When we're sick, we don't have the energy or the brain capacity to do very much. On a regular Tuesday night, maybe you're in the mood for grilled salmon and veggies, but feeling under the weather makes preparing such a meal seem like an impossible task.

While there are a variety of foods that people turn to when they feel sick, a staple in any Italian or Italian-American household is a piping hot bowl of pastina soup, also sometimes known as "Italian penicillin." This easy pasta soup is well-known for its ability to "cure" just about any sickness, or at least that's what any Nonna will tell you as they whip up a bowl and shove it onto your lap.