Ice cream and saltine crackers. Not necessarily together, although that might actually be pretty good.

- Amelia of Gradually Greener

Tomato soup, orange juice, cranberry juice, Gatorade, spaghetti, calcium tabs.

My Mom makes me curried crab when I am sick, even though I'm 33! It always makes me feel nourished and comforted.

Depends on the kind of sick and the season. Fall/winter and cold/flu? Chili (either traditional or Cincinnati). A hearty vegetable soup will do, too.

I just made and froze 6 servings of chicken soup, just in case...

i crave spicy things. pacific's curried red lentil soup is usually my go-to.

The number one food I want when i'm sick is congee - doesn't matter what kind of sickness, it's the best thing ever. When I have the flu, I crave my MIL's green papaya and black chicken broth (with ginseng and ginger). And finally, when I have a sore throat or a cough, my partner makes a savoury/sweet "soup" with onions, pears and honey - I have no idea what else he puts in it but it's soooooo comforting.

Indian food. If I'm not feeling well, I'll wonder out loud what I want to eat and my husband's automatic response is "Malai Kofta". Apparently I'm predictable.

tea and pasta with lime juice and parmasean saves me every time

Thai coconut milk soup. Crackers with honey. And I'm totally with you on the ginger ale.

I always want Kraft mac & cheese.

Ice cream, tomato soup, chamomile tea.

spicy chicken soup, spaghetti with parmesan, orange slices, hot toddies or hot water with honey and lemon

I'm so happy to see someone else say Chinese food! I always thought it was a weird little quirk I have. For some reason, it just does the trick. And definitely 7-up.

soup soup soup. plain white rice if my stomach is upset.

My tolerance for spicy food went through the roof a few years ago when I was painfully congested.

chicken soup (made with parsnips!) with matzo balls (I just defrosted the last batch today -- have to make some more); hot and sour soup; a (potato) dosa with green coconut chutney; tea with honey and lemon and ginger tea with same.... saltines, gatorade, fresh squeezed orange juice...

http://tinyguide.typepad.com/home/2007/12/panacea-ambrosi.html

Hot Ginger Tea!!! Swear by it.

And Jello.

I seems that whenever i get sick, i lose my voice and have a horribly painful sore throat. To help, I'll have a teaspoon of honey with a squeeze of lime throughout the day. I'll also steep some ginger in hot water (keeping the ginger in the water) for some spice to help clear my head.

Nothing beats a bowlful of my mama's cosido. It's beef chunks and bones stewed for several hours with all types of veggies - yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, corn. You skim it while it's simmering and you have a delicious clear broth. So delicious with a scoop of her rice and lots of lime. mmm

Posole with chile rojo, NM Green Chile Stew or Pho!

canela! You know it's getting cold when you come home and smell canela steeping on the stove.

Thai food, especially Pad Ka Prow, or ramen noodles with a spoonful of red curry paste thrown in. Ginger ale and orange juice mixed, and preferably not too cold. Chips and and a nice mild salsa. Powerade by the gallon. Fruit Mentos or Mambas.

I become far too picky when I'm sick. :(

I'm shocked to see the appetites everyone seems to have when they are sick! Saltinse and 7up are about all I ever want. Sometimes Lipton noodle soup.

Tea and (white) toast. Hot whiskey (with sugar, lemon slice studded with cloves) is good too.
On the other hand, when ill, even the thought of mayonnaise makes me even queasier.

Tom Yum Gai or (not and...eww) margaritas.

Gatorade and instant mashed potatoes. I never eat them when I'm not sick, but the minute I feel ill, its what I want!

For a cold, immune booster soup:

-Sauté a chopped onion in a little bit of oil
-Add about 6 cups of mushroom broth,
- Add a 2" piece of grated ginger
- Add a couple of grated carrots (about 1 cup)
- Add about 10-12 sliced shiitake mushrooms
- Add about 5 cloves diced garlic

Simmer 20 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Before serving, add about 5 more cloves of garlic, 1/4 cupchopped fresh parsley, and 1 tbsp or more of lemon juice

It's fragrant, it's immune boosting, it's the vegetarian alternative to chicken noodle soup. I love it.

Pho! I'm glad to see someone else up there craves it, too.

