What To Eat When You Have A Cold: Soups, Stews, Hot Toddies And More (PHOTOS)

As with most trials and tribulations in life, when we get sick we start to think of food.

You can feel it coming, right? That first cold of the cooler months, creeping into the back of your throat, behind your eyes -- or is it just us? (Yes we all have colds right now, do not visit our office this week.)

As with most trials and tribulations in life, when we get sick we start to think of food. Whereas most of our What To Eat When series has focused on entertaining friends and family, today we're only here to talk about what to eat when you have a cold, how to treat yourself right when you are sick and which things require the least amount of standing-up-time to prepare.

When we are sick, we focus on three things: soothing our throats/heads/noses, eating things that are filled with vitamins, detoxifiers and other bonuses like anti-inflammatories, but thirdly and most importantly, what we can actually imagine eating at that moment.

Most of our under-the-weather cravings stem from childhood comforts -- chicken and stars soup, mashed potatoes and because the person writing this to you is from New Mexico, green chile stew. Hang in there guys! We'll make it!

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1
Hot Toddy
Katy Carter
Get the Hot Toddy recipe from Katy She CooksKaty titled this post "Before There Was TheraFlu." She is so, so correct.
2
Homemade Tea Blend
Jennifer Iserloh
Get the Homemade Tea Blend recipesOur tastebuds get oddly finicky when we're sick. If nothing in your tea collection is cutting it, make your own!
3
Green Chile Stew
MJ's Kitchen
Get the Green Chile Stew recipe from MJ's KitchenThis is a go-to for New Mexicans with colds -- not only is it warming, comforting and delicious, green chile can contain up to six times as much Vitamin C as an orange.
4
On The Verge Broth
yourhealthista.com
Get the On The Verge Broth recipe from Your HealthistaWhen you are at your sickest, sometimes it's all you can do to swirl some ingredients in a pot and drink them. This ingenious combination is what you're looking for.
5
Homemade Chicken And Stars
Macheesmo
6
Saag Paneer
Mallika Basu
Get the Saag Paneer recipe from Quick Indian CookingThis comforting spinach dish also packs a detoxifying holy trinity: garlic, ginger and turmeric.
7
Potato And Kalamata Olive Stew
Flat Art Studios
8
Pappardelle With Kale Pesto
Love & Lemons
Get the Pappardelle with Kale Pesto recipe from Love & LemonsKale is one of the healthiest vegetables on earth -- when you have a cold, kale is your friend.
9
Chicken Thighs Stewed With Tomatoes And Spinach
Ian Knauer
10
Pasta Cacio E Pepe
Wendell T. Webber
Get the Pasta Cacio e Pepe recipeIf you can only stand up for long enough to boil water, Cacio e Pepe is about to become your best friend.
11
Detox Salad
Oh She Glows
12
Colcannon
Alexis Touchet
Get the Colcannon recipeSometimes the only thing that will pull you out of an illness is a big bowl of potatoes, cabbage and butter.
13
Blueberry Grunt
Movita Beaucoup
Get the Blueberry Grunt recipe from Movita BeaucoupBlueberries are a super-food, they are also a super-delicious-food, luckily for us.

*Obviously we are not doctors or nutritionists (you guys know that, right?). None of this should be taken as medical advice, only happiness advice. Deal? Deal.

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