Senior Planet is launching an “open thread” series on Sundays to bring together all our readers and solicit your input and thoughts on the different topics. Please share your thoughts in the comments!
During this epidemic, we’re stuck at home, we can’t socialize, and we limit our time outside…but not outside the refrigerator!
Many studies prove that very often, people under stress turn to foods, especially ‘comfort foods.” These foods often remind us of happy times in our lives, or people we love, or have positive associations. The choices are as individual as each of us are, but there are some sex linked characteristics; women often seek comfort in sweet and sugary foods, like ice cream, while men prefer savory foods like steak.
Personally, my comfort food is potato chips (with or without dip). I associate it with parties and there’s something about the crunch that just does it for me. (In fact, years ago a Kris Kringle gift given to me by a co-worker was a huge box with ten large bags of chips in different flavors. I”m still grateful, Patty!)
I’ve been enabled in my cravings by potato-chip companies that have been conducting Manhattan Project-level research to come up with new flavors (I”m looking at you, Lays! Bring back Garden Tomato and Basil!).
Sadly, the combination of limited outside time and gym closures means I must find a substitute for my fave, or I’ll have to butter my thighs to get through doorways. Right now the leading contender is chocolate Cheerios…
…but what about you? What’s your favorite comfort food, and why? Let us know in the comments!
Photo by Sean McClintock on Unsplash
COMMENTS
35 responses to “Open Thread: What’s your comfort food?”
Hot, crispy, yummy FRENCH FRIES – with hot sauce on the side :)
Mac and Cheese for sure!!
Mug of hot tea, with a piece of dark chocolate!
Carne asada fries!
make chicken soup all year, i.e., chicken, brown rice, fresh vegies, herbs, &, when feeling energized, matzo balls. yum!
Pasta. Cheese. Peanut butter. Baked potatoes.
Optional: Mix well, heat and eat.
If you are saying you eat it all together you’ll have to send us a pic. This I gotta see.
Nah, I haven’t actually done it. (Yet.)
My homemade potato soup with dumplings does it for me, as it soothes my spirit!
Edie me
It is lightly toasted Thomas’s original English muffin w peanut butter
Dark chocolate chips or discs.
Freshly baked choc chip cookies
Another vote for sweets!
Wonton soup!
Basil Tomato/rice cakes and/frozen yogurt’that/ivmake/myself binam always on a diet
Best Comfort Food in the world is a small bowl of Chocolate
Chips mixws with Walnuts or Pecans. WoooooWeeeee!
3-Bean Chili with Ground Chuck and Hot Sausage….Beef Stew….Salmon Patties…Cream of Tomato Soup with my husband’s excellent homemade Egg Noodles…Pineapple Upside-Down Cake…Triple Dark Chocolate Brownies with Dean’s Windy City Minty Fudge Blast ice cream…almost any kind of chips, any kind of cheese…and avocados, halved and eaten straight out of the skin….
Peanut butter and bread & butter pickles!
Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Mmmmmmm.
PS: am I the only one gaining weight as we hunker down?! Gotta log on to a Senior Planet online exercise session!
A nice piece of artisan cheese on whole grain cracker or bread will do it for me!
Good, NY Pizza (okay maybe you can get equivalent pizza in Naples – not the one in Florida – and New Haven. Other places may come close but they’re just not the same. Thin crust, just the right amount of sauce, fresh mozzarella. Joe’s (the one off 6th Ave. Lombardy’s, John’s, Totonno’s, Roberta’s, Pepe’s to name a few.
When I’m really stressed, though, nothing tastes as good as Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes.
ave
I’m with Virge on chips–any and all; basic plain Lay’s are fine but I also ate an entire bag of Doritos earlier this week.
But my real comfort is baking no-knead bread at home. All you need is a dutch oven, an oven, flour, water, and yeast (and time) then you’re in business!
Lots of peanut butter toast on homemade bread here.
Anything Cajun: crab legs, crawfish boil, jambalaya, you name it!
If Willie Mae’s Scotch House was near me my comfort food would be her fried chicken…
My mother-in-law’s Never Fail Chili: NEVER-FAIL CHILI
1 lb hamburger
1 onion, chopped
Large can beans (plus small can, if desired)–chili, pinto, kidney
Choose 2 or 3 of the following: large can of tomatoes; 16 oz tomato sauce; tomato paste; 3 large fresh tomatoes, chopped.
Several T. red chili powder
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Water as desired
If desired–corn, green beans, chopped green pepper, other kinds of chilis, chopped celery tops
Also if desired, chopped cilantro, 1 t cumin
In large soup pot, heat the various kinds of tomatoes and beans to the boiling point, adding water to desired soupiness. When it starts boiling, drop hamburger in, bit by little bit, stirring occasionally. Add everything else that you want. Cook 45 minutes to several hours, adding water as needed. You also can cook this a day or two before you need it, then heat it up.
OMG, thanks for the recipe!!
OMG thanks for that recipe .
Sure thing. I even had my kids make it on their own when they were about 10 or 11.
Pizza or mole enchiladas.
Because the recipe’s so flexible, even a beginner cook can make it.
Crunchy Cheetos!
The flavor lingers on your tongue, as the orange color lingers on your fingers and lips!
Bread ,bread bread!
Mint chocolate chip ice cream, all the way.
Mac n Cheese with hot dogs! They are even number 1&2on my microwave’s “kids menu.”
No don’t about it …. a good old fashioned steak and kidney pie hits my comfort G spot every time ❤️
Matzoh Ball Soup!
I love hummus and small Trader Joe’s pretzels.
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