What to eat when your appetite is low: food ideas for the days eating feels hard

Written by James Frost, founder of Flaming Phoenix. Updated October 2026.

Quick answer: When your appetite is low, eat a little every 2 to 3 hours and make small portions richer, not bigger: full-fat yoghurt, porridge made with whole milk, soup with cheese stirred in, milky drinks between meals. On days you can barely face food, sip something nourishing instead. Keep drinks away from mealtimes and choose food you enjoy.

You do not need to face a full plate, and you do not need to wait until you feel hungry, because when appetite drops, hunger often stops arriving on time. Some days you can manage almost nothing. Some days it is a few mouthfuls. Some days a small plate feels possible. This guide is organised around exactly that, so you can meet yourself where you are rather than where you think you should be.

I am not a dietitian, and nothing here replaces advice tailored to you. Before launching Phoenix Bars I had about 150 conversations with athletes, expedition people and people who struggle to eat enough, and the food ideas below follow NHS dietitian guidance, which is linked as I go. If you want to rebuild the appetite itself over the coming weeks, see how to increase your appetite; if your problem is feeling full after a few bites, see why do I get full so fast.

What helps on every low-appetite day?

Five things hold whatever kind of day it is. Eat a little every 2 to 3 hours: Age UK's leaflet on improving your food and drink intake suggests something every 2 to 3 hours, even if it is only something small. Make small amounts richer instead of trying to eat more of them; there is a fuller explanation in my calorie-dense foods guide, and practical ways to add calories to food you already eat in easy ways to eat more calories. Eat the most at the time of day your appetite is best, which for many people is the morning. Choose full-fat versions instead of diet or light ones; NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly advises full-fat dairy, and the British Dietetic Association suggests avoiding low-fat yoghurt and skimmed or semi-skimmed milk when you are trying to eat more. And have drinks after meals or between them, not just before, so fluid does not take the room food needs.

The table matches food to how much you can manage today. It draws on NHS and Age UK leaflets for people with a small appetite.

On the days you can barely face food

Some days the thought of chewing anything is too much. On those days, something you can sip is far better than nothing. Milky drinks do a lot of work here: hot chocolate, a malted drink, a milky coffee, a milkshake or a smoothie. University Hospital Southampton's Build yourself up leaflet gives a simple fortified milk: mix four tablespoons of skimmed milk powder with a little whole milk to make a paste, then stir in the rest of a pint, and use it for drinks all day.

Cold and bland often goes down more easily than hot and strong-smelling. The Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS leaflet on common eating and drinking problems notes that cold food such as ice cream, sorbet and yoghurt can be more manageable, so a few spoons of ice cream or a cold milk drink may be more achievable than a meal. Smooth soups count too, ideally with cream, butter or grated cheese stirred through. The aim is simply to keep something going in, gently, across the day. For more in this register, my soft high calorie foods guide covers foods that need little or no chewing, and high calorie drinks and smoothies has recipes.

On the days you can manage a few mouthfuls

On slightly better days, aim for small portions of soft, rich food that need little effort and no real cooking. Thick, creamy full-fat yoghurt with a spoon of honey and some nut butter stirred in. A few squares of cheese. Half a small bowl of porridge made with whole milk and topped with something sweet. A little avocado on buttered toast, cut small. Custard or rice pudding. Keep the serving small so it does not feel daunting, and rich so the small amount still counts.

This is where a bar can be easier than a meal. Phoenix Bars, which I sell, carry up to 557 calories in a small, soft 120g bar, and you can break one into pieces and graze a mouthful at a time, with no cooking smells on days when the kitchen is off-putting. Alan Thompson, a polar guide, put the texture well: "I liked how it broke easily into smaller chunks and it was great that it melted in my mouth very easily". The same bar stirred into warm milk makes a soft porridge, which is easier again on a tired day; how to use Phoenix Bars shows both methods. Which of the six flavours sits best is personal, so it is worth trying more than one.

