I’m fighting some kind of virus: mild sore throat slight headache, fatigue. That’s never fun but in this case it’s particularly dismaying: I have to get on a plane* on Sunday night.
Bad timing.
No fever and no super-serious symptoms, so I will not try for an appointment with the physician’s assistant who is my primary care provider. Most likely he would say, “Looks like a virus, so stay home and drink a lot of liquids” – advice I can give myself for free.
My usual m.o. is to feed a cold, starve a fever – and drown a sore throat. Thus I’ve been pouring in all the tea and water I can stand without developing water intoxication.
My appetite, usually spot-on-and-then-some, has dwindled. It’s not as though I can’t afford to miss a meal, but rather that if I don’t eat something I feel light-headed. Besides, my other theory is that you have to feed the machine if you want to fight off/recover from an illness.
Hence: smoothies. For the past few days I’ve been hitting the blender hard: frozen raspberries (grown in our yard), a banana, some homemade yogurt, a raw egg and a scoop of ground flaxseed (paid for with Amazon gift cards I earned from the Swagbucks rewards program).
Today, though, I took it to a new level.
Oatmeal. I added oatmeal. Not the raw grain, but about a half-cup of the cooked stuff. I’d been mumbling about wishing the smoothie packed even more of a nutritional punch than it already did, and DF suggested dumping in some leftover rice. Maybe it would end up tasting like rice pudding, he suggested.
Unsure that it would blend** properly, I opted to cook a batch of oatmeal and set it out to cool in Seward’s Icebox. Then I added it to the other ingredients and the result was very nice indeed.
A guilt-free breakfast
You could almost taste the oatmeal, but not quite. No lumps, no stickiness. The smoothie had what I needed (protein, fruit, grain and fiber) plus a delightfully cool temperature that soothed my throat as it went down. Sweetness, too – and who couldn’t use more of that?
In the future I will likely add more oatmeal to each batch. If you’re a smoothie fan I suggest that you do, too. Oats are good for us and the ChooseMyPlate.gov program (the artist formerly known as the Food Pyramid) recommends that women my age have at least five ounces of grains per day.
I could be disingenuous and say that these smoothies are strictly for health. Closer to the truth: It’s like having a guilt-free milkshake. In this case, a milkshake full of breakfast goodness.
Readers: Do you ever put grains in your smoothies? If so, what kinds?
*I’ll be in Phoenix through March 21. The first few days will be devoted to getting Abby to and from her cataract surgery and the follow-up exam. Other than that, I’m open to scheduling a reader meet-up in her area of town. Anyone who’s interested can e-mail me at SurvivingAndThriving (at) live (dot) com to let me know which day(s) would work best.
**Upon reflection, I may be wrong. Maybe this is my chance to invent Healthy Raspberry Rice Pudding.
Have you tried gargling warm salt water? That helped a lot with my last sore throat
I have a tough time gargling — keep swallowing the stuff — but maybe I’ll try again. Thanks for the suggestion.
I know this sounds gross, but nasal saline or netti pot will drain down the back of the throat and help a bit if gargling doesn’t work for you.
Odd: When I use a neti pot the water all pours out again. I dislike using a neti pot, but I’m usually glad that I have used one.
Drinking at least 3 cups of green tea per day is said to boost our immune systems. I make sure to do this when sick or fighting off an illness.
I make smoothies/protein shakes all the time. I always have a steady supply of overly ripe bananas in the freezer for these, and baking my Banana Bread/Muffins. They are my favorite post run recovery breakfast. I add any combination of the following: a little almond milk (maybe 1/4 cup), water, frozen banan a (or any frozen fruit I have) protein powder, 2 frozen spinach cubes (I run old fresh spinach through the blender with a little water to make into cubes, adds some greens and you can’t even taste it) hemp seed (great source of protein), chia seed, and I have added dry oats to the mix for fiber/bulk. To me, it’s a treat! Much cheaper and healthier than store bought.
I am the worst at gargling so I stay on alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen for the sore throat and the pain relief is astronomically helpful for the eventual recovery process. Liquids are necessary but boy they don’t do much for making me feel better in the meantime.
I was trying to make smoothies with ice cream but that was a mistake, wasn’t it? I should use yogurt instead?
Smoothies with ice cream sound like milkshakes, and all milkshakes are wanted and needed.
But yeah, a couple spoons of yogurt will improve the health quotient.
When that stuff hits my body, I add a zinc pill every day for 5 days to my vitamin/morning pill routine.
Don’t forget chicken noodle soup. (A mom’s best friend.) And, how about asking DF to make you a batch of garlic bread? That seems to help when I have a sore throat. Feel better soon!
I will keep that in mind. Garlic makes most things better.
I add 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal to my smoothie with yogurt and fruit. I can’t even tell it’s there. Half an avocado makes it super smooth and creamy.
Funny you should mention that. I put uncooked oats in today and you’re right: I didn’t notice them.
Avocado is a no-fly for me, though.
I have protein shakes for breakfast sometimes when I’m in a time crunch. I use vegan protein, a frozen banana, greens and sometimes berries, then add the oats to help fill me up. I like to eat and get grumpy when hungry, so it helps keep me well behaved until lunch.
Get well soon, Donna!
All better now! Thanks for your kind thoughts.