Comfort foods offer many advantages – at least psychologically, if not physically.
Food is fuel – right? Food specialists and experts have consistently urged us to picture food this way and to be strategic in what we put in our mouths. When we eat, considering our long-term goals, we make fitter choices and feed ourselves foods our bodies need to maintain and build health.
This approach may make us healthy, but does it make us happy? I mean, happy like birthday cake and ice cream. Certain foods make us happy, others we eat for our health. For example, fried chicken and mashed potatoes may make us as happy but an egg white omelet and braised kale is healthier. Would, or should, we ever eat solely for our happiness?
t. Given the upheavals that we endured while coronavirus consumed our lives (quarantine and isolation), food and supply shortages, and insecurity about our futures – maybe we can all be forgiven for engaging in what experts call “emotional eating.”
What Is Comfort Food?
We all have heard of the phrase, but what makes something a comfort food? It can be anything, but the main thing that defines comfort food is that it is comforting to you. The word “comfort food” has only been around since the 1960s or so. It didn’t start gaining popularity until 1977 when The Washington Post referred to one of their featured holiday recipes as comfort food.
While the phrase has been around for a while, comfort food was not just invented with the word. It is a feeling we have all gotten, whether from a dish your grandma used to whip up or the to-go burger at the drive-through spot your dad used to bring you to. Sometimes it is comforting just because it is something you grew up eating, maybe a special meal your parents or grandparents would make you as a kid.
Why Is It So Comforting?
Foods high in carbs, sugar, and fatty acids trigger the brain’s reward system, which is why it comforts you. Believe it or not, the same rewards and pleasure centers activated by drug or alcohol addiction are active when consuming comfort food. While sometimes you can chalk it up to stress or just being in the mood for a specific food, there are reasons why you may be craving these unhealthy foods more often than you’d like.
The parts of the brain that are thought to be responsible for your mood are the insula, hippocampus, and caudate. Studies conveyed that these three areas are activated during food craving episodes. These areas process the brain’s memory, reward, and pleasure systems.
Inhale, Exhale
Whatever you are dealing with, comfort food is not bad in moderation. Finding other coping methods for stress, like meditation, exercise, or extra self-care, are also helpful. We all need a break sometimes from the stress of life. A “cheat” meal may be as comforting as spending time alone. Exhale as you set some time aside for yourself.
You can also take comfort in the recipes in Generations of Good Food, a Cookbook by Eleanor Gaccetta. This book is a compilation of recipes that span six generations. The book is a collection of straightforward recipes and heartfelt stories of Italian life that brought families together around the table. This book will raise your interest whether you are a novice in the kitchen, a home cook, or a professionally trained cook. The cookbook is a compilation of nearly 200 recipes, including main dishes, bread, cakes, pies, cookies, and candy. Would you like to cook pasta dishes, bake sweet Easter bread, a Chiffon cake, lemon ricotta cookies, or make Tiger butter fudge? These and many more recipes are included. Just glancing through the table of contents will urge you to cook, bake and eat.
In Conclusion
Sometimes a home-cooked meal is all anyone needs to feel a little better about the stress and troubles of everyday life, and sometimes you need to treat yourself to a bit of chocolate. Either way, your cravings are entirely normal.
Remember to keep everything in moderation and that a healthy, balanced diet can go a long way in controlling those cravings. Comfort foods are great for obvious reasons, so never feel bad or guilty about indulging occasionally!
The Happy Hammock 