best thing to eat when stomach is off?

[adrouault]

hello,

i am just getting over a stomach upset, and i would like to know what is best to eat while i am not sure about the state of my stomach.

[beevod]

Guinness stout, a meat loaf sandwich with lots of ketchup and vanilla ice cream always work for me.

[Shann]

For me, its always been scrambled eggs (a little more done than usual) with toast. For a drink, ginger ale always soothes the tummy

[piccola]

Currently dealing with food poisoning, so this is pretty relevant. Assuming you're past the Pedialyte stage, I've had good luck with apple sauce, steel-cut oatmeal and -- this was a new one -- baked plantains. Might try polenta later.

Sadly, vegetables (normally my main staple) cause all sorts of trouble.

[PotatoPuff]

I frequently have upset stomachs, often for a few days to a week at a time. I have found that anything with apples (including applesauce!) makes it worse, as do any fruits or veggies.

Try cream of rice cereal, pastina, pretzels, bread (not whole wheat, just regular). Sometimes, after a few days, I can have a handful of unsalted cashews if I really need the protein.

[deet13]

Drink a couple of Dark and Stormy's.

The ginger beer kills the upset stomach part, and the rum makes you feel better...

[cycloneillini]

Ramen noodle soup always works for me. It's the first thing I get a craving for after I start feeling better.

[Miri1]

I get frequent stomach upsets so I keep candied ginger on hand as well as sour candies which do sometimes help. When I feel the need for food I go for a piece of toast and butter (or Smart Balance) My doctor told me that the toast gives the stomach something to chew on (and absorb acid) while the butter coats it. I also make warm jello. It's easy to sip on with a spoon or out of a cup. saltines, clear sodas and dry Cheerios.

[missmar79]

after my surgery my stomach was off and not tolerable to certain items.
I ate prepared Kraft Macaroni and cheese and on the side, a bunch of Granny smith apple slices with cinnamon

CHOW Worthy ? No
Delicious? Yes

[greygarious]

Note that the ginger ale needs to be the strong stuff with REAL ginger, brands include Reed's (sold by Trader Joe's) and Stewart. Reed's spiced apple drink will work too, as it has a lot of ginger. These drinks need to be sipped, since they pack a hot wallop of ginger. I find it easier to drink if it is cool but not ice cold.

[Sharoneonta]

Bread sticks and cola for me.

You might try a little rice pudding...

[Whosyerkitty]

Mint herbal tea. With honey instead of sugar if you need it.

[KristieB]

The first thing my mother would let us eat after we were ill with a stomach flu was lightly sweetned tea (Red Rose, please) and buttered toast. We would dip the toast in the tea and it always tasted so good after being ill.

A friend's mother would give them a plain baked potato.

[Jacey]

If you are not hungry, then don't eat anything. Let the bug leave your system naturally. If you can digest ginger and garlic in its natural form, this should help too (not the pink, fake kind from sushi restaurants or garlic powder/paste).

[chef chicklet]

My advice is for if you are recovering from the stomach flu and you are so hungry, and you're cautiously trying to eat. There are just a couple things that I will even consider.

Chicken broth, there is an egg drop soup I'll get, that fixes me right up.
On the second day, perhaps, Matzo Ball soup, maybe just the broth, eat the mbs with caution. If you're really hungry, try some saltines too.

Ginger ale or any tea with mint in the name. They work beautifully when it comes to calming one's stomach. Last year I contacted a really bad bug, I had a pretty violent reaction everytime I tried to eat. Such stomach pain, and not to mention the other stuff that happened. Be careful.

[mpjmph]

The standards of crackers, jello, and broth. I prefer club soda or seltzer over ginger ale. And I know it's odd, but a few squares of milk chocolate (good stuff, not hershey's) always make my stomach feel better, so much so that my family calls it my "medicinal chocolate."

[Fleur]

BRAT diet, see your Gastro-enterologist.

Banana
Applesauce
Rice
Toast... dry

[Rick]

I always liked to have some crackers.

