Comfort Foods 101

Comfort foods trigger memories of times when we felt safe and warm, when loved ones were near, when laughter came easily. Comfort foods remind people of home and family. Comfort foods can connect us to our past; bringing back memories of times shared with those, we love.

Comfort foods like chocolate cake and ice cream literally dull the body's response to chronic stress, that that is the power of such foods. They make us feel better, no matter what life tosses at us. This is the power comfort foods hold

Many ethnic comfort foods have become popular everywhere and accepted as American fare such as Mac and cheese. Pizza and mashed potatoes were ethic foods at one time, now you can get them all over. Comfort foods, are generally easy to make and wonderful to eat.

Many people assume comfort foods are eaten when a person is sad or lonely, this is wrong we eat them whenever we feel the need. When you are happy, it is the perfect time to eat a comfort food. Anytime is the perfect time for comfort food.

Some comfort foods come from an oven like, chocolate chip cookies, lasagna, pot roast, shepherds pie, fresh baked bread, cinnamon buns, turkey, and of course pizza. Who could forget, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Mac and cheese, grilled cheese sands w/tomato soup, tuna salad and egg salad sandwiches. Then there is mashed potatoes and gravy, potpies, baked beans, pudding, and candy bars, burgers and fries, chicken soup.

My mom makes cheese lasagna with homemade rolls that is simply out of this world. Dad makes the sauce from the garden, and then together they create the masterpiece. Last time they made this, it was a huge pan, big enough to feed 16 adults. My parents made this huge pan for a mid winter family get together. Top it off with hot fresh rolls and it truly was pure honest to goodness comfort food, served by our parents.

If your mom always fed you homemade chicken soup or freshly baked brownies when you were ill or upset, then you will be craving comfort foods when you are sad or when you are missing her. Memories you associate with her will flood back to you as you eat that particular comfort food. Pasta, soups, meats, and casseroles were some of the most popular comfort foods.

I remember as we were growing up, for our last Christmas home mom would allow us to choose Christmas dinner. In 1981, my sister Diana choose to have a huge meatloaf, real mashed potatoes and gravy, cream corn and plenty of mom's home made rolls. In 1983 my request of course ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, cheese cauliflower and the rolls. I remember there was a Christmas dinner of venison and another of a boiled dinner for my younger sisters but I cannot remember which one. A boiled dinner is out of this world, it is ham, cabbage, potatoes, onions, and carrots boiled together in one pan, it is great.

Another comfort food from my childhood is peanut butter French toast, and I still make that for my kids these days. It is a peanut butter sandwich dunked in the egg mix and then fried like French toast.

My all-time favorite comfort meal is Mac n' Cheese, and I am sure I will end up cooking it, even if only to warm up when the first snow hits. Even one of our founding father, Thomas Jefferson, loved it and it is said he brought over the first pasta machine to America from France. During World War II, the popularity of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese skyrocketed in the United States, was a hearty meal. Macaroni and cheese has been around for a long time. It is a comfort food and has been an American tradition for decades.