On the days a small plate feels possible

When you have a little more in you, take advantage of it, especially if it lands at your best time of day; the Southampton leaflet suggests eating a little more at the times your appetite is better. Keep portions small but make each one rich: eggs scrambled in butter on buttered toast, cheese on toast, a small bowl of porridge made with fortified milk, a buttered jacket potato with a generous filling, or a small ready-made pasta dish with extra cheese or olive oil stirred through. Choose foods you enjoy over foods that look virtuous, because enjoyment is what gets the next mouthful in. If preparing food is hard, ready meals and easy-to-grab options are completely sensible.

Even on a good day, a small plate rarely adds up to enough on its own, so a small snack between meals helps: a yoghurt, a slice of malt loaf with butter, a few crackers with cheese, or a few pieces of one of the soft high calorie bars mentioned above. If you are cooking for an older relative, my guides to high calorie foods for older adults and meals for elderly people cover their side of it.

Small things that make eating easier

A handful of small adjustments help across all of the above. If the smell of cooking turns you off, lean on cold food that needs no heating; the dietitians at Milton Keynes University Hospital, in their leaflet Are you feeling full?, suggest yoghurts, ice cream and iced drinks, and keeping stocks of foods you enjoy so they are there whenever you fancy them. Keep easy snacks within arm's reach, by your chair or bed, so eating does not depend on getting up and preparing something. Give yourself time and do not rush. A small amount of fresh air before meals can help, according to the Age UK leaflet. And let yourself eat the rich, sweet or comforting things you might normally avoid; while your appetite is low, those foods are doing a useful job.

When is it worth asking for more help?

Eating richly in small amounts helps, but it is not the whole answer for everyone. Speak to your GP if you are losing weight without meaning to, if a low appetite is not improving, or if eating is getting harder, not easier. The NHS advises speaking to a GP if you have lost weight suddenly or without changing your diet or exercise routine, and treats losing weight without trying over 3 to 6 months as one of the main signs of not eating enough (NHS guidance on unintentional weight loss). Your GP can check whether anything needs attention and refer you to a dietitian, who can tailor all of this to you. If you already have a plan from a dietitian, follow that first and use anything here alongside it.

Be kind to yourself on the hard days. Small, rich, easy things kept within reach, and forgiveness for the days that do not go to plan, carry you further than any single perfect meal.

Frequently asked questions

What can I eat if I do not feel like eating anything at all?

Reach for calories you can sip rather than chew: a small milky drink, a smoothie, a few spoons of ice cream, an enriched soup, or a Phoenix Bar made into a loose porridge. Something small and gentle is far better than nothing, and it often makes the next mouthful a little easier.

Is it better to eat something rich and indulgent than to eat nothing?

While your appetite and weight are low, yes. Full-fat, rich foods are the right choice for now, and the usual low-fat advice does not apply in the same way; NHS Cornwall's food-first advice for a small appetite recommends full-fat dairy. The priority is getting enough in, in whatever form you can manage.

How do I eat enough without facing large meals?

Focus on richness, not size. Make small portions richer with butter, oil, cream, cheese, nut butter or honey, and add small snacks and milky drinks between meals. NHS Cornwall suggests three small meals and two to three snacks a day, which spreads the food across the day without any one sitting being large.

What drinks help when your appetite is low?

Milky drinks made with whole or fortified milk, smoothies, milkshakes, hot chocolate and malted drinks all add nourishment as well as fluid. Have them between meals or after eating, not just before, so they do not fill you up. Tea, coffee and squash carry almost nothing, so they are better kept for later in the day.

What should I eat after being ill when I still have no appetite?

Start small and soft: a milky drink, yoghurt, porridge, soup or toast with butter, every 2 to 3 hours, building portion sizes up as you feel able. Cold food is often easier at first. If your appetite has not started to come back as you recover, or you are losing weight, see your GP.

Sources: NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, food first advice for adults with a small appetite; University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Build yourself up; Age UK, How to improve your food and drink intake if you have a poor appetite; Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Are you feeling full?; Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, common issues with eating and drinking; British Dietetic Association, food fact sheet for older adults; NHS, healthy ways to gain weight; NHS, signs of not eating enough.