[spellweaver16]

When I'm feeling off, it's rice cakes, bananas, and whatever carbonated drink I can get my hands on.

[oliveoyl]

candied ginger, ginger tea, dry toast, if you can handle dairy kefir (the probiotics really help boost the digestive system) chicken soup ... I guess it might also depend on why your system is out of whack

[HillJ]

0 fat greek yogurt definately helps me settle a sour, sensitive stomach.

[cayjohan]

I just had an angry stomach this morning, and I turned to my canister of Nestle Nestum, a super-fine-milled amalgam of wheat, corn and rice. Marketed also as an infant cereal. It's very mild, very nourishing(enriched with various nutrients), and easy to digest. We keep it around to amend the instant oatmeal packets my teen loves, but it also works very well on an overtaxed or ill stomach. I get mine at my local Halal market, and I've also seen it at Latino markets.

[JayVaBeach]

A good old-fasioned Velveeta Grilled Cheese (cut into 4 tirangles just how your Mom did when you were a child) & a real Coca-Cola (Coke).

If you're not in the mood for preparing, a plain McDonald's Cheese Burger (ordering it plain will help your tummy & ensure a freshly made sandwich) & again, a real Coke.

[vorpal]

That really works for some people? Those combinations would set my stomach into hysterics, even on a good day!

[frankbooth]

well, it's not exactly a food, but after a year or more of fighting off a parasitic food poisoning, one of the few things that helped me was Chamomile/Lavender Tea. Traditional Medicinals has a great organic ChamoLav (my name for it) tea- you steep it with 2 to 4 tea bags for ten minutes and then drink- incredibly soothing for an off stomach. 3 or 4 cups a day of that tea worked wonders for me- i still travel with it just in case i get a bit of the old traveler's stomach... enjoy fb

[vorpal]

Having Crohn's Disease, I'm pretty much an expert on off stomachs! What I find really seems to settle my digestive system, being incredibly easy to digest, is baby food. I keep about a dozen jars of the organic stuff in my cupboard, and three of them generally satisfy my appetite and make me feel better.

[umbushi plum]

i have crohns too! thanks for the tip about the baby food i will have to give it a try when my tummy feels off (quite often)

[vorpal]

Hope it helps! Lately I've been quite ill and bizarrely, the only thing that seems to sit well with my stomach is apple pie! I've been eating one a day. You know the old adage about an apple a day... I'm hoping it's applicable here, too!

[umbushi plum]

haha hopefully, i actually find apples in general to be very calming for my tummy problems an its sometimes one of the only fruits i can eat, so i'm thinking i'll have to give the humble pie a good run now here in aus the temp is starting to drop rapidly. p.s the baby food helped a lot thankyou so much for the tip ;-)

[mothrpoet]

Wonton soup. The therapeutic benefits of chicken broth are well known, combined with the anti-nausea action of ginger and slithery, comforting won tons....Heaven!

[FrankJBN]

All these guys.

Your stomach gives you trouble, give it trouble right back. Tequila Sunrise for breakfast. A hoagie with extra peppers at lunch. Buffalo wings with a side of chili for dinner.

Gruel? No wonder those that recommend this have sensitive stomachs.

[wino22]

That's hilarious... I've often thought the same thing! I was up all night Friday with stomach issues, and again yesterday (sunday) and countered it all with taco night! Extra Tabasco please -
maybe I'm weird, but I feel great today!

[galleygirl]

I have to agree;my mother and i both go for a slice of anchovy pizza to counter nausea....

[Passadumkeg]

I was waiting to add beer. Brings up gas and and relaxes the mind. Great for sea sickness too.
As Ben Franklin said, "Beer is proof God exists and that he loves us".

[cor]

Gingerale, bland crackers and chicken soup always get me through a tummy ache. And, strangely enough, fried chicken fingers eaten slowly do the trick.

[beevod]

Guinness stout and bread

[Emme]

Chicken Noodle Soup

For masticating, tofu and white rice.

