10 Refeeding Meal Recipes

Refeeding Principles First

Before the recipes, a few general principles:

Smaller than you want

Hunger at the end of a fast can make you want more food than is comfortable. A slightly smaller first meal than usual is a sensible start, especially after longer fasts. You can eat more later if you are still hungry.

Build the meal around protein and vegetables

Meals based on protein, vegetables, and some fat or whole-food carbohydrate tend to feel more satisfying than breaking a fast with sweets or large amounts of refined carbohydrate, which some people find leaves them hungry again soon after.

Eat slowly

Take your time over the first meal, ideally 20 minutes or more. Feelings of fullness take a while to catch up with what you have eaten, so eating quickly makes overeating more likely.

For longer fasts: include sodium

After longer fasts, some sodium in the first meal (for example, salted broth or seasoned eggs and vegetables) helps replace what is lost while fasting. If you have been advised to limit salt, follow that advice.

After 16–24 Hour Fasts

After a typical intermittent fast, no special refeeding is needed. A balanced, normal-sized meal is enough.

Recipe 1 — Greek Yogurt Bowl with Berries and Walnuts

Time: 5 minutes · Protein: ~20g · Calories: ~350

• 200 g full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 handful frozen berries (defrosted) or fresh
• 15 g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey or drizzle of maple syrup (optional)
• Cinnamon

Place yogurt in a bowl, top with berries and walnuts, drizzle honey if using, dust with cinnamon. Easy to digest, with protein and some fat for fullness and modest carbohydrate from fruit.

Recipe 2 — Three-Egg Spinach Omelette with Avocado

Time: 10 minutes · Protein: ~25g · Calories: ~500

• 3 eggs
• 1 large handful frozen spinach (defrosted, squeezed dry)
• 30 g feta or cheddar (optional)
• ½ avocado, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in pan, add spinach, pour in eggs, scatter cheese. Cook gently to set. Serve with avocado on the side. Protein, healthy fats, and very little carbohydrate.

Recipe 3 — Salmon Salad with Quinoa

Time: 15 minutes (with pre-cooked quinoa) · Protein: ~30g · Calories: ~600

• 120 g salmon fillet (pan-fried or oven-baked)
• 100 g cooked quinoa
• 2 handfuls mixed greens (spinach, rocket)
• ½ cucumber, diced
• 5–6 cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt, pepper

Cook salmon: brush with olive oil, season, pan-fry skin-side down 4 minutes, flip, 2 more minutes. Toss greens, cucumber, tomatoes, and quinoa. Top with salmon. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon. A balanced meal with omega-3 fats from the salmon.

Recipe 4 — Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice

Time: 20 minutes · Protein: ~40g · Calories: ~650

• 150 g chicken breast or thigh, sliced
• 1 large mixed vegetable handful (broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, snow peas)
• 100 g cooked brown or white rice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil + 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Spring onion to garnish

Heat olive oil in wok/pan over high heat. Stir-fry chicken until cooked, set aside. Add garlic, ginger, vegetables; stir-fry 3–4 minutes. Return chicken, add soy sauce and sesame oil, toss. Serve over rice with spring onion. A normal-sized, balanced meal.

After 24–48 Hour Fasts

After a longer fast, many people find smaller, softer meals with less raw fibre more comfortable to start with.

Recipe 5 — Bone Broth Egg Drop Soup

Time: 10 minutes · Protein: ~15–25g (depends on the broth) · Calories: ~250

• 500 ml chicken or bone broth (salted to taste)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 spring onion, sliced
• 1 inch piece ginger, sliced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Bring broth to a gentle simmer with ginger and soy sauce. Slowly drizzle in beaten eggs while stirring with a fork to create ribbons. Remove from heat. Stir in sesame oil and spring onion. Light and easy to digest, with protein from the eggs and sodium from the broth.

