Getting sick is never fun, but feeling under the weather is not limited to illness. It can include feeling beaten down by the dark clouds, rain, sleet or snow. What better way to fill that emptiness than with your favorite comfort foods? Food is the way to the soul, and it often fills you with memories of good times with that first smell and bite.
When I’m feeling “under the weather,” I often want a nice hearty soup, some sort of southern comfort food or a vitamin-rich meal that will energize me and make me feel better.
However, everyone is different when the weather or sickness gets them down. Here are a few entries from fellow Scribe members on what they like to eat when they’re under the weather.
Paul Czarnecki, Editor in Chief
- Strawberry ice cream
- Spaghetti w/meatballs and garlic bread
- Honestly, just one banana
All three of these are elite sick meals for me!
Kate Marlett, Copy Editor
Yes, chicken broth!
Ellie Meyers, Associate Editor
My mom makes this specific kind of chicken noodle soup that my great grandma used to make, where she rolls eggs and flour together into a kind of dumpling and she puts chopped up chicken in it. It’s the best kind of chicken noodle soup ever.
Olivia Nordyke, Reporter
When I’m sick, I usually want soup, but I want to pack a little bit more into it. I usually make what I would describe as the weirdest version of French onion soup. I cook the onions in olive oil, but don’t caramelize them because it takes too long and I want to get back to bed. Then I add butter and flour, combine, and add beef stock and miso paste and butter beans. Usually, I have some sourdough laying around too, so I cut a slice in the toaster and have it on the side… Also, I recommend just cooking minute rice and having a mug of warm chicken broth on the side if cooking is too much effort.
Raven Sanchez, Managing Editor
I really like Progresso soup and hot tea when I’m sick. I don’t eat chicken and noodle soup because pasta makes me feel sick, which I really don’t want when I’m already sick, but Progresso has some really good soups. The tea is just my excuse to drink even more tea than I already do.
Nick Smith, News Editor
Chicken noodle soup with grilled cheese is always a solid food when I’m sick.
Tori Smith, Reporter
Grilled cheese and tomato soup!
Back to Swifty:
Lots of soups in this list, but can you blame them? When you’re sick or cold because of the weather, nothing is better than a big bowl of hearty soup. For my fellow “soupsnakes,” here is my absolute favorite comfort food:
Bon Appetit’s Chicken and Dumplings. I’ll give them a pass for being based in New York City and posting a southern recipe because this entry is amazing.
For those looking for something lighter to combat your sickness, I always tend to drink a lot of water to drain the sickness out of my system and add a daily dose of Emergen-C accompanied by either chicken broth or hot water mixed with lemon and ginger. Also, gargle hot salt water if you’ve got a sore throat.
If you can’t tell, I’m usually on offense when I’m sick. You better watch out, common cold, you have no idea who you’re dealing with!
Graphic by Neako Hallisey.