The third Hangover movie sends Wolfpackers Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to Tijuana in search of Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). Hopefully, you can find your own Mexican chow (sorry)—specifically the spicy soup menudo. The tripe has vitamins to rejuvenate your body, while the muy caliente chilies will smack you wide-awake.
Forget "hair of the dog" and reach for the oats. Packed with vitamins and minerals, this "superfood" helps neutralize acids in the body and gives you an energy lift. Plus, roughage—i.e., dietary fiber—is always a good thing on rough mornings. Enjoy a bowl of carbohydrate-rich oatmeal (maybe with nuts and brown sugar for extra protein and glucose), and you're ready to tackle the day.
The ultimate comfort food! Crunchy, gooey and buttery—it's a trifecta of goodness. To increase the benefits of your yummy sammie, add slices of tangy tomato before grilling. The sumptuous red veggie, er, fruit is chock-full of vitamin C (lost while drinking) and the powerful antioxidant lycopene, which reduces inflammation in the body.
In The Hangover Part II, the bros got blitzed in Bangkok, but you don't have to wake up in Thailand to take advantage of the cuisine. The aptly named Drunken Noodles (or Pad Kee Mao) has become a popular dish in Thai restaurants across America, with its tantalizing mix of rice noodles, chicken, and enough jalapeño pepper to make you sweat out toxins!
Like you need an excuse to eat chocolate! Though not a traditional hangover remedy, chocolate contains caffeine for a pick-me-up as well as sugar for a blood-glucose boost. Even better, chocolate ice cream helps soothe your stomach and provides crucial Vitamin D. But be careful—eating too much chocolate can give you a headache, and eating ice cream too fast can give you brain freeze!
Complex carbs will raise your blood sugar and keep you from crashing later in the day. A couple of slices of whole-wheat toast should do the trick, along with settling your uneasy gut. (Myth alert: the carbon in burnt toast doesn't offer any benefits.) Plus, drizzle on some real, fructose-laden honey to help your body flush out alcohol faster.
We all know this old-fashioned fave is great for treating the sniffles and warming the bones, but a bowl of chicken noodle soup can also minimize hangover hell. The salt in the broth helps your body retain much-needed water, while the chicken provides protein and boosts liver detoxification. And that's m'm, m'm, good!
Nosh on bananas to replenish your body's depleted potassium. If the fruit's mushy texture makes your belly feel like a barrel of monkeys, toss your bananas (instead of your cookies) into a blender with yogurt, berries, and ice for a refreshing, vitamin-rich smoothie. It's highly recommended by Crystal the capuchin from The Hangover Part II!
Contrary to popular belief, greasy foods won't alleviate your post-rager pain, and they may make your symptoms worse. But they do help prevent a hangover by coating your stomach and slowing the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. So if you plan to imbibe libations, first fill up on fatty foods, like a big, juicy burger. And yeah, you want fries with that!
Eggs are not only packed with protein for energy—they also contain large amounts of the amino acid cysteine, which breaks down hangover-causing toxins. So crack a few eggs and make a hearty omelet with veggies like avocados and asparagus. As a tribute to naked Mr. Chow, top it off with a shiitake mushroom!