Why Do Comfort Foods Make Us Feel So Uncomfortable?

As the holidays approach, it is a constant battle for moms to balance preparing healthy foods for their families and providing fun, comfort foods that are special. Why are these two food categories at odds?

Comfort food = buttery, sugary, chocolatey, rich, cheesy, and yummy. Healthy food = dry, grainy, unflavorful, bitter, cold, raw, yucky.

Is that really how it has to be? I know that I am always battling in my mind when I make a meal: Do I make a veggie and quinoa salad as a side dish or Grandma’s amazing scalloped potatoes? The first is good for you and tastes OK, but the second is rich, creamy, delicious and takes me back to when I was a child and the world was safe, fun, simple and warm. Now that’s comfort!

This internal battle in my head is even more noticeable at Christmas and especially more prominent now that we have a son with Crohn’s. I just can’t serve that cookie without a pang of guilt. And if I serve the rich, yummy stuff, I feel badly that I am not giving my family the best food for their bodies (even if they LOVE it!).

But look at the comparison again. It isn’t just the taste that makes comfort food so comfortable. It’s the feeling it gives us. It brings us back to our childhood – a time when we didn’t have responsibilities, when we didn’t have to worry if things were good for us or not. (That was Mom’s job!)

Comfort food is not necessarily unhealthy food…it’s the yummy food we were served when we were kids, during a time in our lives when we were free to just trust what was served to us. No worries. No responsibilities. Comfort.

So maybe if I focus on providing delicious food that is also healthful, then my kids will equate those foods with the comfort of being home, being safe.

That is what I’m going to be searching for in foods: delicious, warm, and fun. Is that too much to ask? Am I going for the proverbial wanting of my cake and eating it too?

Yes, I am.

But I am determined to find a cake that will be good for us, too.

2 Comments

  • Claire says:

    Keep up the good work, Sherri. I know that you will find ways to prepare foods, even cake, that are delicious as well as nutritious. My cooking has transitioned from boxed mixes (in the 1960’s), to Betty Crocker (1970’s), “health food” (1980’s), vegetarianism (1990’s), organic-and-soy-free (2005), gluten-free (2012), to the GAPS diet (2013). I don’t think it’s going anywhere else from here. My chronic throat and sinus problems have been relieved since I’ve gotten off grains, and everyone in our family has digestive problems, so I’m motivated to stick with the diet and to hunt down or develop recipes for great-tasting foods. My son likes the sunflower seed cake in the GAPS cookbook, although I think that recipe needs tweaking. He also likes when I make pumpkin pudding (pumpkin pie filling, basically) with coconut milk, which can be lightly sweetened with stevia or honey.

  • Sherri Seligson says:

    Thanks, Claire. My son is on the SCD diet, and though it is restrictive, we are all enjoying the benefits. (And many of the foods are delicious!)