What is good to eat when you have no appetite?

Chicken soup has a good reputation in this regard.

In my area most people suggest Gatorade or pedialyte (my go to). Going without a meal or a few is okay, but make sure to drink, get electrolytes, and make sure it has sugar in it.

Meal replacement shake (or bar) with calories, vitamins, and minerals. It’s what doctor’s recommended after I hit the pavement.

Hot buttered toast!

Nuts are super nutrient-dense. Just a handful gets you a decent amount of calories & protein. You can crush some up and mix with your oatmeal if they're too much to chew.

BRAT diet. Bananas rice applesauce toast.

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!

Congee / rice porridge. Cook rice way down until it's breaking apart. You can go simple/traditional by cooking it in water with a little ginger, or kick it up a notch by cooking it in chicken broth to add more flavor.

Nuts have a lot of calories in a small package, and as a migraneuse I can also verify that nuts and dried cherries are one of the least offensive things to deal with if you end up puking. If you have miso, miso soup is easy and gentle and tasty.

But mostly make sure you are drinking water with electrolytes. Your body can survive well without food calories for quite some time, and lack of appetite when sick may be a signal to fast and rest. Dehydration is much more likely and much more damaging.

Chicken broth and saltine crackers.

Any soup is good imo. Like Cauliflower soup with bacon and garlic bread. Meat/vegetable soup.

As a last resort drinking broth can work.

It’s about getting energy into your body so you can heal

Disclaimer: English is not my first language and I’m too tired and sick to look them all up

I find greasy umami stuff in small quantities gets me from "hunger nausea" to "hunger"

E.g buttered toast.

Honestly a good smoothie from somewhere is all I can get down when I'm feeling like that. Filling for about an hour or two though but pack with vitamins and goodness.

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.

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.

Oatmeal is my go to! Whenever I land in the hospital due to my Crohn's issues, I end up having a lot of it. It's thick enough to feel full from it, and while it doesn't have the most of nutrients, its better than nothing.

It helps that if you add some flavoring of your choice to it, it doesn't taste bad and thus makes it even better.

Get better soon!

Applesauce

Chicken noodle soup

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.

Soup broth.

Ive had diabetic ketoacidosis a few times. Once it starts coming on you can't eat Anything. For a couple days or more.

Then the treatment is ice chips and IV insulin for a few days.

Coming out of it, your stomach is the size of a walnut and the thought of eating makes you want to make you puke.

My roads back to eating:

Broth from ramen cups. Liquid meal replacements. If you have a soy allergy, take a close look at the ingredients. Miso broth.

Drinkable yogurt.

Bland pasta with just olive oil.

Granola bars.

My experience is that I eventually get hungry again.

Best of luck dealing with your situation.

Edit: per others, chicken soup (I can get the broth down) and Pedialyte or Gatorlyte. Getting dehydrated does not help.

My wife and friends think I am nuts, but when I'm feeling digestively challenged I go for the "burn it out" philosophy. I go to my local tex-mex place and wolf a couple bowls of spicy salsa. Follow up with a chile relleno covered in queso and I'm normally right as rain (after a quick stop in the quiet, tiled room of requirement).

Chicken soup. Easy to make, can add rice and it is super healthy.

Ingredients: One onion, and you don't need to cut it to small pieces. One carrot One or two celery stick Whole raw or roasted chicken.

Through everything on big pot, cover with water, lower the heat when start bubbling.

Let it simmer for 40 to 60 minutes.

Add rice or potatoes or any other vegetables you like.

Can freeze really well for months.

Get some liquid IV powder. It is full of electrolytes and minerals and easy on your stomach. The last time I was in your shoes I did it for two days straight and it kept me going even at work. With that or get some Pedialyte, is not as good in my opinion, but will do similar things for you.

White bread. Bland enough to avoid eating aversions and puts some energy in you. Plus, most people already have some! Not claiming it's healthy, but when I'm sick and the thought of eating makes me want to puke it manages to slip past my radar.

Soylent came out about when I was having surgeries for Crohns and I used it at stages where I was healthy enough to bulk. I've been in remission for years but it's still pretty hard to gain weight so I keep Soylents around to pack extra calories in. Use it as a coffee creamer too, surprisingly it froths really well. Also add it to oatmeal.

Also eating complete garbage food is better than nothing, I've made that tradeoff many times. Salt fat and sugar cater to what we naturally crave.

