Foods To Eat When You Have a Cold

[Simon Majumdar]

I am sitting in my office feeling sorry for myself as I have a stinking cold.

Whenever I get like this I have strange cravings for the crappy food I always used to eat when I had days off school due to illness, so here I am sitting in front of a steaming cup of Heinz Chicken Cup A Soup with synthetic croutons

I also have an inexplicable craving for boil in the bag Cod in Parsley Sauce.

Am I sick in more ways than one, or do other people get cravings for crappy food when they are ill?

Perhaps, I am trying to get in contact with my inner child ( can you get arrested for that?)

S

[John Whiting]

Since the first thing that goes during a bad cold is the sense of smell, I ignore traditional comfort foods, which tend to be bland, and gravitate towards strongly spiced, well-chilied mouth assaulters.

A good cold-comfort drink is hot strong sweet lemonade with lots of brandy. Sweet-sour sensations survive the numbing-down effect of a cold and the hot brandy adds a heady glow. It doesn't cure the cold, but I no longer give a damn.

[bushey]

Definitely comfort food. I crave dropped eggs on toast: soft boiled eggs that are cracked open and scooped out over buttered toast, preferable white or rye. We always referred to this as "eggy on toast" when I was growing up. Hot tea with milk and honey goes down well, too. Another favorite is Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable soup, though I'd have to pick out the mushy lima beans.

Usually, though, when I have a cold I think more about foods I can't stand to eat : salads, anything with vinegar, carbonated drinks, and tomato products, all of which irritate my scratchy nose and throat.

Hope you feel better soon. And remember, one person's crappy food may be another's gourmet feast (although let's hope not!)

[Wilfrid]

Interesting comment from John. One distinctive reaction I have to colds is to want lots of sugar in my tea or coffee - I normally take none. If the sweet/sour receptors are the least affected by the illness, that may be the explanation.

[Hopleaf]

For me it really depends on the nature of the cold, the symptoms. If there's a...er...gastrointestinal element, I get obsessed with white foods: sticky white rice, tapioca pudding (ok, it's really a taupe, but it's bland), plain yogurt with some honey, saltines or oyster crackers, etc. If it's mostly sinus congestion or a sore throat, I find that spicy foods really work well to clear things up and numb the soreness. And there's always ginger ale for upset stomachs. Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup is a consistent over performer when I'm sick and I found I really like their new variety (I forget the name but it comes in a clear jar, sort of like a pasta jar).

I always kick up the supplements a little too. Hit the echinacea and vitamin C pretty hard.

[John Whiting]

Yes. Sweet, sour and hot (spicey).

[sladeums]

Hate eating when I'm sick...drink is not a problem, so I'd go with the only documented cure for the common cold:

Regular dose plus a little extra swig of Nyquil

3-4 24oz cans of Red Bull malt liquor

[Terrie]

When I'm not feeling well, I'll eat junk that I wouldn't even consider at other times. Frozen Stouffer's macaroni and cheese, Campbell's tomato soup (always with grilled cheese), and the boxed kind of chicken noodle soup come to mind. I obviously find the need to o.d. on salt when I get a cold, though I think it's mostly that they don't take any preparation on my part.

I'll also have to agree with the hot lemon and brandy drinks - works wonders!

[wawairis]

I always feel the need to have pasta with tomato soup as sauce with american cheese. Sounds yucky, doesn't it? But it's what I grew up with!

[Jinmyo]

I like John's hot lemonade and brandy idea although brandy is sweet enough for me.

[Blue Heron]

The best thing about having a cold or the flu is getting to drink (warm) Thera Flu (lemon flavored). It really hits the spot. Another comfort item that only tastes good when one has a cold is hot jello (just made, still in in liquid form before it sets up). My mom always made this for us when we were sick. That and Campbells or Lipton's chicken noodle soup. Hope you feel better soon.

[bushey]

Okay, I know I said I avoid tomato products but all of this talk about Campbell's Tomato Soup made me remember that when I feel sick I love to have a piping hot bowl of the stuff (made with milk, of course) with lots of ditalini pasta in it and parmesan cheese on top. Not the good stuff; I mean the crappy sprinkle cheese kind of imported Parmesan. Sort of the opposite of wawairis' craving -- pasta on soup instead of vice versa.

As for chicken soup, I usually have a container of the homemade stuff in the freezer that I can pull out when anybody's sick. There's nothing like Mom's chicken soup to cure what ails ya.

