy.
I am a big advocate of the white diet for GI problems. If its white, he can eat it. Start with the toast, banana, or rice from BRAT and then you can do crackers, pasta (without sauce), instant mashed potatoes (or other potatoes, not fried and not seasoned), eggs without ‘extras,’ grilled or poached chicken without spices, poached fish, etc. until he is back to normal foods. As soon as he feels up to it, try a cup of yogurt with live and active cultures every day. The lactic acid bacteria repopulate the gut with the things that are supposed to be there.
I drink Coke (not diet) or ginger ale when my stomach is feeling off. The sugar in it does something to settle your stomach, though we don’t really understand why it should do that AFAIK. I find it’s easier to keep down than water or any other beverage.
Chicken soup, of course, is a classic. Put shredded cooked chicken in it to up the protein content a bit. It’s not too spicy or fatty, both of which you should avoid for him. Wonton soup might be another idea in this direction.
Are there any things his mom used to fix for him when he wasn’t feeling well as a child? Comfort food could be helpful here. But make sure he has fond memories of whatever it is- people can get food aversions from eating things when they’re feeling sick to their stomachs. I hate saltine crackers, for example, because my mom would give them to me when I was feeling sick, and I ended up with an aversion to them.
I’m sorry, but this almost blew my cover at work. Here I am trying to pretend to work and I bust a gut!! Thankfully everyone is gone for lunch. Wow . . . he went there.
actually Cola syrup can be bought from a pharmacy and is often used for colicy babies and nausea. The pharmacist I worked for said that the concentrated carbohydrates work to settle the stomach. There is another otc med called emetrol that does the same thing.
Or you could go for my mom’s remedy: warm milk and burn toast.
Ginger is also used for nausea. Try a lemon-ginger tea.
My mother’s strict regimen for all manner of digestive maladies – cream of wheat, rice, dry toast (later on with a little honey), apple or grape juice and hot tea.
Then, when you can hold that down, broiled, skinless chicken.
For nausea, 7-Up or ginger ale.
Soy protein may be easier to handle than meat or chicken.
What my grandmother, mother and I make for sick family members, potato soup and ginger ale. The potato soup is pretty easy, you skin and cut about 4 or 5 large potatoes up into chunks, barely cover with salted water, add a stick of butter and a cup of milk. Boil until the potatoes just about disolve but there are still sizable chunks in there. When I’m well I add some crumbled bacon and green onions with a grind of black pepper but sick… pretty much plain.
I find that chicken soup is generally the easiest to eat and keep down when my insides are rebelling. Sometimes all I can manage is chicken broth, sometimes chicken & rice, sometimes vegetable chicken. Homemade is best, of course, but we do keep a few cans of soup around. Gelatin desserts are good, too. I find that Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea is very soothing to my stomach, and I find that I feel better after drinking it. Just about any hot cereal is good. Oatmeal and Cream of Wheat and Cream of Rice are pretty easy to eat.
You could add more water, if it needs to be thinner.