[Pampatz]

Malt o-Meal, saltines, jello, ginger ale, baked potato. I stay away from protein and dairy for at least one day after an unset stomach.
Hope your feeling better.

[missfunkysoul]

the only thing i can tolerate on an upset stomach is plain white rice...

[kayonyc]

I go with Miso soup with soft cooked rice. You can start easy on the soup ingredients at first, going with just the fish stock/miso paste combo, and then slowly adding more ingredients (tofu, mushroom, scallion, seaweed or other veggies) as you improve. Also congee. Otherwise, a simple non-dairy vegetable soup option works too.

[barndog]

In addition to ginger ale, there's a liqueur made in the Czech Republic called Becherovka that's very good for the stomach. You can find it at BevMo. Frenet Branca and Ramazotti also work well.
For more solid stuff, dry toast, crackers are great.

[Shayna Madel]

I usually go with rice, plain toast and/or baked potato. (Thanks, Mom) I stay away from milk on the theory that perhaps it could sour in my stomach. Don't know if it's a valid theory, but don't want to take a chance, either. I figure the boring white stuff will absorb any acidity in my stomach, if that's what might be causing the upset. I ease into clear broth after that. Bananas and applesauce also sound pretty safe.

As to ginger ale, I have heard that ginger ale settles things down. I am guessing it is the sugary syrup that coats the stomach, so maybe it needs to be regular.

[charlesbois]

Peppermint tea and toast. Peppermint is a natural stomach ache remedy. The toast gives your stomach something to work on so it's not so acid-y. Works like a charm for me. Also chamomile tea can help sooth the stomach. I think Bigelow or Celestial Seasonings sells a peppermint/chamomile tea combo.

[danhole]

If you are allergic to ragweed, you should avoid chamomile. Just a friendly warning from someone who found out the hard way!

[Fromageball]

Oddly enough, peppermint tea makes me sick to my stomach. I like spearmint but I can't drink peppermint even when I'm not sick. Celestial seasonings makes Sleepytime which has spearmint and chamomile(love that!). It might have peppermint too, and I can drink it so maybe it's just peppermint alone that doesn't agree with me.

[gmm]

Peppermint tea helps me if I feel nauseous, but I also suffer from acid reflux and mint is on the list of no nos. Supposedly it stimulates acid production.

[danhole]

I have terrible times with my tummy, also. I like ramen soup, cream of chicken soup, cottage cheese, cheese toast (I broil a piece of cheese on a piece of wheat bread), ginger tea, scrambled eggs, and ABC macaroni served with butter. It is almost like eating grits, but softer.

[pfarrell]

I've found yogurt to be helpful during such times. And chicken broth with pastina....

[fayehess]

I second the rice and bananas (espec. if there have been long episodes in the powder room with a book). Fresh ginger washed and cut into chunks and covered with water (about 1 cup of water for every inch of ginger) makes a wonderful tea for upset stomach. Fennel tea or fresh fennel is very good for your stomach. Stay away from anything fatty, or with meat, no fresh fruit, just baked or poached and even then mimimal on the fruit and veg. Dry toast, oatmeal, chicken soup. fayefood.com

[coney with everything]

7-up or Coke float, possibly Vernors ginger ale. Ginger is very good for nausea

Matzo ball soup, dry crackers, soft boiled egg on toast

[mac8111]

Bitters and Club Soda.

[alanbarnes]

Chicken broth with lots of fresh ginger when things are at their worst. Add chunks of chicken, mushroom, tofu, etc. as the situation improves

[ipsedixit]

Saltines and ginger ale.

[Terrieltr]

I'll second that.

[al b. darned]

+2

[reannd]

i always stick to oatmeal and popcorn in said states.

