oatmeal to cure hangovers

My housemate was very, very hungover one Sunday afternoon when I returned from my early day errands. Now, it's my belief that to cure a hangover, you need to ask yourself two important questions:

1. When did you last eat something?

2. When did you last drink some water?

His answer to the first was "...Last night." His answer to the second was, "Just a little. I'm taking it really slow."

Drinking alchohol dehydrates you. I remember reading somewhere that the reason your head hurts is because there's a lack of fluid in your brain when you've had a lot to drink, because you've peed it all out. Your veins compress, adding pressure to your insides, and your head feels the most pain. That's what I read, anyhow. So I always try to drink water whenever I've been drinking alcohol.

I also try to take a multivitamin or some other variety of dietary supplement. Peeing after drinking alcohol drains you of nutrients in addition to water. The only way you'll feel better is if you do two things:

1. Give your body more water.

2. Give your body more healthy nutrients.

The longer you starve yourself, the longer you'll feel hungover. The longer you deprive yourself of plain old water, the more your head will hurt.

I normally solve this by drinking a LOT of water, eating oatmeal, and then eating a vitamin. Incidentally, there are some cases when a particular type of vitamin will make you feel nauseous if you don't take them with food anyway, in which case you'll want to put food in your stomach anyhow. I'll include my favorite oatmeal recipe here, if you ever need to nurse yourself or a sick friend back to hangover-free health. There's nothing magic about it; it just works very well. And I know some people have an aversion to oatmeal for various reasons (from taste to texture, to anything in-between). You're just missing out. Here are the ingredients:

Oatmeal, the kind you can buy in a big cardboard canister. I suppose the "quick" variety would work, but I sincerely recommend avoiding the "instant" stuff. Who knows just what the hell all that powdery stuff is in that? It's probably mostly sugar, anyway. Either that, or just crap you don't need.

Enough water to properly cook the oatmeal. I normally end up adding in some extra as I cook, but perhaps its because I approximate my measurements so often.

Sunflower seeds. The kind already hulled (removed from their shells).

Raisins. I normally see the dark-coloured ones; I haven't cooked with the "golden" variety. Those are the green grapes, I guess.

Honey. I use (and subsequently swear by) raw honey, but I'm fairly certain regular filtered honey would work as well (but if you've never tasted raw honey and you don't mind eating animal products, you owe it to yourself to splurge and buy yourself a jar of it). If it wasn't for this stuff, I'd be totally vegan. I've had both agave nectar and rice syrup recommended to me more than once now, so I will try them eventually (once my honey supply is depleted).

Peanuts. Sorry if you're allergic to them; I'd recommend replacing them with some other kind of nut if you don't dig the peanut. I used "Spanish peanuts" in today's batch. They're the kind with the red skins on them, and are more round-shapes than the 'typical' peanut, whatever that means.

Cinnamon. Mmmm...

Bananas. Although I hadn't used them for my housemate, these are a superb addition to any hangover cure. Among other nutrients, bananas are a fantastic natural source of potassium. They are also easy to keep down on an upset stomach.

Okay. Follow the directions on the oatmeal canister to cook your oatmeal. For my housemate and I, the recipe called for two and a half cups of water at a boil. Once it's boiling, add in your two cups of oats. Turn the heat down to somewhere around medium. Prepare the rest of your ingredients, and stir the oats on occasion.

Drop in the peanuts after the oats have cooked about three minutes or so. Stir them around a bit. If your oats seem a bit too dry, add in some more water, maybe a tablespoon at a time. I have a Brita pitcher, so I just dip it slightly and pour out a small amount of water, which does the trick.

Next comes the sunflower seeds. Drop them in, stir, and check your water again.

Next is the honey. I just jammed my wooden spatula in the jar, and took out a nice-sized scoop. I'd say it was at least two tablespoons. One thing a lot of people do, though is pile on the sweet stuff. When it's honey, it's not so bad. But too much is just that: too much. You don't need to fill your food with sugar to make it taste good.

I finish up with the raisins. These can soak up some moisture, making everything else dry, but by this time, the oats will be done and you won't need to cook so much anymore. Just stir them around, make everything evenly mixed within your oats, and after about one more minute, they should be done.

Portion out your oats for all who are to eat. Sprinkle a proportionate bit of cinnamon on each. Enjoy!

If you dare: I also eat Kellogg's All-Bran cereal, and if you want some crunchiness for your oatmeal, I recommend adding that along with the cinnamon. I didn't want to give any to my roommate, however; I have no idea about his fiber intake and didn't want to end up giving him any gastric issues. For those of you who don't know, increasing your intake of fiber is to be gradual. You have been warned.

I gave my housemate a little less than a cup's worth, and ate the rest myself. He's feeling a lot better.

Making your own food makes you feel so good. Helping others with the food you make is that much better.