Achoo! Sniffle sniffle

[cookgirl]

All right guys...I want to start a poll. I've been slacking on this board (and everything else, pretty much) due to this DREADED SUMMER COLD that plagues me! How awful to feel fluish in record high temperatures. Did I mention humidity?
Anyway, next to Kaffee, my favorite "cupful" to cuddle with is soup...especially when I'm sick. BUT, as I said earlier, it's a thousand degrees outside.
So, what is your remedy for the Summer cold?


[This message has been edited by cookgirl (edited 08-11-2000).]

[emily]

sorry that you're sick, cookgirl. i too started to get sniffly yesterday. in the summer (although it's never really hot here in san francisco) i go for smoothies and juice. last night i had tomato soup and a glass of hot tea with honey - the one thing i can't live without when i have a sore throat.

[Vanessa]

yes tea & honey. I also squeeze a lemon and add honey for sore throat. When I feel lousy I take Dayquil go to bed and its soup even if its hot. At night I take nightquil and even though I hate taking either I do feel better. Last yr I had a cold every month. It could be a bit of alergy too

[Angela]

I just got over a two week cold/flu-whatever-it-should-have-been-called. Eventhough it was hot outside I did the soup and tea sipping. Something that really worked for me was Tylenol TheraFlu original flavor, it knocked the symptoms and actually tasted pretty good. Hope you're feeling better soon, I know what it's like.

[Ohioan]

Of course, the ultimate cure-all for anything, from a hangnail to a broken heart, is homemade chicken soup. But since becoming a vegetarian, I've had to find another remedy, and the answer seems to be split pea soup, cooked with chopped onion, carrots, and celery; seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, dillweed, and a squirt of tomato paste; with a handful of cooked small pasta shapes stirred in (here, ditalini are just right); and topped with egg strips. A nice steaming bowl of this soup always makes me feel relaxed and comforted. And of course the steam of the hot soup does wonders for the breathing apparatus.

Anyway, Cookgirl and Emily, I hope you both feel better soon, with or without the soup.

Phoebe

[MrsReber]

You poor girl! I just had a dreaded summer disease. I think my poor husband has it now. He was not feeling well yesterday morning. What he does when his head is congested is this: Get a big pot and boil some water. Add mint leaves, cloves and rosemary or other herbs. Then he lets it all simmer until it's steaming and he breathes it in. Also, for a sore throat, gargle with some salt water. As far as comfort foods, any kind of soup will usually do for us. We are soup people, doesn't matter how hot it is outside. And definitely herbal tea with honey! Hope you feel better soon! Mine lasted a week. I am feeling like a lazy bum since I have not had the energy to go to the gym at all! You'll be back on your feet in no time!

[lorilei]

Oh, my. That summer cold -- awful thing, and just when the weather is starting to look up http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif I do hope you're feeling better soon!!

Whenever I feel a cold coming on (which usually means a strange sore throat with few other symptoms), I usually start taking vitamin C 2-3 times a day along with selenium (immune booster) and a couple of echinacea capsules. That usually ensures that the cold (as bad as it might be) won't stick around more than 3-4 days.

I also drink a ton of tea (teas with rosehips are very good -- loaded with vitamin C, which is also soothing to the throat). I make sure that I get enough sleep (as a lack of sleep is often why I'm sick to begin with), and I try to eat lots of garlic (preferably raw)... that garlic has antibiotic properties, it does!

Once again, I hope you're better soon http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Leanne]

When you have a fever and a raw throat - I love popcicles. They feel so good on your throat & cool you off. Plus, I get sick to my stomach so easily, that real food doesn't sound good - but a popcicle won't upset it.

I also like Chicken broth with egg noodles & parmeasan cheese. It's not too heavy, but it dresses up plain broth.

On the remedy side - I'm with lorilei on the C & echinacea - also zinc really keeps it from getting too bad.

[Kristilyn1]

When I am sick in the summer--which is thankfully pretty darn rare--I like grilled cheese sandwiches. Maybe a slice of tomato on there too. Even at death's door I can make them.

Kristi

[MrsReber]

Good idea Kristi! My husband and I have not been feeling well and we had grilled cheese and tomato with some chicken noodle soup yesterday. The tomato was fresh out of the garden, too. Of course, it was barely 70 degrees in NJ yesterday, so the heat certainly wasn't bothering us! Good comfort food.

[cookgirl]

thanks everbody, for the suggestions. I'm sad to report that the cold has not gone, adn that hubby may be coming down with it too. Lorilei-I did start myself on the Vitamin C and, strangest thing, I have been craving garlic this whole time! Never mind that I'm a garlic lover..maybe my body really does need it!
Anyway..I'm sure I'll be up for the tea, but as for food, hubby and I are thinking "take-out" (Chinese? Garlic dish and soup???) tonight.
Hope everbody else feels better. Talk to you later. My couch awaits!

[Ohioan]

Either I had the shortest cold on record this weekend, or I've stumbled on a miracle cure. All day Saturday, my throat was sore, my nose was running, my eyes were leaking machine oil, my stomach was queasy, I kept shivering, and I could hardly stay awake. But I'd already decided to make lentils for dinner, so I went ahead and made them: cooked up a pot of lentils with chopped onion, carrot, and celery, and then added salt, black pepper, and about a half-cup of chopped tomatoes after the lentils began to soften. Meanwhile, I sauteed a bunch of Swiss chard in olive oil with lots of garlic, and dumped them into the cooked lentils. And finally, I made some whole-wheat pasta (rotini) and dumped that in. Mixed the whole mess together, scattered some grated Parmigiano on top, and polished off a heaping bowlful of it (okay, so a bowl-and-a-half-full). I also roasted a red pepper to go with it.

Within an hour afterward, most of the symptoms started going away, and in less than 24 hours the cold (or whatever it was) was completely gone. A miracle? A false alarm? Whatever the case, I'm going to try the dish again next time I'm sniffling and croaking.

I hope the rest of you are feeling better soon, too!
Phoebe

[MaryB]

Summer colds/flu are the worst! I too would drink lots of tea. I still like hot tea, even when its warm unless its really humid! As far as food goes, I don't generally make or eat soups in the heat of the summer. This was especially true when I had no air conditioning. What I have found comforting is frozen fruit sorbets or italian ices. You might even try one of those fruit soups in the August CL, but I usually go for easy when I'm sick and that means something I can buy and eat!

[This message has been edited by MaryB (edited 08-14-2000).]

[cookboy]

Hey Cookgirl,

Sorry to hear you are down. A friend of mine that lived in Philadelphia for a couple of years recommends something that he calls "grog." You use camomile and bourbon. You also add honey and lemon. That's it. Adjust ingredient's to taste.

Maybe not ideal for a humid summer evening (much less a bad cold) . . . but it will make you feel warm and fuzzy!