Eating on plan with THM when you’re sick

I’ve been eating Trim Healthy Mama style for about 18 months. I got to my goal weight after four months on plan, and I’ve maintained for another 14 months. During that time, I’ve been sick several times and at first I floundered. No crackers? No Campbell’s chicken noodle soup? I went ahead and tried those things and…yuck. I felt worse every time. So I put together a list of sickness-friendly THM meal ideas to get you through those yucky times.

Whether it be morning sickness, the stomach flu, colds, or whatever else, as long as you can eat I’ve got you covered. Remember, a lot of this is BLAND food, reserved for not feeling well, so please look at my other meals and menus to get a good feel for what this blog is about – I definitely go for tasty, flavorful food when I’m not sick! Since I don’t eat a ton when I’m sick, I alternate several breakfast and lunch ideas throughout the week. You’ll notice a lot of E meals, because those are generally much more settling to my stomach than S meals. Sticking with on-plan foods, even mostly one food type, is much better than loading up on saltine crackers and Campbell’s soup.

Sickness always makes me thankful to have food stocked up! If you cook and freeze as you go, you'll already have a freezer full of meals to feed the rest of the family. Some of those are bland enough to eat when you're sick. But it's also a great idea to have rice pre-cooked in your freezer, as suggested in the Trim Healthy Mama book, to use when you're sick. If you already have frozen homemade stock, you can make some delicious and healthy chicken soup with minimal effort.

Feeling Yucky THM Meal Ideas:

Breakfasts:

Cottage Style Toast (E) (page 239, Trim Healthy Mama). Cottage cheese is surprisingly gentle on the stomach, but if it doesn’t sit right I wouldn’t push it. **Ezekiel toast is not gluten-free. You can try Trim Healthy Pan Bread (page 266, Trim Healthy Mama) if you’re up to cooking it for a GF E. **

Muffin in a mug (any variety; the non-chocolate flavors seem to be easier to keep down) (S)

Anabolic oatmeal from the book (E) (page 230, Trim Healthy Mama)

Old Fashioned Oatmeal (you can add berries or fruit if you feel up to it) (E) (page 228, Trim Healthy Mama)

Trim Healthy Pancakes from the book (E) (page 223, Trim Healthy Mama) I keep some in my freezer to thaw and eat, and these really settle my stomach.

Lunches:

Quinoa with 1 tsp butter and salt and pepper to taste (E)

Chicken No-Noodle-Soup (FP if you use white chicken and go very easy on the carrots)

Light Progresso Soup (FP) **Not Gluten Free**

Bread in a mug with deli meat (S) (page 265, Trim Healthy Mama)

Dinner:

Gwen’s Easy Fridge Bread with some lean sliced turkey for protein (E)

Crockpot rice and beans (E)

Black Bean & Chicken Salad (E)

Nice Ricey Salad (E) (page 304, Trim Healthy Mama)

Just Like Campbell’s Tomato Soup (S) (page 292, Trim Healthy Mama); or if you feel that your stomach can't handle the acid in tomatoes, try Homemade Stock (page 333, Trim Healthy Mama).

44-Clove Garlic Soup (S) – this is a family favorite. Garlic is SO GOOD FOR YOU when you’re sick. There is some cream in this recipe, but spread out over the servings it’s not too much per person. If you’re suffering from morning sickness, you might want to skip this one if you think your stomach will be sensitive to garlic.

Snacks:

Good Girl Moonshine

Choco Pudding (FP) (page 366, Trim Healthy Mama)

Just Like Wheat Thins (S) (page 396, Trim Healthy Mama)

Pumpkin seeds (S) These are high in protein, but give me a good crunch and are fairly bland to eat.