[jword2001]

vanilla milkshake

[mschow]

speaking from experience as someone with a very sensitive stomach: ginger ale, bananas, Coke (not diet), toast, chicken and rice soup. Vanilla milkshakes settle my stomach really well, especially after one of those nights of too many adult beverages:( Chic-fil-a has a great one, just don't do the whipped cream. Also McDonalds or Wendys vanilla shakes will do in a pinch.

[jeanmarieok]

Poached eggs and toast have never failed me.

[revsharkie]

Go easy. Go bland. Ginger ale settles the stomach. When my stomach's iffy is about the only time I'm interested in eating raisin bran. Mike swears by milk toast, but that doesn't work for me.

[CraigH]

Definately agreed on the ginger ale. You can also use candied ginger. Works on sea sickness too!!

[revsharkie]

When I lived in Portland I always took a bag of ginger snap cookies with me when we went out to the coast. I never had motion sickness (except seasickness, once--but that never came up much growing up in Kansas) till I used to go through the coast range. Finally occurred to me that I could not try to read in the car on those curvy, hilly roads.

Somewhere along the line someone has done actual scientific studies and confirmed that ginger really does work.

[pikawicca]

The very thought of milk toast MAKES me sick!

[misopnu]

Try soft boiled egg and dry toast! Always works for me.

[Jacey]

I agree, I feel this is always recommended by my mom when my stomach used to hurt me.

[piccola]

Congee.

[ChefJune]

Ditto on Congee.

[galleygirl]

Oh yes, of course congee; the best of all possible worlds....

[danhole]

What is Congee?

[alanbarnes]

Rice gruel.

[jinxed]

You can make it in a plain old pot. The simplest instructions are: 1 part rice, 4 parts water. Bring to boil and then down to a simmer. Do not cover completely. Stir periodically until all of water has incorporated into a thick rice mixture, but don't scrape to the bottom or else it can burn easily. You can continue to add more water if it is too thick.
For Chiu Chow style (thinner), it should take about 30min; for thicker (regular) congee, it should take about 1 hour.

Extras: sweeten by throwing in some dried scallops or shredded chicken meat near the beginning, or frozen corn near the end. For more protein, crack an egg in near the end and let it poach, or stir it around if you want eggy ribbons. For a salty flavour, add a dash of soy sauce to your serving bowl! Top with some chopped green onion and ginger.

It's really easy to make, easy on the stomach and filling. Hope you feel better!

[piccola]

Little bit of toasted sesame oil never hurt either.

[jinxed]

Hmm, I have never tried that but I can see it working! I find that a little goes a long way with sesame oil...

[bitsubeats]

yup, always jook.

I'm I'm really really sick, I'll just eat it plain with nothing in it but rice and water. A good korean variation on jook is to toast the cooked rice and then add boiling water. Its a little nutty and isn't too harsh if you are sick

[galleygirl]

white rice, or the BRAT diet...Banana, apple sauce, rice, and toast...

[Gio]

Recently doctors have been advising the CRAM diet as an alternative to the BRAT diet:
Cereal
Rice
And
Milk
Apparently the protein in the milk helps to ease the discomfort faster than no protein.

Here's a link that explains it:
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/solutions/information/article.php?contentId=595&&

And another:
http://www.diet1200.com/brat-cram.php

In the past the BRAT diet has been very effective for me.

[FoodWine]

CRAM, of course, does not work for people with lactose intolerance. Lots of people do not even know that they are lactose intolerant.

I recommend rice, banana, blueberry soup, chamomile tea or other mile herbal teas.

For people who are not lactose intolerant, Acidophilus & Kefir products are great. They work like magic for me.

Sadly, ginger ale just makes me feel worse. Maybe the bubbles, I do not know.

[goodhealthgourmet]

actually, that's a good call on the acidophilus & kefir - even people who are lactose intolerant can usually handle them. but yeah, milk is definitely not a good idea if there are any issues :)

i'm with you on the bubbles in ginger ale (the sugar doesn't do me much good either). try drinking ginger tea or snacking on dried ginger instead.

ETA: oops, just realized someone resurrected this thread from over 3 years ago!