Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Favourite poorly food

116 replies

Ljcrow · 13/10/2026 09:06

Currently full of some kind of cold/flu/covid virus. When I can taste, favourite poorly food = cream of tomato soup with bread & loads of butter to dip, or toast/crumpets with butter & marmite. Jelly babies or soft fruit jellies and orange Lucozade for sugar.

How about you?

OP posts:
chattyness · Yesterday 18:49

It depends what kind of poorly I am , I love the comfort food of childhood, soft boiled eggs with soldiers or fish fingers butties, tomato soup with a big spoon of buttery mashed potato in the middle. But if I've got a cold or flu I need strong flavours so I'll go for curry, chilli or a Bolognese packed full of garlic in an attempt to wake up my tastebuds.
If it's an upset stomach kind of poorly, starvation for the day then lightly scrambled egg on toast.
Hangover poorly .. lightly crisped smoked bacon on a buttered morning roll with a mug of coffee.

chattyness · Yesterday 18:51

YellowScarfRupert · 13/10/2026 09:08

Mash potato sandwich- I have zero shame, it’s utterly delicious

This is even better if you fry the mash potato until it's got a golden crust on it like a potato cake

BashfulClam · Yesterday 18:52

Ljcrow · Yesterday 18:40

Hope so, that's what I've been doing!

We are correct according to Google.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cattery · Yesterday 18:52

bababamama · 13/10/2026 16:40

Mashed potatoes with cream of chicken soup.

My dad used to boil potatoes and then pour chicken soup over them in a bowl. Glorious

placemats · Yesterday 18:54

Chicken soup. : Chicken stock cube with half a teaspoon vegan stock and a dash of Lea and Perrins. In a large cup/bowl with sliced white bread on the side.

BashfulClam · Yesterday 19:00

placemats · Yesterday 18:54

Chicken soup. : Chicken stock cube with half a teaspoon vegan stock and a dash of Lea and Perrins. In a large cup/bowl with sliced white bread on the side.

Add some noodles and you are golden.

placemats · Yesterday 19:03

BashfulClam · Yesterday 19:00

Add some noodles and you are golden.

Indeed. But the noodles are best kept for the getting better stage - something to look forward to.

Bogstandardname · Yesterday 19:06

Heinz tomato soup with white bread to dip. Definitely a theme here - Heinz shares must rise in flu season.

Goldensprat · Yesterday 19:07

Heinz tomato soup with cheese toastie dipped in (as many others have said, this is the number 1 correct option)

Rice pudding with jam (shop bought ready rice pudding)

Scrambled egg with toast

All quick and easy to prepare, gentle on the stomach and at least a bit nourishing. Nothing that requires actually cooking unless someone else is doing it, in which case I'd take chicken and lentil stew.

alwaysbehindascreen · Yesterday 19:14

Heinz tomato soup with grated cheddar cheese melted in, think white bread with loads of butter to dip in

cottage pie with peas and carrots

ice cream - cheap, icey, vanilla ice cream

ClaudiaNaughton · Yesterday 20:56

M&S tinned chicken in white sauce

JoannCourcyIveGotThePowerNSoul · Yesterday 21:02

Scrambled egg toast
Ice cream (sore throat)
Couple of Oxo cube beefy drinks.
As a kid melted potted heid with couple bits o plain loaf.
Lucozade in the glass bottle as a child and a comic and a Bosie from mum.

CreepingCrone · Yesterday 21:06

Another vote for Knorr's Chicken Noodle Soup. 70's packet goodness

gullgal · Yesterday 21:46

Scrambled eggs and toast

echt · Yesterday 21:57

Heinz tomato soup - the NZ kind, not the vile Aussie Big Red
Hot Vimto.

lemoncurdcupcake · Yesterday 22:00

Beans on toast, with cheese. I cut the toast into squares like mum used to when I was ill and it makes me feel all snug inside.

Otherwise very much second the tomato soup option!

Once when I was ill I went to the trouble of making my nans corn beef hash recipe from scratch. Took so much energy that when I had it plated up I dropped the bloody bowl and it smashed to smitherines rendering the meal uneatable.

Stick to microwaved stuff and toast now!

Stablegirl2012 · Yesterday 22:06

Cheese on toast 😋

Greenandyellowday · Yesterday 22:07

If I'm too fluey to cook:

Baxters French Onion soup
Sainsbury's Chicken and Vegetable Broth in a tub from the chiller section - I know, homemade is best...
Hot toddy - supermarket own-brand whisky, lemon juice, honey, boiling water
White bread with butter, and honey or lemon curd
Lemon and ginger tea, with honey

Ready meals:

Curries (push the boat out and get Waitrose - "I'm not well you know!")
Chilli con Carne

Takeaway:

Salt and Chilli King Prawns from my local Chinese (it has loads of onion, red pepper and crushed chilli peppers) and for many, many extra calories (without much nutritional value, but really nice) a side of sesame prawn toast.

Once I feel well enough to attempt to "cook" something low-effort and very quick:

Stir-fried tenderstem broccoli, with crushed chilli and a lot of shredded ginger (both from the "Very Lazy" brand jars that I have in the fridge), spring onions, sesame oil, soy sauce.

Basa fillet(s) that are good value from Sainsbury's and taste good too, fried in butter and oil, along with a halved tomato or two, season with salt, pepper and put a generous amount of capers in the same pan, take out the fish and tomatoes and add lemon juice to sizzle with the capers, serve with boiled mini potatoes with the lemony caper sauce on top. Extra butter on the potatoes is a good idea.

