Along with the colder weather of late Fall, heading into Winter, come the doldrums. Sometimes they’re caused by the cloudy weather. Sometimes it’s the cold. Or the rain. And then there’s the whole “I’m not-quite-sick, but feeling icky” thing you get this time of year. Somehow summer allergies and colds don’t hold a candle to the crappy way I feel at times during this season.
Last week was one of those weeks. Hectic Mom got sick. It’s something that happens so rarely that it’s a huge event when she’s down. She doesn’t take off of work, but she basically can do nothing outside of working and sleeping. Then Hectic Grandson came down with the same thing. While neither of them getting sick directly affected me (I still did all the myriad things that I normally have to do), they both needed some attention, and that put additional stresses on our already ragged system.
So I figured it was time to use food as a source of medicine.
You know, I made a bunch of comfort food for them both.
As I got to thinking about it, I realized that comfort food probably varies around the globe. I’d love to hear what’s considered comfort food in your neck of the woods. Most of the search results that I got back were very US-centric…and pretty generic at that.
When I was a kid, my Mom used to give me flattened Coke, saltines, and room-temperature applesauce when I wasn’t feeling well. To this day I cannot drink even partially flat Coke. In fact, her insistence on flattening the Coke (by shaking the bottle until all the fizz was gone) is probably the reason I’m a Pepsi guy!
Later, she convinced me that Arby’s Roast Beef sandwiches were one of the best things for an upset stomach. I don’t know where the idea came from, but I remember being offered Arby’s whenever I was feeling under the weather.
Weird, eh?
To get an idea of what other folks perceive as comfort food, I popped over to Ranker.com. It’s a great place for this kind of thing, since people actually vote on the results.
I’ll admit I’m pretty much in line with the top 10:
- Ice Cream
- Grilled Cheese sandwich
- Chocolate
- Pizza
- French Fries
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Mashed Potatoes
- Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Fried Chicken
- Donuts
It’s also pretty obvious from looking at the list that some things fall into the category of “comfort foods you buy” and others are “comfort foods you make”. Let’s be serious, it’s probably easier, and definitely less messy to buy fried chicken. There really isn’t much of a health benefit to making it at home either. Unlike other foods where you can control the ingredients and ratchet up the health or comfort factors…fried chicken isn’t ever really going to be “healthy”. Don’t @ me…it’s just not.
And that’s the thing about true comfort foods. They’re not going to be good for you. But remember, anything in moderation is OK. While you can tell me that carrots and celery are your comfort foods…I’m going to have to unfriend you and avoid you at family gatherings if you keep that kind of stuff up. In my world, comfort foods are something of an indulgence. The kind of stuff that makes you feel better in your tummy. They’re just not going to be good for your body…just your soul!
So, in no particular order, here are ten of my comfort foods I make when I need a soul boost:
- Pizza
- Lasagna
- Spaghetti & Meatballs
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cheeseburger
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Burrito
- Chili
- Chicken & Dumplings
- Biscuits & Gravy
- Meatloaf
What foods make it on your comfort foods list when you need a soul boost?