When I have issues eating I go for non-offensive foods that are easy to swallow such as a can of white beans in tomato sauce, plain full fat Greek yoghurt, oatmeal made with milk and not water, lentil soup. I sometimes make 1000 kcalorie smoothies with half an avocado, 2 tbsp peanut butter, cup of 10% fat yogurt, a banana, 1/2 cup oatmeal and enough orange juice to make it liquid. Will not win any taste awards but does contain a bunch of good stuff.

Soup, crackers, nuts.

its very easy to dehydrate when youre sick, especially if you have diarrhea. Basically your body trying to flush out whatever is irritating you. Most electrolyte packs from pharmacy have glucose added. Glucose is very easily digested and provides energy source when your DI is not working. Also most doctors recommend to drink coke, since its full of sugar and has acidic pH which is bad for viruses. toasted bread also works, easily digestible and doesnt iritate

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

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.

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

Soup, yogurt or blending a bunch of vegetables/fruit into a smoothie. Tastes awful but it's easy to down and will keep you alive.

I’ve struggled with appetite issues for a while now and my go-to whenever I can’t get myself to eat regular food is nutritional drinks like Soylent, Boost etc. Enough calories to replace a meal and you won’t miss out on nutrients.

Name brand ones are unfortunately super expensive so I usually stick to the Kroger Fortify+. I know you said flavor isn’t a priority, but avoid vanilla. It’s wretched. Chocolate is the one that’s most palatable.

if you can find Miso Paste, or even instant Miso anywhere, that's usually one of my go to's. I'd stick to white miso cuz its more bland than awase or red miso. Just put like a tablespoon in a mug and put hot (not boiling) water over it and stir. It's yummy and got salt which might help you absorb water better and save off dehydration. Depending on where you live, you might find miso paste in the refrigerated section of the supermarket

Pair that with a hard boiled egg for a bit of protien and thats usually what I do.

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

Chikhirtma is an awesome Georgian soup with cheese and all. Super awesome when you're sick.

P. S. Also great if you're hungover

Make one of those weight gainers shakes, with oatmeal, bananas, nuts, flaxseed, protein powder, berries (also toss in spinach, you can barely taste it). And just down it quickly.

You’ll need a decent blender though.

I heard many people that are going through different diseases were able to drink those soylent ready-to-drink drinks. They have all the nutrients you need in a creamy drink. I've tried Jimmy Joy and Huel and really liked them.

Fruit snacks

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

Toast with cinnamon, sugar and butter on top. Pro tip: put the butter, sugar and cinnamon on before you toast it - then it melts into the bread. This was my go-to growing up for being sick and having trouble eating. Feel better soon!

Fresh fruit tend to be what I can consume without an appetite or even while nauseous. Melons and berries usually, but sparingly if I haven't had much else of substance.

Milk and fat of any kind isn't usually the best if you have trouble eating in general. Lots of apple sauce, chicken soup and crackers mentioned already, so I'll just add the basic ass tostidos round nacho chips. Those give the salt you need, but don't have much else, so they're easy to digest. Anyway, whatever is fine, as long as you can keep it down.

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.

Matzo, nothing fatty. I've been here very recently. Skimmed milk was also helpful

Bananas. Easy to eat, nutritious, and even helping if you happen to have digestive issues. Very stable food, it's my go to when nothing else goes.

Another great option is diluting a stock cube (or half) in hot water and drinks it as a soup. Nutrients, vitamins and minerals! Very good for rehydration

Maybe chewing some ice.

Any form of crackers works for me. Cheese flavored are the best for me, but just about any form of crackers or food that is well baked.

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.

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

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

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

Hang in!

i have no idea but try wafer rolls

I like otter pops when I have a sore throat!

I make broth with Better Than Bouillon.

Toast, banana, sunflower seeds. Those are my too sick to eat go-tos.

Fasting can actually help recovery. But no matter if you eat what you can or nothing at all it is absolutely necessary to get enough water, salt, and potassium.

Something that might go down easy is plain canned beans, just make sure to drain and rinse them and maybe even soak them a little to minimize intestinal issues. Plain quinoa or lentils made in a rice cooker or pot with just water and salt could also be good.

Sometimes your hear about the BRAT diet. I'd recommend against it, it is very nutritionally poor so it will not give you much energy if you can only handle eating a little.

bacteria might help

to eat something to keep my strength up

I wouldn't worry too much if you haven't eaten for a few days. I know of one instance where someone who was seriously obese went on a diet, and aside from vitamins and water, went over a year without eating. I've done over a week myself for the hell of it. Unless you're absolutely emaciated or have some sort of medical condition that creates a need for it, you can probably handle going for quite a while without food.

All that being said, this isn't to encourage doing it. Just that you're probably not creating any kind of dire health situation if you don't eat for a while.