Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I've Got A Cold

I have now officially joined the zillions of people out there who have a cold and it suuuucks! So what to do now? A few things that come to mind are:

Stay warm! Wear a warm hat when you go outside, wear warm socks, etc.
Drink tons of tea. I make a spicy tea (recipe below) with cinnamon and ginger.
Rest and sleep as much as you can, but, unless you have a fever, it's good to get a little exercise like walking to stimulate your immune system.
Eat more cooked vegetables and whole grains, less heavy protein and fat.
Avoid dairy products and sugar.

That said, I also favor the idea of calling it an official vacation and babying the heck out of yourself. I know it goes against the "no dairy" rule stated above, but when I was a kid, my Mom would give me soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and I would curl up in bed with a pile of comic books. Wow, that really sounds pretty nice about now. Boris said his mother would give him angel hair pasta with mashed potatoes on it. That sounds freakin' amazing. If any of you have any great comfort food ideas for a cold, I'd love to hear about it!

Spicy Tea

1 quart water
1 inch peeled and sliced ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
sprinkle black pepper
2 tea bags (I like Tulsi tea for this, but you can use any kind of tea you like--green, black, white, oolong, rooibos, anything).

Bring the water to a boil in a pot and add the ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper. Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the tea bags. Let steep for about 5 minutes. Pour and drink it up!

8 comments:

  1. Шикарная работа!!!
    Отличный рецепт чая...
    У нас холодно, попробую сегодня заварить.
    СПАСИБО большое за рецепт!
    И огромное СПАСИБО за ваше творчество!!!

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  2. We hope you feel better soon, Edward!

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  3. try lemons-the fresh juice of it.
    and be patient.

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  4. I hope you feel better soon! I don't see a little thing like a cold slowing you down for very long! When I was a kid the go-to-sick-kid meal was egg noodles with milk and a little salt. It may sound gross but it is very soothing and delicious. If we had the chills, a shot of whiskey came out. I think I don't drink much as an an adult because of those medicinal shots! ;)

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  5. I remember my mom giving me chicken noodle soup in a bowl on a plate with crackers on the side.

    Now whenever I have a cold I drink Symfre Herbal Tea and it always works! I don't even need to take any regular meds--perhaps a little vitamin C. In fact, it's called "symfre" to mean "symptom-free"! If you are ill with a cold or flu-like symptoms I highly recommend it! Just keep drinking it throughout the day, about every couple hours and before you go to bed--it can help you sleep. You also need a bombilla, though, which is like a metal straw with a filter at he end, so you don't suck up the leaves. As far as I know, there is only one company that markets this herbal tea--Wisdom Natural Brands, the brand is Wisdom of the Ancients. They should also have bombillas.
    www.viv-vitalized.com/herbal-drink/symfre-winter-care-formula-herbal-tea-5-oz-fromwisdom-natural-brands-/comment-page-1#comment-2425

    www.wisdomnaturalbrands.com

    I hope you feel better very soon!!!

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  6. Thanks you guys! I've found a store near here that I can get some Symfre tea at, so that's first on my list. But lemon juice and egg noodles with milk and salt sound like great ideas, too. And especially patience!

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  7. On the go-round with my last cold (still sniffling, actually) I concocted a Lipton-noodle-soup substitute, because that has always been my comfort food. I mash up dry whole wheat noodles into bits, then boil them for a few minutes. I pour some of the water out, then add salt, honey, and turmeric. It's not a bad substitute, and it doesn't have the scary stuff the packaged soup does. :)

    I hope you feel better soon!

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  8. Cool idea! I like the idea of turmeric/honey combination. Thanks!

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