Is there anything more delicious than comfort food? And, have you tried making yours healthier?
What is Comfort Food?
There are so many foods that could be labeled as comfort food. It all depends, you might say, on who you ask. Even though a soup, stew, or casserole may be a typical answer, who’s to say a berry-banana smoothie, roasted cauliflower, or charcoal grilled lamb chops aren’t great answers, too? Comfort food tends to be personal and based on food experiences of an individual. This is one reason it’s so much fun to explore as a nutritional strategy for everyone.
How Can Comfort Food be Made Healthier?
The short answer here is that buying and using healthier ingredients is the best way to upgrade the nutrition of every comfort food. It can be as easy as substituting yogurt for sour cream, or incorporating some whole grain or nut flour into a recipe instead of using entirely all-purpose flour. Finding a recipe and then making small changes to improve its nutrition is well within everyone’s ability and it can be a lot of fun.
What are Some Examples of Seasonal Comfort Food?
Seasons are not firm rules of what we can choose to prepare food-wise and yet most of us break the year into winter comfort food season, summer comfort food season and, yes, spring and fall comfort food seasons. Here are a few ideas and keep in mind that there is variation depending on where you live around the country.
Winter: Beef stew; Homemade butternut squash soup; Meatloaf; Chicken and rice; Chili; Pork chops
- Here’s a recipe for healthier butternut squash soup
- Here’s a recipe for healthier meatloaf
Summer: Hamburgers on the grill with corn-on-the-cob; Marinated & grilled chicken; Greek salad; Potato salad
- Here’s a recipe for healthier marinated and grilled chicken thighs
- Here’s a recipe for healthier potato salad
All Seasons: Macaroni and cheese; Spaghetti and meatballs; Baked or broiled salmon; Loaded baked potato
- Here’s a recipe for healthier, homemade spaghetti marinara sauce
- Here’s a recipe for a healthier, loaded baked potato
How Does Healthier Comfort Food Fit into a Healthier Lifestyle?
A comfort food can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a celebratory meal such as a birthday or holiday. Positive emotions normally come along with comfort food and they can lift one’s spirits in tough times. A healthier lifestyle includes unique comfort food that is made with healthier ingredients. Along with the healthier food itself, dine with those you care about and afterwards stroll in the fresh air for better digestion and fitness. To expand on the healthier comfort food recipes above, here’s my free Mediterranean menus and recipes. They will nudge you to healthier nutrition and better overall health, step-by-step, forever.