Food when ill

[nevertrustanyoneagain]

With this lurgy going around it’s got me thinking. I want to prepare really simple nutritional food but have so little energy. Could you please share really simple recipes that you go to when you are ill. Fresh prepared but not much energy required.

I do extra. So I grate extra cheese. Boil extra eggs, chop another pepper etc to make next meal easier. That’s how I manage.

Could you do homemade soup?

Frozen onions, tins of toms, red lentils, stock cube??

Or:

Omelette
Porridge
Chopped fruit and cottage cheese
Tin of soup and sandwich

Also: cod fillet, half jar of marinara sauce, heat till cooked through. Can put shredded cheese on top towards the end.

Honestly if you are feeling crap , pot noodle, / instant noodle/ hard boiled eggs/ hot marmite/ bovril drink or biscuits will do.
Are they good for you ?
Nope , but if uou don't want food but have to eat you will be fine.

For longer periods yes home made low salt high protein and fiber soup is great but that takes planing time and effort , and while this certainly can be done I think it's very wise to have something in that everyone likes and is easy to eat and digest and keeps well.
I always have home made batch cooked food in but sometimes i want something else so there is always tomatoe soup , tescos tuscan soup , mushroom soup , tinned tomatoes and baked beans pita bread and strong cheese.

That's enough to get me through a few poorly days.

Obviously its better to have a well stocked larder , fridge and freezer but not every one has the £s, space or time to do this so I'd rather spend £5 /8 and keep that food as " poorly food"

Frozen or fresh soffrito mix (onion, carrot, celery) m and s do frozen one, heat in a pan, boil with chicken broth /or water and chicken stock, chuck in orzo pasta, then have it as a thick soup with Parmesan grated on top, sometimes with an raw egg mixed when it’s still boiling. So comforting and easy to eat.

I think crackers and cheese and fruit and cucumber and carrot or capsicum sticks are fine. Sultanas, orange juice. Toast and eggs if you can stomach hot food. Eat better when you’re better. Once you’re feeling better a bowl of plain pasta and cheese tastes amazing and from that point you should get energy back pretty quickly

Cheese on toast? If you buy something like Leerdammer you can toast the bred then add the cheese slice and put under the grill for 4-5 mins. If you are up to it you could put a slice of ham and bit of mustard first.

Sausage rolls - not healthy but hey you are ill.

Soup out of a tin with some bread.

Sandwiches.

This sounds like more work than it is.

Brown some roughly diced chicken. Add chopped leek and peeled and chopped carrot. Perhaps some celery. Stir over some cornflour, salt, pepper. Add water and simmer very gently for 20 minutes. A squeeze of lemon at the end to balance. Serve over pasta. Pour any liquid into a cup and drink.

I find this very soothing.

This is my go-to when I'm feeling rubbish but want something healthy www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/quick-mushroom-noodle-soup

I snack on dried fruit and nuts. I think I will look up some easy energy ball recipes. I made a few extra American pancakes on pancake day and froze them for easy breakfasts.

Scrambled egg on toast.

Peanut butter with butter on toast would be my go to.

www.nigella.com/recipes/breakfast-bars

I love these. The ingredients are "store cupboard" so I just make sure I have them in stock.

I also vary the recipe as I fancy (so almonds or macadamia nuts instead of peanuts and/or dried cherries/apricots instead of cranberries).

I've done it so many times now I don't even weigh it all out. I just eyeball it. Just throw in a bowl and mix, then oven.

I often make double the quantity.

They keep really well in a tin/Tupperware and are really filling.

If I'm poorly they are my go to for getting some easy comforting calories with a big mug of tea.

The other to be honest is good old jacket potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Then fill with something really easy liked tuna or beans and cheese.

I had bad food poisoning last year and managed to eventually shove a chicken and some water in my slow cooker to cook. Went back to bed.

Took it out, shredded some chicken back into the broth with some veg and broken up spaghetti, put it back into the slow cooker. Went back to bed.

Got up and ate chicken soup!