# Food for colds **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761 "2015-10-06T23:06:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/1 "2015-10-06T23:06:03Z")
(Don’t mind me. I’m just complaining.) I woke up this morning with the ‘yellow ick’; you know, that thick mucus that drips down your throat from your sinuses. I suppose I should think of something for dinner, but since Nurse L.A. is not only working but also on-call, I probably shouldn’t cook. Pizza? Hot and soothing. And I’m not cooking it. Menudo? I’d have to go down to the corner for an onion, a lemon, and cilantro. That’d go down well too – and it would be one less thing in the cupboard. But The Missus won’t even consider eating it. I’ll just wait to see what she wants to do. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/2 "2015-10-06T23:26:16Z")
I’m currently rebounding from one of the worst colds I’ve ever had. Started last Wednesday. I find that eating spicy or very strongly flavored foods when I have a cold ends up with me tasting that food for a really long time. Much longer than normal. I made some fairly garlicy spaghetti sauce for dinner last night and the lingering smell from last night is kind of killing my appetite. I love spicy, hot foods but a cold always pushes me in a blander direction. A cold usually deadens my normal cravings for sweet stuff too. Now I’m kind of craving macaroni and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/3 "2015-10-06T23:40:24Z")
Two words: Chicken soup! :o ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/4 "2015-10-06T23:53:16Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Two words: Chicken soup! :o Don’t have any. Do have menudo, though. 🙂 Actually, The Wife just called and said I should order pizza. Also pasta primavera. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/5 "2015-10-07T00:08:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The Wife just called and said I should order pizza. Also pasta primavera. Oy, vay! Such a deal! ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/6 "2015-10-07T00:20:28Z")
I highly recommend honey lemon ginger tea: thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced juice of half a lemon spoonful of honey hot water ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/7 "2015-10-08T16:15:20Z")
Mrs. L.A. wanted to reheat the pizza last night. I wanted leftover chili. We had the chili, and I felt better after it. (She put some frozen pizza rolls in the oven later.) I’m getting bloody tired of this cold. I _told_ her not to give it to me! :mad: Anyway, I still have the menudo; plus a few varieties of chicken soup. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/8 "2015-10-08T16:37:35Z")
Szechwan hot-and-sour soup. Before eating it, deeply inhale the pepper-laden fumes for a minute. Then drink it up. You’ll start to unclog and breathe better very soon. Ditto for a nice chili-laden Vietnamese [bun bo hue](http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q771/shutupandeat/Food2013/Sen%20Vang/SenVang-5_zpsbd954f29.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/9 "2015-10-08T16:52:43Z")
I’d _love_ a nice bowl of bun bo Hue! Not every place has it though, and the nearest Vietnamese restaurant is 25 miles away. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/10 "2015-10-08T16:59:23Z")
A pint of Fireball and a tea pot full of hot water. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/11 "2015-10-08T21:55:11Z")
Johnny, this is true sick day comfort food. And really easy to make. It comes out like a really soupy risotto. I normally don’t like boxed or canned chix broth, but it works fine for this recipe because of all the aromatics. Don’t miss this. > **[Arroz Caldo (Filipino Chicken and Rice Soup) Recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/arroz-caldo-chicken-rice-soup-recipe)** > > Arroz caldo is a hearty Filipino congee made with chicken and rice and seasoned with onion, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce and topped with crunchy fried garlic. The result is a quick, comforting bowl that's a perfect wintertime meal (and rivals... ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/12 "2015-10-08T22:24:44Z")
Looks good. I do have a chicken thigh in the freezer, and some fish sauce in the fridge. I need most of the other stuff, though. I ended up having Progresso chicken noodle soup with Sriracha sauce in it for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/13 "2015-10-09T02:03:50Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Szechwan hot-and-sour soup. Before eating it, deeply inhale the pepper-laden fumes for a minute. Then drink it up. You’ll start to unclog and breathe better very soon. This. When one of us got a cold, a friend and I back home would do sympathy runs for each other to the local Chinese place with the best hot and sour soup (they didn’t deliver). In far second place, wonton soup and some egg rolls with spicy mustard. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/14 "2015-10-09T17:19:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Looks good. I do have a chicken thigh in the freezer, and some fish sauce in the fridge. I need most of the other stuff, though. > > I ended up having Progresso chicken noodle soup with Sriracha sauce in it for lunch. Two things–I never make the fried garlic for this dish, can’t be bothered. So halve the garlic. And stock your pantry so you can slam this out next time you’re sick. You’ll thank me for it. [insert smiley-face emoticon here] Two–hot and sour is Chinese penicillin. That shit is the shit. Especially for colds. Can’t believe I forgot to mention that. This is also easy to make if you have the dried stuff–cloud ears and lily shoots. Chinese black vinegar and white pepper are the only acceptable mediums for that true hot and sour taste. Accept no substitutions. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/15 "2015-10-09T18:30:47Z")
‘Halve the garlic’? You can never have too much garlic! (Well, unless you’re a vampire.) I really should keep chicken stock around. More than a few times I or The Wife thought about making something, but we didn’t have any. Mrs. L.A., RN, BSN, sent me to the doctor today. (She texted me yesterday that she made an appointment.) He said my diagnosis was correct. I have a cold, and I’m probably about halfway through it. We did have a laugh about Granny’s sure-fire cold remedy from _The Beverly Hillbillies_. Her cold remedy was moonshine. ‘Take it every day, and in a week or ten days you’ll be cured!’ And I got a flu shot and pneumonia shot while I was there, so it wasn’t a wasted visit. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/16 "2015-10-09T19:10:36Z")
You want something light, soothing and spicy. Soups are always good, a nice tom yam will do the job but I always get a hankering for a home-made salsa. load that bad boy up with chilli and lime and let it do its thing. I like mine with toasted pitta bread drizzled with olive oil and cut into strips. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/17 "2015-10-09T19:13:19Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘Halve the garlic’? You can never have too much garlic! (Well, unless you’re a vampire.) Quite, sentences never heard in our house include “shall I throw this half garlic clove out?” “is this half bottle of wine past its best?” “how long has this salsa been in here?” ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/18 "2015-11-19T18:18:12Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Szechwan hot-and-sour soup. Before eating it, deeply inhale the pepper-laden fumes for a minute. Then drink it up. You’ll start to unclog and breathe better very soon. > > Ditto for a nice chili-laden Vietnamese [bun bo hue](http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q771/shutupandeat/Food2013/Sen%20Vang/SenVang-5_zpsbd954f29.jpg). This plus a million! Hot and Sour soup will clear your sinuses like lightning and it’s yummy to boot! **NB** , what is a “half bottle” you speak of. I’ve heard of it in mythic circumstances but never seen one in person. 😃 Oooo, mulled wine. That would help with a cold, too! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/19 "2015-11-19T20:16:58Z")
Hot lemonade with honey, combined with massive doses of vitamin C. Works for me every time! :o ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-for-colds/733761/20 "2015-11-19T20:58:57Z")
A hole-in-the-wall potsticker place near me used to make a spicy beef noodle soup that did a fantastic job of clearing the sinuses (though it sometimes felt like it did so by burning out the entire contents of your skull). It also strongly encouraged the consumption of lots of fluids, which tradition says is a good thing. Unfortunately, they closed a while back, and I have never managed to make it quite the way they did. Really, anything hot, spicy, and soupy ought to help.