My family has had a really nasty bug going from one person in the house to another and as we get to where it's been going on long enough that I am the only one who hasn't come down with it (yet), I have been making every version of chicken soup I can come up with and we are all sick to death of chicken soup. (Since I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the long string of nursing-the-sick duties and constantly feeling like I am also trying to fight off similar symptoms, even the well family members have been stuck eating the endless chicken soup variations since I don't have the energy to cook separate menus for the sick and the recovered.)

When I asked the ones who are still sick with it what sounds good, the best suggestion anyone came up with is "something watery." I've made all kinds of chicken soup and one night was a beef soup, but does anyone have any recipes that are good comfort for people with fever, fatigue, congestion, horrible cough? (They don't have stomach symptoms, at least, so it doesn't have to be real bland.) I'm even up for less-common variations of more chicken soup. I'm out of ideas and my sleep-deprived brain is drawing a massive blank. Thanks!!

I eat the following when I'm sick:

Boiled, mashed potatoes with a little butter, sour cream, pepper, and salt. This is not a good idea if someone is really mucousy.

Plain yogurt blended with frozen fruit and juice.

Poached chicken in white wine, chicken broth, and Herbs Provence. I eat it with white rice boiled in chicken broth.

If feeling better, some kind of pasta with a red sauce. A classic Italian restorative is macaroni en brodo, pasta boiled in beef or chicken broth, sometimes an egg dropped in.

If you think you're getting sick and it's something in the lungs, head, nasal, you can make a mixture of cayenne, garlic, and honey and take a tsp every hour on the hour. It helps, I know from experience. If it's a stomach thing, get some charcoal tablets and take them.

That reminds me of a recipe for a very spicy-hot Egyptian tomato soup I've been meaning to try out.

Ginger tea for congestion and cough: 2-3 cups boiling water, 1/2-1 tsp grated fresh ginger, squeeze of lemon juice, honey to taste.

Sports drinks to hydrate; water; herb tea


Zinc tablets for fever.

Soft to medium boiled eggs and saltines.

Jello and cottage cheese or yogurt; smoothies

Chicken and rice

Lentil soup

Top ramen with any type of topping - shredded meat or veg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2013 03:55PM by Senoritalamanita.

Chicken soup does not cure anyone.

What's wrong with McDonalds or other fast food take out ?
You could add a nice mixed vegetable salad for a healthier meal.

Or make hot tea and add Manucca honey.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/the-science-of-chicken-soup/?_r=0

"As it turns out, a handful of scientific studies show that chicken soup really could have medicinal value...

"Using blood samples from volunteers, [a U. of Nebraska Med. Center doctor] showed that the soup inhibited the movement of neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell that defends against infection. Dr. Rennard theorizes that by inhibiting the migration of these infection-fighting cells in the body, chicken soup essentially helps reduce upper respiratory cold symptoms...

"In general, the hot fluids helped increase the movement of nasal mucus, but chicken soup did a better job than the hot water, according to the 1978 report, also published in Chest. Chicken soup also improves the function of protective cilia, the tiny hairlike projections in the nose that prevent contagions from entering the body, according to a 1998 Coping With Allergies and Asthma report."

"

Pho. It is Vietnamese soup. I'm eating some right now because I have a virus with bad sore throat.

When I read the op, my first thought was pho. First of all I'm completely addicted to it, but the hot steam in your face and up your stuffed up nasal passages helps. Also, mine is usually so hot I pour out sweat. The spicy helps clear out sinus too.

Damn, I want a bowl now, but I'm in hickory, nc and I can't imagine pho would be very good here.

that sounds really good. I would add a ton of cayenne. But I add that to everything

checkingout Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pho. It is Vietnamese soup. I'm eating some
> right now because I have a virus with bad sore
> throat.


That's actually one of my comfort foods, especially when I have a cold, or it's a cold day. With a little Siracha sauce, it helps to clear the sinuses.

I always like grilled cheese.

When I've got a cold I crave and eat a lot of miso soup.

I also like split peas soup, spaghetti with just butter and salt, pad Thai and fruit popsicles.

You could always order in some Lo Mein and Wor Wonton Soup. Or Green Chili Stew, or a curried lentil stew. I like to eat a lot of heat (chinese mustard, wasabe, chili's) when I feel like that. It helps to break things up.

But then I tend to eat a lot of heat all the time.

Tunisian chickpea soup…

http://voices.yahoo.com/a-recipe-tunisian-chickpea-soup-7707664.html?cat=22

I learned a broth from a woman who was born about 1905.

If you have someone who is seriously ill, as in mumps, measles, very high fever, etc.

Take cracked beef bones. You can break them open with the back of an axe or have the butcher do it.
Boil or simmer the bones for at least eight hours, even two or three days in a crock pot (or back of the stove on low)

The idea is to boil out the marrow of the bones and the minerals into the broth.

