How to 'tempt' an appetite

[Binky Profile]

When you are cooking for someone who is feeling unwell, and not up to eating a full meal, what do you do to tempt their appetite? Soup and omelettes are already on the list.

[Alexandria Profile]

Good Evening Binky,

Are we discussing a bad cold, fever with flu or a chronic ailment ?

Less is always better and liquids & herbal infusions & fruit juices with lots of Vitamin C, especially if there is a fever involved ..

Proteins can be quite hard to digest when one is sick ..

Tempting an appetite ! When you are sick, the majority of people have little to no appetite ..

Avoids With colds, flus & fever: Dairy as they could cause phelgm and cause loose bowels .. Proteins are hard to digest when not up to par ..

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Personally, and speaking with absolutely no medical background whatsoever, I think soup is the answer. Firstly, it´s easier to digest, and secondly, it´s not heavy on the stomach.
Liquids and more liquids seems to work for me.

[Suffs Profile]

When frail and poorly my Aged Pa was a great believer in the efficacy of jelly and ice cream. Sometimes he’d have ice cream and jelly ... just for a change.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Firstly, do you need to tempt their appetite? In a short illness it’s often far more important to keep up the intake of fluids than calories

Secondly, soup is filling but not very nourishing - it’s usually 80% or so water after all, but if someone is ill for a short time and it tempts them it is of course a useful stop gap and for a delicate tum often the easiest thing to have

Dairy doesn’t in fact increase mucus, it just makes it more obvious (which does feel much the same) - the calcium in dairy sets it much as calcium sets soy milk to form tofu. So it’s worth a try - if enjoyable fine, if not avoid Milk can be a problem for some people with diarrhoea

If dairy is ok when feeling delicate I find things like rice pud and porridge are good, unlike some protein foods they don’t seem to taste “off” and sense of taste and smell can be badly distorted (so don’t take anything as an insult to your cooking )

In a similar vein a small portion of risotto or pasta can be s good way of stepping up intake I find during recovery though I don’t think there is any science behind that

But otherwise, anything that goes down.

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

Once the patient is on the road to recovery, a chicken noodle soup always seems to hit the spot in our house.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

When we don't want to eat.
I find dry food rather good. Plain biscuits and crackers. Topped with plain things like cottage cheese. Or sliced tomato.
Belvitas are great.
Yoghurts.
Steamed fish.
Mash.
Plain granola. Or dry porridge with almond milk.

Nuts.

1 portion-y things. Rather than meat n 2 veg.

[Renee Profile]

If I'm not well, I always enjoy egg custard with plenty of nutmeg on top and served with apple sauce.

[Joanbunting Profile]

I was going to suggest rice pudding too Sue.

I also like things like fresh fruit compotes though possibly not if it is tummy trouble.

My oldies used to love things like a really dainty sandwiches - made with nice bread and special filling, only not too much. Mum's favourite were crab, smoked salmon, wafer thin smoked ham. Auntie's included mashed banana with a little sugar. Dad's were thin roast beef, chicken breast slices and also ham.

[Binky Profile]

soup and rice pudding sound just the job.

[Amyw Profile]

I think light or snacks foods, as a big meal can seem overwhelming . Cheese and crackers , "things on toast", such as scrambled/poached eggs , mashed sardines, Welsh rarebit are all good.

[jeral Profile]

As the act of eating itself can be tiring, spoon food is good I reckon. Jellies, mousses, meat pates on soft bread, soft veg, or meat & spud patties or hash, grilled not oily. Ice cream with swirls is good if room stiflingly hot and can't go outside for fresh air. (No gritty crumbs or seeds if false teeth involved.) If on medication, some cause sweating, some constipation, so worth asking to adjust food if needed.

Meals can be whatever someone wants to eat, whatever time of day, usually favourites, so might be cake for breakfast, cup of tea with dunkable biscuits for lunch, porridge for tea, or even curry for breakfast depending on what "unwell" means if they're more in need of perking up "in themselves" as we say.

Some cold meal things that don't spoil too, as a lot say that they're food is taken away when they just wanted a little break before eating more of it.

Also, leave nibbles for if the urge takes, like mini crackers, cheese straws, maize crisps like Wotsits etc, or chocolates (mint creme helps stop indigestion for some people). Also, if those start to go, it could be a good sign of appetite returning.

Sending best wishes.

[Uschi Profile]

In my family it's fennel or chamomille tea and unsweetened rusks for any kind of tummy ailment.

For colds it's home made chicken soup.
Ice cream or cold (blancmange-type) pudding for sore throats.

I am partial to oxtail soup from a can with some cream and plenty of tabasco sauce to ward off colds.

For some reason I rarely lose my appetite when I am ill. It is fear that spoils my appetite. Better than any diet.

[Sakkarin Profile]

A can of heinz Scotch Broth was always my family's remedy for a nasty cold, and it's still first on my list. Who cares if it's only 2% meat, and that meat is probably ears? My granny was a Scot, I suspect that's where it came from.

I am also a fan of "feeding the cold", and ice cream and Danish pastries are high on the list of cold feeding self-medication.

Hmm, now I fancy some Scotch broth followed by ice cream and Danish pastries. Maybe I have a cold coming on...

[Joanbunting Profile]

When I think of it Sakkers DS's favourite what he called "Miserable food" was Baxters Royal Game soup. He called it "Garvy soup"

I wonder if it is still available?

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I have a can Joan - still around

Not sure WHY I have a can!

[Joanbunting Profile]

In case my DS is feeling off colour??

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I just had s can of Baxter’s French onion soup, also bough on a whim

Not very French but okay with the addition of just a half capful of cognac - really changed the flavour for the better

[Joanbunting Profile]

I always add a bit of cognac to my onion soup. It would be a pick-me-up too wouldn't it? My grandmothe, who was, according to her, completelyt-total as a Methodist always had a bottle in the back of the china press. Purely for medicinal purposes you understand. It was amazing how often it had to be replaced. She wa 92 when she died!

[Uschi Profile]

My paternal Gran, who looked like the Elephant man from the waist down, always added three tablespoons of "Klosterfrau Melissengeist" to some water boiled a few hours before and now cool.

This lemon balm spirit was an invention made in a cloister and is indeed used for medicinal reasons. Having said that, it contains 80% alcohol and a few etheric oils ...

She only lived to 79, but with her elephantiasis that was a ripe old age.