Mrs. Grass with an egg cracked in and swirled around. In fact, I want eggs a lot when I'm sick. Soft scrambled, fried on a sandwich, whatever. That extra dose of protein is the key to recovery!

cold / flu:
-any kind of hearty & nourishing soup (I usually have no appetite)
-black tea with tons of lemon juice, honey and freshly grated ginger (my mom used to make it when I was sick, ginger to kill bacteria, lemon for vitamins and honey to soothe the sore throat). It actually tastes good so when it's very cold I also make it when I am fine.

stomach troubles:
-clear vegetable soup
-boiled carrots
-rice crackers
-bananas
-lots of unsweetened tea
-diet coke without bubbles

Top Ramen or chicken noodle soup.

Orange juice mixed with ginger ale, saltines with honey, and my new favorite orange granita.

Chicken soup is good too, although I will confess to loving Lipton Cup-o-Noodles soup when sick.

Cinnamon toast is also a favorite.

I could kill my mother for this but when we were young and sick she'd put a cube of beef bullion in a coffee mug of hot water, stir until dissolved and we'd happily drink it up. It's now my default sick/comfort drink. Certainly not low in sodium and definitely evokes strange looks from significant others.

rice pudding.

Nauseous-kind of sick: I can only tolerate ritz crackers and ginger ale. If it's cold maybe some ginger, honey, and lemon tea.

Yearly flu/cold/sinus crap that I get: I make the biggest pot of miso soup that I can. I use a lot of mushrooms, tofu, saute as much kale as I can get my hands on and throw that in there. And I also put a whole head of garlic in there. With the garlic the key is to lightly smash the cloves, not to chop them at all. This makes a delicious soup that's full of things that are good for you, and it doesn't taste overwhelmingly of garlic. And I drink as much ginger ale as I can.

I always want Pho, some sort of thai noodle dish such as pad thai.

Actually, I crave these things on a daily basis...

Oh, and lentil curry & soup such as harira.

Orangina, and anything starchy and salty like lo mein, or potato pancakes, or a big bowl of homemade hummus and pita.

My mom always made me Vietnamese congee when I was sick, so that's my go to.

To drink, super strong ginger tea with honey. To eat (or slurp rather), hot Korean beef bone soup called sul lung tang. Mmmm.

hot spicy flavors that blast the sinuses, like wasabi or Chinese mustard, curries, gingery and garlicy food without dairy products, juicy citrus fruits, crisp fruits and vegetables, nuts, warm or hot things; soups, tea, bourbon, lemon and honey.

tortilla soup and grapefruits (not together).

Any sort of hot soup with tons of umami, such as chicken noodle, kimchi chigae, miso, with noodles or rice. I also love grapefruit (err anytime really, not just when sick).

Sinigang with plenty of sitaw and bok choy, and some peppers thrown in for good measure (clears the sinuses a bit). That, and warm cocoa.

Hot pockets. I know they're totally gross and I hate them when I'm feeling healthy, but for some reason I always crave them when I'm sick. The old Campells chicken noodle actually helps me feel better though. That and white grape and peach juice.

Chicken soup from a can.
Gatorade.

I'm not proud of it, but there it is.

I am actually sick today. After going to the Dr., I swung by the store to pick up my usual - Gatorade and croissants. My wife is picking up my usual sick dinner - a reuben on rye and kreplach.

chicken soup or congee. and tea.

I came down with the sickness today and went to the store this afternoon to buy Gatorade, Ginger Ale, multi-grain saltines, and clam chowder in the can. Things I usually never eat on a regular basis, but it's great to trust your bodies' intuition and listen to what it needs/craves/wants.

I wonder--why does Ginger Ale taste so damn good when you're sick?!

I want that soup that is pictured! Where is the recipe?

Cold 7-Up or Sierra Mist (but not Sprite!); Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup; saltine crackers; toast with a little butter. Pretty plain and boring and I never eat canned chicken noodle soup otherwise.

Pho, Pho, PHO.

Can someone recommend good Pho in Chicago? Especially one that delivers to near west side!?

Cream of rice cooked in milk, yogurt on fruit and ginger tea.

Umeboshi in green tea, miso soup with rice, and ochazuke (green tea over rice, with chazuke seasoning).

@tgchi - here you go! http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/soup/recipe-pumpkin-tortilla-soup-068259

Chicken and stars, Cheerios, and orange sherbet. Though I didn't realize that sherbet has any dairy in it until the last time I had food poisoning... Definitely not the best comfort food then!

chinese, spicy chicken soup and an ice cold Coca-cola.

Also forgot to add: White rice slathered in canned cream of chicken soup, minus the "cream" (i.e. no milk added).