Recipe 6 — Avocado-Egg Toast (Half-Portion)

Time: 8 minutes · Protein: ~17g · Calories: ~350

• 2 eggs (poached or soft-boiled)
• 1 slice sourdough or whole-grain bread (one slice keeps the portion modest)
• ½ avocado, mashed
• Squeeze of lemon
• Salt, pepper, chilli flakes

Mash avocado with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Spread on toast. Top with eggs. Season to taste. A modest, balanced portion.

Recipe 7 — Smoked Mackerel with Cooked Greens

Time: 10 minutes · Protein: ~25g · Calories: ~550

• 100 g smoked mackerel fillet
• 200 g spinach or kale, sautéed
• 1 small sweet potato (~150 g), baked or steamed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lemon wedge
• Salt, pepper

Bake or steam sweet potato until tender. Sauté greens in olive oil with salt. Plate the mackerel with greens and sweet potato. Squeeze lemon over. Provides protein, omega-3 fats, and an easily digested starch. Smoked fish is salty, so go easy on added salt.

After 48–72 Hour Fasts

After a fast of this length, start with something very small and gentle, then build up over the next several hours. The first meal is deliberately small; a second meal a few hours later can be larger if you feel well.

Recipe 8 — Broth, Then Soft Eggs

Time: 5 + 10 minutes (two stages) · Protein: ~20g total · Calories: ~320 total

Stage 1 (immediately on breaking the fast):

• 250 ml warm bone broth or chicken broth
• Pinch of salt
• Sip slowly over 10–15 minutes

Stage 2 (45–60 minutes later):

• 2 soft-boiled eggs
• ½ small avocado, sliced
• Pinch of salt
• Drizzle of olive oil

The two-stage approach keeps the first intake small. The broth provides fluid and sodium; the eggs and avocado add protein and fat in a modest portion. Wait a couple of hours before a second, larger meal.

Recipe 9 — Cooked Apple with Yogurt and Almond Butter

Time: 10 minutes · Protein: ~15g · Calories: ~380

• 1 apple, peeled, cored, sliced
• 1 teaspoon butter
• Pinch cinnamon
• 150 g full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• Pinch of salt

Sauté apple slices in butter with cinnamon over medium-low heat for 5–8 minutes until soft. Cool slightly. Top yogurt with cooked apple, drizzle with almond butter, sprinkle of salt. Many people find cooked apple easier to digest than raw. Yogurt labelled with live cultures also provides beneficial bacteria. A modest portion.

Recipe 10 — Steamed Fish with Mashed Potato and Spinach

Time: 25 minutes · Protein: ~25g · Calories: ~400

• 120 g white fish (cod, haddock, pollock — fresh or frozen)
• 1 medium potato (~200 g), peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 large handful spinach
• 1 lemon wedge
• Salt, pepper, dill or parsley

Boil potato until soft, mash with butter, milk, salt, and pepper. Steam fish over simmering water with herbs (8–10 minutes depending on thickness). Wilt spinach in a splash of water with salt. Plate everything; squeeze lemon over fish. A gentle combination of lean protein, cooked starch, and cooked greens. Suitable as the second meal after a longer fast.

Beyond 72 Hours: Medical Supervision

Prolonged fasting carries a risk of refeeding syndrome: when eating resumes, especially with a large amount of carbohydrate, levels of phosphate, potassium, and magnesium in the blood can drop sharply. This can cause serious heart, breathing, and nerve problems. The risk is highest in people who are underweight or malnourished, have eaten very little for a long time, have a history of an eating disorder, drink heavily, or have other medical conditions.

Because of this, fasts longer than 72 hours should only be done with medical supervision, and the refeeding plan should come from the supervising clinician rather than a recipe page. General points that such plans commonly include:

• Starting with small portions and building up gradually over several days
• Avoiding large amounts of sugary or refined carbohydrate at first
• Avoiding alcohol
• Blood tests to check electrolytes in higher-risk people

Seek urgent medical help if you develop swelling, shortness of breath, chest pain, an irregular or racing heartbeat, confusion, severe weakness, or seizures after ending a fast.

For more on extended fast safety, see the extended fasting guide and the safety guide.