Any ideas for meals for kids recovering from the stomach flu?

We're moving beyond just bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, but not back to normal. Chicken soup. Crackers. What else?

efirewood
  • 85722 views
  • 16 Comments

16 Comments

sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx March 20, 2014
How about some simple baked chicken tenders or breasts with mashed or oven baked potato spears. Simple carrot or celery sticks with some ranch dressing or pretzels for a snack.
 
kimhw
kimhw March 19, 2014
Avoid dairy for a full 2 weeks after a tummy bug.
That means butter, yogurt and any cheese.
Also avoid high acid. No tomatoes or citrus. No beans. No brassica.

My go to, I have two little boys with sensitive tummies, crusty bruschetta with dippers; purred veggies that they like best. Scrambled eggs with roast. Fried rice-minus any oil. Chicken soup.
 
Pegeen
Pegeen March 19, 2014
If you want to avoid dairy, you could make vegan smoothies: berries for Vitamin C (frozen are fine), silken tofu, and rice, almond or coconut milk. And crushed ice if anyone has a sore throat.
 
amysarah
amysarah March 19, 2014
My kids ate a lot of pastina when they were very little, but also when getting over tummy aches - in broth, or with a little butter and sprinkling of parm. Boiled eggs, with toast "soldiers" to dip in the yolk. Cinnamon toast or toast drizzled with honey. Cream of Wheat with a little brown sugar and splash of milk. Chicken soup, with the shredded boiled chicken and carrots. May be boring, but if your kids are little, a rough tummy is a time to coddle, not challenge!
 
ColoradoCook
ColoradoCook March 19, 2014
I'm a fan of avgolemno soup (lemony Greek chicken and rice). It's a nice departure from standard chicken noodle and a real crowd pleaser. It's also super simple if you pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store. Martha has a quick and easy recipe here: http://www.marthastewart.com/333102/avgolemono
 
ATL
ATL March 19, 2014
My mom was a genius at this. Try really good, clear, homemade chicken soup but strain it through cheesecloth to get a perfectly clear broth. Add some rice and serve. Rice is easier to digest than noodles. Take some of the cooked chicken breast, shred, and make little tea sandwiches on soft white bread or toast with the crusts cut off. Lay off the fats in any form. As suggested above, a plain baked potato works wonders (no butter for now). Serve a half of one with some applesauce. A twice-baked potato half is also appetizing and digestible made with no cheese and not much butter. Angel food cake. Think bland and low-fat and small presentations.
 
Dona
Dona March 19, 2014
I always make chicken noodle soup for the G-kids, they call it magic soup.
 
Maedl
Maedl March 19, 2014
Greek egg-lemon soup was comforting. Serve that with toasted rosemary bread with butter and honey. Always helped me!
 
Dona
Dona March 19, 2014
The brat diet, bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
 
efirewood
efirewood March 19, 2014
Hi Dona, thank you. We've been on the BRAT diet diet, now I'm looking for some transitional ideas. Tired of bananas but homemade mac and cheese last night was too dairy heavy. Thank you!
 
HalfPint
HalfPint March 19, 2014
How about some pastina? Comforting and not so heavy on little stomachs.
http://www.framedcooks.com/2009/07/pastina-with-egg-and-cheese-otherwise-known-as-comfort-food.html
 
efirewood
efirewood March 19, 2014
hmm, maybe too much dairy, actually. tried homemade mac and cheese last night, comforting but didn't go over so well stomach-wise. thank you!
 

Voted the Best Reply!

HalfPint
HalfPint March 19, 2014
@efirewood,compared to mac and cheese, pastina doesn't really have much dairy. You can cut out the butter and add only a sprinkling of cheese. Italians feed this to their babies and sick ones because it's easy to digest. I agree though that you should avoid dairy-heavy foods right now because it's too much for recovering stomachs of any age.

Whenever I was sick as a child, my mother would make congee or rice porridge. She would poach a chicken with some onions and gingerroot (ginger's really great for upset stomachs & nausea). The meat gets shredded and the broth gets used to make the congee. The congee was served in a small bowl with topped with a little of the shredded chicken. It was easy to eat and gentle on the stomach. I still make these days whenever I want something light and comforting, whether I'm sick or not.
 
Stephanie G.
Stephanie G. March 19, 2014
baked potatoes?
 
healthierkitchen
healthierkitchen March 20, 2014
or baked sweet potato?
 
healthierkitchen
healthierkitchen March 20, 2014
When we were getting over a stomach bug, my mother used to make a baked potato and moisten it with some clear chicken soup and mash it up with a few of the soup carrots.
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52