Can of canellini beans (drained) heated gently in a pan with butter, salt and pepper. In a separate pan, fry a beef steak (I prefer a thin steak) in oil and butter on fairly high heat with black pepper and dried oregano. Put a big pile of watercress on a plate, crush the beans a bit with a masher, put the steak on the watercress to rest, then add some white wine (or lemon juice) to the frying pan and bubble. Put some crushed beans on the plate, pour the sauce from the steak pan over the beans and steak. This is a version of a Nigella recipe. You've been poorly: you need protein!

Vegetable soup, using a bag of ready-chopped vegetables from the Morrisons chiller section, and a stock cube, water, black pepper, no salt as the stock is salty, but add salt after tasting if you like salt. Chop a whole bag of curly parsley and add to the soup near the very end of cooking.

I subscribe 100% to the "feed a cold and starve a fever" rule. If you're ill with a cold or flu and have that rumbling hungry stomach feeling, eat! Loads!

I'd always thought the saying meant "if you have a cold, eat, but if you have a fever, don't eat anything". But quite recently I read that it means "feed a cold, and you WILL starve a fever" as in stop a fever from taking hold.

Hope you feel better soon OP, and everyone who's got this lingering cold virus.

Flannelfeet · Yesterday 22:40

FadedRed · 13/10/2026 16:46

An ‘egg in a cup’ - hard boiled egg, deshelled whilst still very hot and mashed in a mug with butter and salt (pepper if you must), served with hot buttered toast or buttered bread.

I call that "chapped egg". Love it 😋

Flannelfeet · Yesterday 22:52

JoannCourcyIveGotThePowerNSoul · Yesterday 21:02

Scrambled egg toast
Ice cream (sore throat)
Couple of Oxo cube beefy drinks.
As a kid melted potted heid with couple bits o plain loaf.
Lucozade in the glass bottle as a child and a comic and a Bosie from mum.

Ohhh i hate potted haugh 🤮, the stuff gives me the fear. I used to hate it when my dad had it on pieces for lunch. I made a big pot of lentil soup today though with plenty plain breed to dip in, was fair braw 😋.

bert3400 · Yesterday 22:56

Mines a cup of builders tea, you have to understand I Never Drink tea normally...total coffee person . But when I'm poorly it my go to drink because, when I was growing up that's what my Nana would give me when I was off school....I'm now 59 ....so weird how our childhood influences stay our whole lives

Greenandyellowday · Yesterday 23:08

Flannelfeet · Yesterday 22:52

Ohhh i hate potted haugh 🤮, the stuff gives me the fear. I used to hate it when my dad had it on pieces for lunch. I made a big pot of lentil soup today though with plenty plain breed to dip in, was fair braw 😋.

Please tell me potted heid isn't what I think it is... brawn?

pinkpony88 · Yesterday 23:09

M&S chicken casserole with dumplings. In bed 🥰

WithLoveFromMyselfToYourself · Yesterday 23:10

Mashed potato, chicken breast and cauliflower cheese.

nowhite · Yesterday 23:11

Greenandyellowday · Yesterday 22:07

If I'm too fluey to cook:

Baxters French Onion soup
Sainsbury's Chicken and Vegetable Broth in a tub from the chiller section - I know, homemade is best...
Hot toddy - supermarket own-brand whisky, lemon juice, honey, boiling water
White bread with butter, and honey or lemon curd
Lemon and ginger tea, with honey

Ready meals:

Curries (push the boat out and get Waitrose - "I'm not well you know!")
Chilli con Carne

Takeaway:

Salt and Chilli King Prawns from my local Chinese (it has loads of onion, red pepper and crushed chilli peppers) and for many, many extra calories (without much nutritional value, but really nice) a side of sesame prawn toast.

Once I feel well enough to attempt to "cook" something low-effort and very quick:

Stir-fried tenderstem broccoli, with crushed chilli and a lot of shredded ginger (both from the "Very Lazy" brand jars that I have in the fridge), spring onions, sesame oil, soy sauce.

Basa fillet(s) that are good value from Sainsbury's and taste good too, fried in butter and oil, along with a halved tomato or two, season with salt, pepper and put a generous amount of capers in the same pan, take out the fish and tomatoes and add lemon juice to sizzle with the capers, serve with boiled mini potatoes with the lemony caper sauce on top. Extra butter on the potatoes is a good idea.

Can of canellini beans (drained) heated gently in a pan with butter, salt and pepper. In a separate pan, fry a beef steak (I prefer a thin steak) in oil and butter on fairly high heat with black pepper and dried oregano. Put a big pile of watercress on a plate, crush the beans a bit with a masher, put the steak on the watercress to rest, then add some white wine (or lemon juice) to the frying pan and bubble. Put some crushed beans on the plate, pour the sauce from the steak pan over the beans and steak. This is a version of a Nigella recipe. You've been poorly: you need protein!

Vegetable soup, using a bag of ready-chopped vegetables from the Morrisons chiller section, and a stock cube, water, black pepper, no salt as the stock is salty, but add salt after tasting if you like salt. Chop a whole bag of curly parsley and add to the soup near the very end of cooking.

I subscribe 100% to the "feed a cold and starve a fever" rule. If you're ill with a cold or flu and have that rumbling hungry stomach feeling, eat! Loads!

I'd always thought the saying meant "if you have a cold, eat, but if you have a fever, don't eat anything". But quite recently I read that it means "feed a cold, and you WILL starve a fever" as in stop a fever from taking hold.

Hope you feel better soon OP, and everyone who's got this lingering cold virus.

Woooooaaaahhh hang on! So it doesn’t mean if you have a fever you shouldn’t eat??? I am mind blown! Seriously! Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️