5 Foods to Eat After a Stomach Bug

Happy Spring Break!  The bonus of being in school is weeks off at a time except you don’t actually get off.  I might be home but I have an overwhelming amount of work to do anyway.  That long list of things I wanted to get done has barely a dent in it.  It didn’t help that on Saturday sometime, I got food poisoning, again (that’s makes 3 times in a little over a year!).  Fun, right?

That means my strict healthy eating was out the window and “eat what stays down” was my new plan.  Also, “eat what satisfies my macronutrient cravings” also applied.  Most people recommend the BRAT Diet after a case of stomach woes – bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.  Applesauce sounded completely unappealing, rice makes my stomach hurt, and I don’t eat bread, so all that was left was bananas in my case.  Instead, here is a list of the things I ate to help my digestive system recover.

1.  Broth

Mine came in the form of boxed soup which is far from the best option but it did the trick.  It just hits the spot for me – the broth helps me rehydrate and the tiny noodles are just enough solids for those first few attempts at eating.  If you manage to have real, homemade broth made from bones then you get all the amazing nutrients that come with it to better support your immune system and help your body repair (Balanced Bites explains it here, plus a handy recipe).  Yum!

2.  Oatmeal

I know, I shouldn’t eat oatmeal – it has a lethargic effect on me.  But I was already exhausted from being sick, so who cares!  It doesn’t hurt my stomach, is relatively easy to digest, and can be rather filling when you can only eat a little at a time.  Leave out the milk and sugar though because those can be harsh on your digestive system and the acid in the milk won’t feel too good.

3.  Bananas

I mostly ate my bananas in my oatmeal to take away the blandness.  They are an alkaline food which means they help balance your body’s pH (assuming you are on the acidic side, which most people are).  Besides, I also found them on this list of acid reflux reducing foods too (along with oatmeal!) which is what I was really looking for.

4.  Chicken Nuggets

Not exactly a “health food” but not so bad when they have good ingredients and are baked instead of fried.  We had bought a bag at the store as an occasional treat food but they came in handy when I got sick.  They were easy to digest, didn’t kick up the stomach acid, and provided some protein and fat.  Bonus if you can get some all natural, healthy versions.  It was just what I needed when I got tired of eating all carbs.

5.  Tea

Finally, the old and trusted tea remedy.  One of the most important things to do after being sick is to rehydrate your body.  Your body needs water to function properly including your digestive system and your immune system (in case there are still some lingering bad bugs in your body!).  Sometimes water gets bland and other drinks were too acidic for my stomach so I turned to caffeine-free teas.  It would have been even better to have a ginger based tea handy (also on the list of acid reflux reducing foods).

All the above foods were also super convenient because Rob has come down with a sinus infection so who is supposed to take care of who?  All of the foods above were easy to prepare with minimal cooking.  Bonus if you live alone too!

So now that my stomach is pretty much back to normal (it was a minor case luckily), I am working on getting back in some normal foods.  I am still avoiding dairy and other very acidic foods for another few days until I’m sure my stomach is ready.  Talk about a detox!  Now, time to get back to my normal eating plan (and starting the Super Shred Diet over at some point!).

What is your favorite food when you are sick?