Feed a Cold, Feed a Fever

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever...or is is Feed a Fever, Starve a Cold? Doesn't matter. With me, I eat. Even with a fever (which you are supposed to starve) if I'm hungry, I don't really care what's correct, I just want to eat.

The two standards when I'm sick are 7-up and Saltine Crackers. Though I usually go for the Diet 7-up, with the crackers, none of this "unsalted tops" crap. I have to have the salted kind. The 7-up and the crackers sit next to me on the bedside table to help me feel better "between meals".

When I was younger, my "sick comfort food" was Cream of Potato Soup. In my twenties, it was Taco Bell Bean Burritos (add sour cream). Yeah, I know, how can I eat that crap when I'm sick? I can remember a boyfriend being horrified that this was my request, and I think he cringed when, with a fever of about 102, I devoured the burritos he had so lovingly brought me...and then went back to bed moaning and groaning with the flu. But if you think about it....the beans aren't really "fried", and with the tortilla, the whole thing is pretty bland. Don't ask about the sour cream. I'm all about the carbs when I'm sick.

In my thirties, my sick food of choice was Kentucky Fried Chickens Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Of course this was also my comfort food for having my boss yell at me, getting dumped by a boyfriend, my car breaking down...everything could be fixed with those KFC potatoes. I would just order a large batch  of mashed with a side of gravy and any cold or flu (or broken heart) could be conquered.

In my forties (good lord, did I just admit my age?), my sick comfort food has changed to Macaroni and Cheese. But not the Kraft blue box kind, no, the red Stouffer's box kind. Easy to just throw in the microwave. Though if someone like Mr. L  is making it for me, I might ask that it be thrown briefly under the broiler to get a crunchy top before it hits my bedside table.

Recently though, I have found another item to toss into this sickbed food mix. Shedd's Country Crock Deluxe Loaded Mashed Potatoes. Microwave this (it has bacon already in it), add some butter and sour cream (my sickbed condiment of choice) and to me, it helps get rid of the aches and pains of being ill.

But the big thing is, that even if I'm not completely well, the "feed me food" gene kicks in and I want to eat. Everything. Lots of everything. Pizza with jalapenos. Jack in the Box tacos. Girl Scout cookies. Fajitas. A Cheeseburger with extra mayo and pickles. Country Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy. Shrimp in Garlic. Baby Back Ribs. Not to mention, real Coke in the red can. In the middle of fever, aches and pains and coughing up a lung, all I can think of is my next good meal. If left to my own devices, I'd probably  eat the worst foods for me in quantities that would make me even sicker. This is why it's probably a good thing that Mr. L is around to keep me on track.

Why all this talk of sickbed food? Because for the past ten days, I've had one nasty virus. I was out of work for seven days, thought I was going to cough up a lung (thank the Lord for cough syrup with codeine), had to buy a humidifier for the room and, something that is driving me crazy, haven't been able to sleep for ages without propping myself up into a sitting position. Per my doctor (who said he had this same virus by the way) I had the nastiest of the nasty version. I had to cancel my birthday celebration in Disneyland, miss a National Scrapbook Day function with my girls and I completely missed out on the end of the Sharks season (which, considering, might have been a good thing). Having a fever for eight days straight is a first for me and something I hope to never repeat again.

I was able to go through a stack of magazines, read several books and bond with my cat (who loved having me home and in bed all that time) during my down time. Several of the books I read dealt with Italian food so I'm not sure I'm going to rest until I've found a place that makes Deep Fried Zucchini Blossoms and Braised Pork to Taste Like Wild Boar.

I will admit, that with no idea that it was a former sickbed comfort food, Mr. L called this past Thursday on his way home from work and asked if I wanted Taco Bell for dinner. And he ordered pizza last night. Just another reminder of why I married this man.

I'm looking forward to (slowly) getting back into things...cooking, going to work, blogging, scrapping, catching up on TV shows and figuring out who to root for in hockey (most of my favs have been knocked out).  We've rescheduled our Disneyland trip to September, realized maybe "slowing down" a bit may help keep me well (and sane) and I hope to get together to scrap with my friends sometime soon .

Of course all that will have to wait until we find out if the fever and sore throat that Mr. L has had for the past couple of days is something small or the ten day version. It wasn't my fault, I'm not responsible.

The photo above comes from The Wireds Star Wars Fan Captures Secret Lives of Stormtroopers. I thought it only appropriate that the Stormtroopers were eating sickbed comfort food.

Comments

[Lisa]

Tacos. And plenty of 'em.

[NotSoccer Mom]

heh. my favorite hangover food is taco bell. well, i should say WAS because i don't drink enough any more to get hangovers. :)

happy birthday tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grace]

a couple things:
-is today your birthday? if so, a dang good happy birthday to ya!
-sorry you've been plagued by sickness! the only way i get through that sort of thing is by eating whatever i want--it sort of balances out the misery. and i'll go ahead and admit it--i'm the whiniest of all whiny sicklings. :)

[Jan]

Happy Birthday! I'm so sorry that you had to cancel your plans. It really sucks being that sick!

[Jeanette]

I love the idea of sickbed food. Mine was always chicken noodle soup, but when I reached my 40s, I've found that sticky rice is now my choice. I am going to try the Country Crock Potatoes though...sick or not sick. :)