Sick Food

Has it really been since Friday that I posted?  That time really flew.  I guess I was under the weather for a little while, and just when I was getting better, our meals sorta set me back again.

I'll elaborate, but I'm curious what people eat when they're sick?  We generally do the BRATT stuff (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and tea).  My family growing up always did jello for some reason, but let me tell ya as a parent, if they're still sick that comes back up so dangerously technicolor...but enough.

We had a Cub Scout/Activity Days group campout the night after I was sick, and I wasn't quite back to my normal digestive self by then, but I built up gradually and by breakfast, really enjoyed the spread of pancakes, eggs and sausage, fresh fruits galore, and milk.  But then some friends of ours treated us to dinner that afternoon at Friendly's, and that nearly took me out again.

What I really was craving was just lots more fresh, fresh food, raw and crunchy and naturally sweet.  HA.  By the end of the meal I was really physically uncomfortable, having tried to eat enough to be polite and still barely managing that.  Chicken noodle soup (translate: really no veggies, just lots of heavy pasta) and a side salad (translate: tons of croutons and dripping in dressing) were not what I had hoped they would be, and though the milkshake at the end tasted wonderful, it wasn't worth squeezing in a stomach that wanted none of it.

So although I kept it all down (though I was worried), I spent the next TWO days still recuperating, and also pondering American tastes in food.  Is this what people pretty much expect to eat for most meals?  White flour, meat and cheese, maybe some fried potatoes, ice cream?  I don't know if it would have bothered me quite so much if I weren't already feeling ill, but it made me think again about the connection between how we feel and what we eat.  I'll have to write about that more at length, but it's something worth noticing from day to day.  Our diet has such a huge effect on our sense of well-being, our energy and motivations, even aside from being consciously aware of "eating healthy" or not.