Weird Stuff I Ate While I Was Sick

On eating through illness, quiet hunger cues, and the kind of care that has nothing to do with protein shakes.

This one will be a quickie, friends—because I’m practicing a whole lot of self-compassion as I slowly emerge from a seven-day virus that completely knocked me out. I’m also attempting (in vain) to catch up on emails.

On that note, here’s a reminder I’m giving myself, and maybe you need it too:
Sometimes the emails just need to wait longer than feels “reasonable.”
And that, too, is self-care.

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Since I’ve been living in Sick Person World this week, that’s what I’m bringing you: a few thoughts on trying to eat when your body has morphed into a furnace of feverish chaos. Because it’s in that survival mode—where you’re hijacked by fever, fatigue, and zero reliable signals—that the usual language of your body goes quiet, and in its place is this strange hum of discomfort and disconnection.

This can be more than disorienting. It can be triggering. And it’s okay if that’s true for you, too.

Stay tuned for a Part Two of this piece on why and how feeling sick can be a trigger for folks, especially in ED recovery. Make sure you’re subscribed here to get it.

It’s me, in dog form.

I titled this “weird” stuff I eat when I’m sick.

But if you’ve been here a while, you won’t be shocked to hear me say:
I don’t actually believe in “weird” food choices.

All food choices are valid. All preferences are valid. (Okay... maybe the carnivore diet is the exception? 😂 I’d love to hear your exception in the comments).

I used the word weird because that’s what diet culture and the wellness industrial complex would have us believe about certain foods.

But the truth is, food doesn’t have to “make sense” to be a meal.

It doesn’t have to fit into some arbitrary algorithm of appropriateness to be supportive.

And, gasp, protein doesn’t need to have main character energy.

In fact, I rarely want anything protein-centric when I don’t feel well, and there are real physiological and psychological reasons for that. The body craves comfort, energy, simplicity, ease.

So here’s the stuff that probably wouldn’t make it into an influencer’s feed, but quite literally kept me going this past week:

• Mushy cereal (yes, I wanted it mushy in the milk—don’t ask)

• Ritz crackers with butter

• Saltines with jam

• Plain, lightly toasted bread—sometimes with honey, or butter, or PB

• White rice with butter and salt

• Oatmeal cooked with milk and a mashed banana

• Noodles with butter and salt (plus parmesan cheese once my sick taste buds felt up for it)

• Jell-O (the retro hospital kind—zero regrets)

• Cream of wheat with brown sugar

• Vanilla pudding

• Smoothie made with frozen bananas, rolled oats, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and milk (this came later, when I had enough energy to actually make it)

• Graham crackers and apple sauce (not exactly together, but not not together either)

• Honorary mention: chicken noodle soup, which is usually on my go-to list, but this time wasn’t quite what I wanted

These aren’t “good” or “bad” foods. They’re just foods. Some are soft, some are crunchy. Some are sweet, or salty, or both. Most are carb-y. But they’re all (personally) soothing foods that met me where I was, and that was enough. I let it be enough.

And maybe even more importantly—you don’t have to justify your choices to anyone. Not your partner, not your group chat, not the voice in your head that still wants meals to follow a certain logic. Being sick is a full-time job. Feeding yourself through it is an act of love, not something to explain away or earn gold stars for. If all you could manage was buttered toast and a juice box? That counts. That matters. That is nourishment.

Healing asks for care, not rules.

I’d love to hear from you.

What’s your version of “weird” comfort food when you feel like absolute crap?
Drop it below—bonus points for nostalgia or unconventional flavor combos.

P.S.: don’t forget to hit the “like” button and/or share this post. It truly helps! Love ya, mean it.