ADD ONIONS AND GARLIC for flavoring. The garlic is very useful for boosting the weakened immune system.

You can add salt, bay leaf, other seasonings; parsley,thyme,basil,rosemary,sage etc.
Be aware after a few hours some herb flavors can cook out. you will need to check the broth and refresh the seasoning as needed.

Then strain out the broth and serve it spoonful by spoonful to the ill person.

This was what was used years ago to help people keep up their strength as they were fighting fevers and severe illness in the days before you could go to the hospital and be fed by I.V.s.


My Mother also served a canned pear or peach with a small scoop of cottage cheese when I was sick. She made croutons by toasting up dice sized cubes of bread cooked in butter. They were tasty to a dulled palatte and easy to smush up and swallow when your throat was sore from tonsilitis.


Also honey lemon hot water is good for soreness and inner cleansing.

orange or lime sherbert and ginger ale floats

Ramen -- I like it when I'm sick...

I rotate chicken soup, root veggie soup, and really spicy enchiladas. The spices on the enchiladas clear the sinus and they slip right down a sore throat. The soups just moisturize the throat while the steam from the soup clears the sinus too.

This thread has so many yummy ideas that I'm wishing I had a cold.

For sore throats, a piece of milk chocolate like, a Hershey's Kiss, does wonders. It coats the throat and relieves the pain at least for a little while.

I had a sore throat yesterday, and it really helps.

Scrambled eggs
Cream of wheat or other cooked cereal
Hot toddy (with or without alcohol)
Fruit smoothies

Toast - poached eggs - potato soup - miso soup - ham and bean soup - bagels and cream cheese.

I also have a chicken soup my family loves. You boil boneless skinless chicken in chicken broth with carrot slices. Season it with lemon pepper. Right before you serve it, shred the chicken, add some lemon juice and more lemon pepper, to taste. Serve a big spoonful of cooked white rice into a bowl and pour your soup over it to serve. We tried mixing the pre-cooked white rice into the pot of soup but it just ended up absorbing too much broth overnight, if there were leftovers, and being mushy rice. It's really great when you are feeling sick.

My way - doesn't cure anything, but helps feel good.

Squeeze a lemon into a mug. Chop up the peel, add some to mug. Put in a big tablespoon of honey, a couple of ounces (at least) of brandy. Top off with boiling water. Breathe the aroma while it is cooling.

Ginger ale and vanilla waffers for nausea.
Egg drop soup or a hot n sour soup.
Vinegar and salt chips for a sore throat.

Green Thai curry! I add extra coconut milk in the curry broth and also when I cook the rice.

Mulligatawny soup is awesome if you're tired of chicken soup.

Pho, as other posters noted, is awesome. Any Asian noodle soup can be boosted with garlic, green onions, and various forms of protein (sliced hard-boiled eggs are good, as is sauteed tofu).

Beverage of choice: screwdrivers with high-proof vodka. The alcohol kills the germs in your throat, plus the OJ has lots of vitamin C.

My grandpa used to use hot toddies and Tom&Jerrys for sick people. They are so, so good, especially when you breathe the steam before drinking.

Onion soup! Similar properties to garlic, although not so strong on the antibiotic scale. Whenever I get a cold or flu I caramelize some onions to use in soup. Also, try some pumpkin or squash in soup. Still easy to swallow but with a bit more fibre.

Complan, Ensure, those types of thing.

Says that things like Ensure should be substituted for Instant Breakfast. She says the IB has more nutrition and you can pick your milk. They use IB in our hospitals here too.

I hear olive oil taken on the scalp has some healing properties.

Our hungry board members don't seem to have mentioned one of the most obvious and therapeutic meals for the sick of all:

no food

Yes, fasting is a great strategy for feverish people. Stay with warm liquids, if anything, and take no solid foods until the fever breaks and departs, and even longer if acceptable. If the patient is very weak, warm or raw high-mineral vegetable juices can help as well. Healing will progress rapidly.

There's no scientific basis for starving a fever.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2013 09:11PM by Susan I/S.

Bacon and Corn chowder is really easy to make and you can feed a lot of people with it.

mince together
one celery stalk
one onion
one tablespoon chopped garlic
two carrots

add one 303 can diced tomatoes

cook 8 oz hamburger
1tsp salt

Mix everything together with one quart water.
bring it all to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
thicken with 1 tablespoon corn starch diluted in 1 cup cold water.
serve hot with saltines.

My family and I have had a lot of success with a combination mutli-vitamin/herbal product called "Wellness." I get it at Whole Foods; I'm sure it's available elsewhere.

It's a very effective immune-boosting product, not "New-Age" or anything. Be sure to read and follow the directions--it's not for long-term use. By my experience, it does help squash colds and flus.