They say there is a time for everything: A time to laugh, a time to weep. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. If that’s true, then there is a time for comfort food too.
Wikipedia defines comfort food as “Food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically any with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content and associated with childhood or home cooking.”
Comfort food means different things to different people, depending on where you’re from, what kind of food comforts you most, and how it makes you feel.
For some, it’s a big bowl of macaroni and cheese. For others, pizza and mozzarella sticks. Still others find comfort in warm, satisfying dishes like chicken, potatoes, pasta, casseroles, breads, and desserts
Think about it. When a loved one passes, what’s the usual tradition? Gathering in the home of a relative to share a big meal. If a child feels down, how many mothers or fathers respond with a cookie or dish of ice cream?
Food is part of our culture—as social as stopping on the street to talk to a friend, or hopping on Facebook to say hello or exchange a recipe. We do many things involving food, from business lunches, to graduation dinners, to family reunions, to wedding receptions. Can you imagine a birthday party without some kind of food, even if it’s simply cake and ice cream?
Being emotional eaters comes easy for most of us, and it’s often hard to separate eating for nutrition, from eating for pleasure. In a lot of cases, we combine the two, and this is why it’s so difficult for most of us to avoid overeating. You can reject most unhealthy habits, like smoking or drinking too much alcohol, but it’s hard to reject food. Simply put, we need food to live, so there is always a fine line to walk between eating what’s good for us, and eating whatever we want because it tastes good and makes us feel good.
And when food makes us feel good, we want more of it.
We shouldn’t apologize for liking comfort food. It’s part of our nature. It’s just interesting to recognize the role it plays in our lives.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy recipe for comfort food, try making this Loaded French Fries recipe. You don’t have to stick with this recipe verbatim. You can play with it, omit something, or add more to it. After all, comfort food should be something YOU thoroughly enjoy:
Ingredients:
1 large bag od your favorite frozen French fries.
1 jar or package of your favorite melting cheese.
1 large container of sour cream (or ranch dressing if you prefer).
1 large bag of real bacon bits.
Preparation:
Bake fries as directed.
When hot from the oven, drizzle with melted cheese, sour cream (or ranch), and top with bacon bits.
Enjoy this filling comfort dish alone, or with family or friends.
Tammy Ruggles
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