What's Your Comfort Food?

Bad day. Bad weather. Bad argument with a friend. Bad commute. Bad hair day. Whatever the reason, some days just require a little extra comfort - very often in the form of a favorite food or dish. What says comfort to you?

We'd wager that for most of us, it's what we ate as children. Whether that's mac n' cheese or sushi dipped in soy sauce, the flavors, smells, and textures of these childhood foods have some inexplicable link in our brains with being safe, happy, and comforted. One bite and our hearts slow down and our muscles relax

That's not always true, though. Personally, I've noticed that miso soup, which I had never tasted until college, has become one of my go-to comfort foods. And the dark chocolate that many of us crave is definitely not a taste we necessarily associate with our younger years!

The fact of the matter is that when we're in need of comfort, we somehow instinctively know what food will sooth and help us cope. It's not always an entirely rational connection, but as long as it does the trick, we say go for it.

What's your comfort food?

(Image: Flickr member jugglerpm licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (33)

I make soup when I need a "be kind to yourself" meal, whether I'm stressed or getting sick, or just feeling blue. And it's the process as much as the end result. I find chopping vegetables is very soothing, and as it's simmering on the stove it makes the house smell great! When it's chock full of veggies and beans it's low-calorie, high fiber, filling and warm. Good for the soul and the body!

Any sweet with cinnamon or other spices. My husband once brought home cinnamon bread and hot cocoa after we had a fight. Good guess on his part.

Along the same line, oatmeal or Malt-o-meal.

Hot tea with milk. (or masala chai.)

My mom's potato soup or scalloped potatoes.

Interesting you should mention miso soup; that's a big soother for me, too. But what we really eat a lot of when we're down is pho. If you order a version with lean meat, it's easy on a queasy stomach; if you spike it with lots of sriracha, it clears your sinuses.

Moving along the international lines, I think if you asked my husband for comfort foods, he'd probably say fried daikon cakes and tofu with soy sauce and green onions - things his Grandma made him in Taiwan. I can make the daikon cakes, but haven't got that tofu down quite yet, simple as it sounds. It's hard to reverse engineer something you haven't tasted yourself, and I'm not sure Rich remembers what brand of soy sauce his grandma used when he was 3.

It's disgusting to admit but I was sick this past week and ate nothing but top ramen (chicken flavor), microwave pizzas, and blue bell ice cream.

Chips & Guacamole

Pork & chive dumplings

Tostones & hot sauce

noodles & butter

mac & cheese

My favorite comfort food - cheese pizza! Trouble, though, is that I can't eat too much of it, because I'm the type that can gain weight very quickly.

Grilled cheese is a big comfort food.

Actually, toast in general, since I grew up eating toast as my after-school snack. There was the amazing bakery in our neighborhood that made challah bread and that was my go-to toast bread. So good with butter and salt.

I'm also a fan of mac and cheese when I'm feeling low. And fried egg sandwiches. I'm seeing a carb-pattern here.

For me it's frehsly cooked black beans, I think it's because it reminds me of my childhood.

Matzo Ball Soup. I didn't grow up eating it, but my mom and grandma always made the best chicken soup. And there is something about the Matzo Ball that makes you feel like a kid and makes all your troubles go away.

A grilled cheese is perfect for a quick fix - especially when made by my hubby to make me feel better.

But I've found that for me, the act of baking makes everything better.

definitely macaroni and cheese, or a nice big fresh baguette with whatever jam, nutella, cheese etc. I can find in the kitchen. And ANY kind of viennoiserie-type pastry.

comfort food I can't have (because no one here makes it; it's a Calgary-thing):

ginger fried shredded beef, known in Calgary as GFB. The strips of beef are double fried, and come with a hot sweet sauce (one place even used honey).

Oh, my favourite Szechuan Chinese place in Calgary (long since sold to different owners, and taken over by a Sushi restaurant expansion last year) helped fix bad days and mend broken hearts with GFB, pork dumplings, beef and pepper noodles on a hot plate, and Szechuan eggplant. And hot and sour soup when stuffy. Mmm.

And at the age of 4, I had a great aunt in Iowa who used to feed me egg noodles (al dente) with butter, salt, and brown sugar. I avoid the siren call of this as much as possible.

If I could still eat rice, it would be sushi...

I'm predictable. It's chicken noodle soup. Only my gramma's recipe though, other soup doesn't count.

Mac and cheese for sure. Though I also like roasted vegetables with an egg on top after a hard day...

noodles cooked in broth with peas and parmesan.
rice pudding.
grilled cheese and tomato soup.
gefilte fish.
black bean tacos.
tuna casserole.
mac and cheese.
buckwheat pancakes.

