I have an illness called gastroparesis, or delayed stomach emptying. As a result, I rely on a feeding tube for my nutritional needs, and I can only eat very small amounts of food at a time. Being someone who loves food, I cannot wait to recover.
When I got sick, I started a list of all the foods I would eat once I had recovered. I made the list on the Notes app on my phone titled “Foods to eat when I’m alive again”.
At first, I assumed that I would only be sick for a few weeks, would recover soon, and hammer through the whole list. As time went on, this proved not to be the case. Every time I had a new craving, I added it.
I have been slowly working my way through it. At this time, I plan on periodically updating this list with my experiences as I am able to eat more. So, without further ado:
75 Foods to Eat When I Recover:
- Acai bowl
- Avocado toast
- I may never buy a house but I will never give up on avocado toast.
- Baguette with butter
- Baked brie
- When I was healthy, I would make baked brie for my friends at least twice a month. I am so obsessed with it, and have so many good recipes.
- BBQ pork bun
- Brie turkey sandwich
- Brunch
- Specifically, a full on buffet brunch. Or at least bottomless mimosas.
- Buffalo Wings
- Burger
- Cake
- Caramel Apple
- In truth, I don’t even really like these. But I’m seeing them everywhere and now that I can’t have them, I want one.
- Cheeseboard with burrata and prosciutto
- Obviously this is very specific. I think what I miss most about this is getting together with my friends and assembling the most ridiculous cheeseboards to ever exist.
- Cheeseburger
- Cheesecake
- Chicken cordon bleu
- I’ve actually never had chicken cordon bleu, but for some reason had a strong craving for it. Unquestionably, adding it to the list was spurred by the fear that I may *never* be able to have it.
- Chicken fingers
- Chicken sandwich
- Chili
- Specifically, this would ideally on a super cold winter day.
- Chinese noodles
- Like food court noodles.
- Chocolate chip banana bread
- Chocolate covered strawberries
- Christmas baking
- By all means, this stems from the fact that I got sick right around Christmas time. Then, I was incredibly ill and could barely participate in anything. While I did manage to do some baking, it was significantly less than most years, and I could not eat any of it. But, my parents filled a bag with baking and put it in the freezer for me, for when I would assumingly be better in a few weeks. Unfortunately, the baking stayed in the freezer until I threw it out this July.
- Cinnamon bun
- Coffee
- Generally, this was by far the worst thing on this list that I couldn’t have. Until nearly three months later, I couldn’t drink any coffee. It was horrible.
- Cream cheese bagel from Tim Horton’s
- Croissant
- Preferably while sitting in a Paris café.
- Croque monsieur
- Cupcake
- I could have a mini cupcake at this point, but for the purposes of this list, that doesn’t count.
- Donut
- Dumplings
- Eggs Benedict
- One of my absolute favourite dishes. So many options.
- Enchiladas
- Fettuccini alfredo
- Coupled with other pastas, this is my all-time favourite food. Previously, if it was on a menu, I had to order it.
- Fish and Chips
- In short, this is to support my British friends.
- French toast
- Fresh spring rolls
- Fried rice
- Fries
- At this point, literally any kind would work. Normal fries, curly fries, sweet potato fries, waffle fries. I would even accept potato wedges.
- Frozen margarita
- Garlic bread
- Ginger molasses cookie
- See above entry on Christmas baking.
- Greek Salad
- Grilled cheese
- Hot chocolate
- While I have tried this on several occasions now, I have not been able to get through a whole cup. At this time, I don’t think I can have that much milk. And hot chocolate with water clearly doesn’t count.
- Hot dog
- Ice cream
- Iced cappuccino
- Indian food
- I think this will be the last thing that I will be able to eat on this list. In general, spicy foods are not recommended for those with gastroparesis, and every time I have spicy food I feel sick. This is very sad for me as I love Indian food.
- Jam donut
- Not to be confused with above ‘donut’ post. This is specifically a jam-filled donut. It deserves its own entry.
- Lasagna
- Lemon potatoes
- Mac and cheese
- Meatballs
- Homemade ones. Alternatively, IKEA ones.
- Milkshake
- My formula is vanilla flavoured, so if were up to me, as soon as I recover, I would never have a vanilla drink again in my life. But any other flavour goes.
- Mozzarella sticks
- Nachos
- Fully loaded nachos with absolutely everything.
- Pad thai
- Pancakes
- Or crepes. Sweet or savoury.
- Pasta
- Any kind. Every kind. A whole entire bowl that would make Italians proud.
- Pastel de nata
- Perogies
- Pho
- Pizza
- While amazing, very hard on your stomach. As such, this will be another ‘near the end of the list’ item.
- Poutine
- As a good Canadian, this needs to be on the list.
- Pulled pork sandwich
- Ramen
- Roasted red peppers
- Scalloped potatoes
- Homemade ones. With hundreds of layers.
- Sesame Chicken
- Shawarma wrap
- Smoked salmon
- Spring rolls
- Subway
- Like the restaurant. I want to be able to eat a 12” sandwich.
- Sushi
- Another one of the last things that I will be able to eat. Partially because I’m scared that raw fish will hurt my stomach, partially because I don’t want to order a whole roll when I will only be able to eat one or two pieces.
- Udon
Is there anything I missed? Let me know what should be added to my list of foods to eat once I recover in the comments below!