[stellabella]

Remember the episode of Gilligan's Island when Mrs. Howell said, "Feed a fever and starve a cold...wait, or is that feed a cold and starve a fever?"

I can never remember either. Cravings during sickness can only indicate the body's call for help--it's asking you to give it what it needs to get better. When sick I often crave greasy fries and burgers and mashed potatoes and meatloaf...though I may not eat them. Why starch and red meat? Maybe it's the calories, too, maybe the metabolism gets stoked? Dunno.

I say, eat away, Simon. No sniffling at the Wenlock!

[firebellyfrog]

when i am not feeling so well i crave my mother. even now in my adulthood i call her just so i can whine about how i ache. but food wise it was to be meat raviolis in a can! there i said it. my father would heat me up and bowl and it was only thing he'd let me eat in bed. my grandmother's cure all for upset stomaches was saltines in buttermilk.

however sore throats alway hot water with lemon juice and honey, when no one is looking a few shots of white rum, so no one can tell.

[mynamejoe]

Am I sick in more ways than one, or do other people get cravings for crappy food when they are ill?

Perhaps, I am trying to get in contact with my inner child ( can you get arrested for that?)

Answers, in order of the questions: Definitely yes, yes, and yes (but just you).

Seriously, I'm just getting over a bit of a cold, myself. So unfair in the summertime, especially having made it through the winter without catching one. I generally eat simple food if I've got a cold, as a cold usually affects my sense of taste. No sense to me wasting time or money on a more elegant preparation when not even beer tastes right.

[southern girl]

I vote John's version of "lemonade"...My Grandmother used to "prescribe" something similar...bourbon and honey heated (preferably a large portion)...drink it, wrap up in as many blankets as you could stand...and sweat out the cold...

[Sandra Levine]

A similar "cure" in my childhood home was something called "rock and rye":

rye whiskey with rock candy! Even I was allowed a sip.

[Jaymes]

However sore throats always hot water with lemon juice and honey, when no one is looking a few shots of white rum, so no one can tell.  

In my house (just like Southern Girl), it was hot honey, lemon juice and bourbon! That was if my grandmother or father was in charge.

With Mom, it was "vitamin C tea" - crush several vitamin C tablets and add hot water and honey to taste.

[col klink]

For me it's Pho (pronounced "fuh" as far as I can tell). It's a Vietnamese beef soup, served with eye of round, brisket, flank, tendon, tripe or combinations thereof. The meat served in a beef broth with fresh scallions, cilantro, lots of basil and jalepeno. Very tasty and cuts through the cold.

[jhlurie]

For me it's Pho (pronounced "fuh" as far as I can tell). It's a Vietnamese beef soup, served with eye of round, brisket, flank, tendon, tripe or combinations thereof. The meat served in a beef broth with fresh scallions, cilantro, lots of basil and jalepeno. Very tasty and cuts through the cold.

Mine too.

My grandmother would flip, but it works better than her Chicken Soup ever did.

[Rachel Perlow]

Chinese Chicken Corn soup. If I'm feeling under the weather, Jason'll pick me up some from the good take out place in town. Usually don't want it at any other time.

Oh, Ginger Ale for an upset tummy, otherwise tea with honey and lemon.

[John Whiting]

I vote John's version of "lemonade"...My Grandmother used to "prescribe" something similar...bourbon and honey heated (preferably a large portion)...

Yes indeed, honey. I should have remembered that.

Edit: Actually, this is a wonderful warm-up drink coming in from long exposure to nasty weather, cold or no cold.

[polly]

Vietnamese chicken pho, it's one of the best things on earth.

Also things like pizza and frozen pommes noisettes ( but not when they're frozen).

Anything my boyfriend makes for me (It's full of love)

and food with chilli.

[Jason Perlow]

Pho, Hu Tieu, or Bun Bo Hue. Definitely.

Or matzo ball soup. Or as rachel mentioned Chinese velvet chicken and corn soup also works well too. With the fried crunchy noodles.

[suzilightning]

i hate being sick(especially since it usually goes into bronchitis) but i head directly for : theraflu; hot, sweet tea with bourbon; homemade chicken soups that i add a generous bit of garlic to(always have soup in the freezer) and, though i may crave ben & jerry's coffee heath bar crunch, i have some kind of sorbet since dairy is the worst thing if you are likely to produce mucus.

now - go home and rest.