This week, we asked our readers about their favourite food cures. Here are some of our favourite answers
Oatmeal mania
I like eating oatmeal when I’m sick. Oatmeal can come in many flavours, but my favourite way to eat it is plain, with dried fruits and yogurt. It is super healthy and yummy. Oatmeal is full of calcium and is high in fibre, which helps me get better faster.
Chan Hei-jin, 8, SKH Wei Lun Primary School
The golden fruit
I would choose preserved salted kumquats. Whenever I have a sore throat, my mum gives me preserved salted kumquats to eat. I love the taste and the sweet smell, and they soothe my throat and help my voice recover more quickly so that I can sing again.
Chan Wing-yuk, 12, Immaculate Heart of Mary College
What is your favourite smell in the world?
Russian remedy
I like to have a bowl of borscht soup when I feel sick. My mum is very good at making it. She uses fresh tomatoes and potatoes, which are my favourite foods. I love the colour of this soup because it’s bright and makes my day better even though I am not well. The beef in the soup is full of iron and protein, and the other healthy veggies in it help me fight against my sickness.
Andre Chan Cheung-lai, 12, Immaculate Heart of Mary College
Mother's cooking
When I feel ill, my mother makes me a bowl of macaroni, with slices of pork and vegetables. I always feel much better after that. Sometimes, she adds tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes. This dish is definitely on my “When I’m ill” menu.
Ice Chow Sze-lok, 10, St Mary’s Canossian School
Classic congee
Whenever I’m feeling sick, my mum makes me congee, that thick rice porridge that is sometimes prepared with vegetables and meat. Congee warms up the digestive system, especially the spleen and stomach, and can also improve one’s ability to sleep well. It is easy to cook, easy to digest, and it can be made savoury or sweet. Who doesn’t like congee?
Simon Leung Man-kit, 16, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School
What drink would you like to be?
Something sweet
I love to eat ice cream – especially when I have a fever and my body is weak and I don’t want to eat anything. When I have a fever, I don’t eat much but I do drink a lot of water. When my blood sugar levels are low, I start to crave sweet food. Ice cream not only helps to bring my temperature down, it also cheers me up. I believe it has the power to bring me closer to a full recovery.
Keith Fung, 16, South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School
Good old chicken soup
I like to have chicken soup when I’m feeling ill, but I think I’m always in the mood for this soup no matter what. I can drink five bowls of soup every day. When I’m sick, I only want to have things I really love. Chicken soup is full of nutrients, and is also an excellent source of fluid and electrolytes, and can help my weak body get stronger.
Hilda Wu, 15, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School
Noodle up
When I’m feeling ill, I like to eat udon. It isn’t as tasteless as congee. I like to add lots of vegetables and a boiled egg into it because the udon noodles themselves have no nutritional value, which is why I need to add those things to give me fibre and protein.
Wong Ho-ching, 15, Shun Tak Fraternal Association Seaward Woo College
If the world would be in only one colour, which one would you pick?
Breakfast cereal for the sick
I like eating cereal with milk when I am feeling ill. Milk is full of calcium which makes bones stronger, and cereal is high in fibre. This is a meal that will make anyone feel better, and provides people with more energy, too.
Cloris Lau Ching-yiu, 12, Shatin Tsung Tsin Secondary School
The proverbial apple
Whenever I’m feeling ill, I eat an apple. The saying goes that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, right? Well, by the time I’m ill, an apple won’t help me physically, but I feel better mentally. It makes me feel like I will get better sooner after I eat it.
Lo King-fai, 15, Shun Tak Fraternal Association Seaward Woo College
For our next Top 10, tell us:
Who is your favourite teacher, and why?
Send your answer, together with your name, age and school, to [email protected] with “Top 10: teacher” in the subject field. Our favourite answers will appear in next week’s Top 10 page!