My comfort food is ma-po tofu -- ground beef, tofu and green onions in a spicy, salty sauce with a light topping of sesame oil. It's like a big hug from mom.

But when I'm sick, it's chicken soup with very bad-for-you reconstituted mashed potato thingies called "Smiles". They smile at you until you eat them. It cheers me up.

hot & sour soup.
mac&cheese
pastini (or quinoa) with milk, asiago, and poached egg on top
thai rice noodle soup (similar to ramen but think less sodium) beefed up with shiitakes, hot sauce, seaweed, and scallions

Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal, with milk and then heated in the microwave until it turns to mush. So comforting. (And addictive. I think they should just call it "Crack" cereal...)

Sashimi!

For me it's starchy things. Teriyaki-lemon chicken over white rice with white corn. Ramen with an egg in it. Eggs scrambled and served on top of white rice. An egg over pasta tossed with soy sauce and sesame (got that one from here, actually). Or ice cream. Ice cream always makes things better.

Lately, if work has been kind of crummy, I've been going for bibim bap. If you'd have told me 5 years ago that pickled veggies over rice would be a huge enticement, I'd have laughed at you but it's really soothing and delicious.

Tea and Toast. The tea should be black tea with milk. Unless its bedtime, when it should be exchanged for a hot toddy.

The requisite toast has many variations - with butter and black pepper, peanut butter and honey, butter and jam, soft cheese...

To get really advanced I put the toast and cheese in a bowl, heat a can of beans with a bigger can of tomatoes and pour them over the toast. This has pulled me through many an illness.

macaroni and cheese
chocolate peanut-butter milkshake
matzoh ball soup
ramen noodles
pizza
saltine crackers with cheese

roasted chicken, sauteed spinach with garlic, and mashed potatoes.

oatmeal with honey, plus toast with butter.

I'd have to say toast w/peanut butter, sliced banana and honey drizzled on top washed down with a glass of milk.

Mac and cheese, definitely. And chocolate chip cookies.

Macaroni and Cheese.... for dessert I'd have a spoonful of peanut butter and dark chocolate chips.

My mother's albondigas soup. so basic, so many condiments to adorn it, so Christmas-ey. made in voluminous bubbling pots it subtly says "I will be a blanket to surround you on cold winter nights. I just ate the last of my frozen leftovers from Christmas. I've got to wait 9 more months (its just not right otherwise) :(

In the meantime I will keep myself together with mac and cheese, grilled cheese, pasta in cream sauce, pasta with butter and Parmesan, french bread pizza (with lots of ooey gooey cheese and those weird fake pepperoni triangles). I am all about the starch and cheesey/creamy/salty dairy.

I also love white rice with stirfried egg and soy sauce. i think its the salt/starch thing. i probably wouldn't miss the egg if i left it out :)

Disregarding any specific cravings...

Garlic bread!

And on the nostalgic side, 'Velvetta shells & cheese'.

Plus all the chocolate you care to chuck at my mouth.

Buttered Rigatoni Pasta , Ramen Soup, my mom's homemade mac and cheese. As you can see I love anything with Noodles!

After every bad break up or death in the family the last few years, I have found myself in the midst what my housemates once termed "the mashed potato diet." It's exactly what it sounds like - endless mashed potatoes (made 10lbs at a time) with copious amounts of butter (1/3 stick a serving) for a week or two (with only a multivitamin to round out the diet and maybe some OJ to ward off scurvy). Spoonfuls of starchy, sat-fad laden goodness seem to soothe my grief and heal my soul, helping me to transition into Phase II: cupcakes.

When things are less dire and just more of a bad day, the go to foods include: potatoes au gratin, stuffing, grilled cheese, homemade tomato soup, or lasagna. Or maybe just wine and Triscuits.

By boyfriend is away now, so I find myself wanting one of his amazing omelets or frittatas and his simple greens mushrooms and quinoa stir fries.

Spinach dip and beer is my stressed out study comfort!

Corn tortilla chips covered in unhealthy, oily, delicious, spicy nacho cheese.

The big one is something I'll never taste again: my grandmother's potato pierogn, Yiddish-style, with fried onions inside. Dough made by hand and cut into shape with a drinking glass, pierogs boiled briefly and then pan-fried, served with sour cream. If there is an afterlife, I will taste these again there.

Another grandmother food, that I could recreate: strawberries with sour cream and sugar. I'd do it now without the sugar. She used to serve it to me after school. Very old-country.

Crusty wheat bread toasted with butter, pepper and garlic powder. Chicken pho with lots of sriracha. Vietnamese summer rolls with shrimp or tofu. Pad thai. Water with lemon.

scrambled eggs with cheese
mashed potatoes
cereal in a big bowl (curled up on the couch!)
white toast with butter, cinnamon & sugar