I"m just getting over a cold. For me it's ginger-lemon-honey 'tea', Lipton's Chicken Noodle soup and peanut butter sandwiches that are folded in half instead of cut.

When I'm truly sick and the only thing that sounds good is laying in bed....
saltines with butter
hot water/lemon/ginger/honey
campbells chicken & stars with cayenne
pureed soup of broth, potato, garlic, & jalapeno
odwalla superfood
tapioca pudding

In my late 20s I had a terrible case of mono. I couldn't eat anything for about a week (throat too sore) and then all I wanted was toasted English muffins with really bitter marmalade and big cups of tea with milk & sugar. I talked to my doctor about it and she said when your liver is screwed up (which mine was) you may crave odd foods. After I finally began to recover I ate bowl after bowl of hot & sour shrimp soup from my local Thai place. I am convinced that was the ultimate cure!

I love coffee, normally cannot live without it in the a.m., but often when I'm sick I find the very idea of coffee intolerable. I think that's how I know I'm REALLY sick.

Garlic soup. It's about eight cloves of garlic, a spring onion or a little sliver of a regular onion, and some red pepper flakes. I saute them and cover them in broth. In the beginning stages, I don't want noodles in it, but after a day or so I might throw in some toasted bread chunks or noodles. It is so garlicky that I never really want to eat it unless I am severely congested!

There's something about the combination of hot liquid and red peppers, though, that clears the sinuses like nothing else. For about an hour after eating it, I can breathe normally and fall asleep.

I just wrote about this- I love super spicy dumpling soup...and vegetarian sushi peanut m&ms

glad I'm not the only one who always has ramen when sick... should make some now as I'm home sick from work

...but I would love some pho right now, mmmm

When I have an upset stomach, the only thing I want to eat is Wise brand salt and vinegar chips. Wise because they have the best chip-to-flavoring ratio, their chips are so thin!
For colds, tea, soup, hearty bread, and ginger snaps.

I actually clicked over to find the recipe for that soup picture (looks fantastic), and ended up getting sucked into everyone's favorite "sick food"... What an interesting post!

For the record, I go super bland while sick... My mom always enforced the "BRAT" diet of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast for upset stomachs when we were little, but the love of applesauce and dry toast when I'm any kind of sick is comforting to me to this day.

And P.S., thanks for posting the recipe!

I always want cheap, delivery Chinese food with several orders of hot wonton soup. And homemade chili if I can get it. (Sometimes I look forward to getting sick ;) )

Ginger tea, ginger ale, and any kind of Japanese soup with lots of broth and green onion.

Spicy anything and everything. Its probably not good for an upset stomach, but for some weird reason, that's when I want it the most. Hot and sour soup, chai lattes, chili, thai curry. I think my body secretly just wants to sweat it out. Seems to help though.

An infusion of fresh ginger and lemon slices with a teaspoon of honey. Yummy! :)

Anything spicy and light, like Tom Yum Gung or Pho

Pi Pa Kao is a wonderful, effective and very tasty Chinese medicine that we always have handy around the house. You can have it by the spoonful or mix it in hot water as a soothing drink. I swear by it, and its delicious also! http://www.ostenzenherbs.com/ninjiompeipakoa-p-185.html

I suffer from tonsilitis constantly. The only thing I can eat is lemonade and plain biscuits (like arrowroot biscuits). The only thing. Like for 3 days. I can't touch my beloved milk products :(

Super spicy kim chee soup if I have a cold.

Hot tea with honey and lemon if I have a sore throat or am congested.

Campbell's chicken noodle soup, a grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of sprite. It doesn't get much better than that!

My mom used to give me ginger ale as a kid when I was nauseated. Now I can't drink it without feeling queasy.

I love warm soups with grilled cheese sandwich triangles no matter what my ailment is. And frozen grapes.

Tomato soup with red pepper and grilled cheese. Extra hot.

When I was little and home sick from school, my mom would always give me hot tea and graham crackers. I would dip the graham crackers in the tea and it would be so yummy! Oh, and ginger ale and chicken noodle soup, of course!

Tummy ache: 2% milk in a frosty glass, water crackers, tea
Cold: cranberry juice, orange juice, Thai coconut soup
Flu: dry toast, ramen, grilled cheese sandwiches
Hangover: In & Out burger, super burritos
Heartbreak: pasta, ice cream
Cramps: cupcakes, sweet pickles, red wine