How Chicken Soup Ice Cream and Mashed Potatoes Can Comfort You When You’re Sick
By: R. Renée Bembry
Feeling sick and stuck in bed or on a couch might get you off from work or away from school for a few days but too many hours of sitting or lying in the same place can become boring in a short period of time. Although you may have television programs to distract you from your illness as well as your cellphone and maybe your computer depending on what kind of illness you have, nothing beats the comfort you get when family members and maybe a good friend or two sits by and keeps you company. When all else fails, however, a few good comfort foods will not only fill your stomach but give you a burst of energy that can help improve your condition.
Herein are some of the best comfort foods you can enjoy when you are sick that will make you feel better and enhance your mood.
Saltine Crackers
Saltine crackers are very capable of soothing queasy stomachs and making patients feel better when they are sick with the flu as well as other types of sicknesses that cause nausea. Saltine crackers come in the old fashioned white variety and as of recent years, they even come in wheat in addition to types with less salt for those who are watching their salt intake.
Chicken Flavored Soup
It has long been determined that chicken soup is good for making sickness go away when brought on by colds and flues. Chicken soup is so potent; however, it can make you feel better even if you have a headache. Chicken soup does not require a lot of chewing. The broth is delicious and makes you feel better as soon as it slides down your throat. Eating chicken soup warms the body in ways that cause even the non-sick to relax. Chicken soup also makes you sweat so if you need to sweat through an illness in order to help get rid of it, chicken soup can help you do that.
You can eat chicken soup with your favorite staple whether you prefer, noodles, rice, potatoes, or mixed vegetables, a chicken soup recipe is there for everyone!
Ice-Cream
Ice-cream tastes great, feels good covering the tongue, and sooths as it glides down the esophagus. Ice-cream is so good at comforting you when you are sick that the mere thought of eating ice-cream makes you feel a little better. Ice-cream comes in a wide array of flavors. From chocolate, to vanilla, to strawberry, butter pecan, Oreo, Butterfinger, banana nut, to spumoni. There are so many varieties of ice-cream you could be sick for a month and eat a different flavor of ice-cream every single day!
Mashed Potatoes With Gravy
Mashed potatoes, like ice-cream feel great just covering the tongue and sliding down the throat. Mashed potatoes bring a different type of comfort, however, because rather than cooling and refreshing you, mashed potatoes warm and relax you. This is because mashed potatoes are intended to be eaten while hot as opposed to ice-cream that is eaten cold.
Adding gravy to mashed potatoes gives the potatoes different flavors. You can make chicken flavored gravy, beef flavored gravy, pork flavored gravy, and even fish flavored and other flavored gravies. This means you can enjoy hot mashed potatoes more than once while sick in bed and enjoy them in different ways.
Hot Cereal
Hot cereals are good when you are sick because they warm the body and they are easy to swallow. Hot cereals usually have lots of fiber that aid your digestive system while comforting your mouth, stomach, and soul as you get through your illness. You can get instant hot cereals like oatmeal in different flavors – maple & brown sugar, apples & cinnamon, and cinnamon roll to name a few.
As far as oatmeal goes, you might prefer to go with the old fashioned type because its texture gives you more to chew on. Chewing can be comforting in that it can help reduce some of the stress you might feel from being stuck at home in a sick condition. Other great hot cereals are Malt O Meal, Cream of Wheat, and Wheatena.
These comfort foods should help you feel much better when you are sick. If you have not tried any of them, add them to your shopping list so you will have them handy should you find yourself or a family member needing to comfort an illness anytime soon.