If you grab anything in the kitchen when you’re distressed, have you considered spending time finding your comfort food? As the days grow shorter and temps cooler, many of us begin to dream of comfort food. This year, election season seems to be putting people on edge adding another level of desire for comfort.
Here’s an experiment that can provide distraction and help you narrow the list of foods you reach for when you need comfort.
Often, distress leads us to flail about grabbing at anything that might lessen anxiety. When we mindlessly start eating, we aren’t necessarily choosing the most effective foods. This can mean that we have to eat more in order to feel calmer.
When we change that process to a deliberate one, it both helps focus us on something besides feeling ramped up and keeps us from consuming calories trying to get to the thing that works. It can also help prevent feelings of guilt.
Step 1: Hot or Cold?
When you feel a need for comfort, begin with a drink. Try hot herbal tea, hot broth, or hot cocoa. Make note of how you feel.
The next time, try cold. Cold herbal tea (passion tea is excellent chilled), ice water, or milk. Note how you feel.
Caffeinated drinks aren’t by nature going to calm you, but you don’t have to rule them out. The aroma of coffee calms me. And as long as I don’t overdo, it can help get me past the antsy feeling I get when I’m fighting sleepiness.
Step 2: Salty or Sweet?
If you’ve determined that heat has an impact, choose a salty or sweet version of hot or cold.
For example, if warmth has more benefit for you, try warm salty foods like queso, pizza, baked or mashed potato, or mac & cheese. If you feel better with cold foods, choose cheese and crackers, pretzels and hummus, nuts, olives, or pickles.
Warm and sweet choices could be cobbler, pie, brownies, fresh baked cookies, or poached fruit.
Cold sweet choices might be fruit and yogurt, ice cream, smoothies, pudding, a milkshake, or candy.
Step 3: Perfect Combo
Some people feel best with the perfect combination of protein, vegetables, and grain carbs. The combo may combine salty and sweet and be served hot or cold. For some, a mix of salty and sweet hits the spot. Others may prefer hot and cold together.
Hot apple pie with ice cream is a perfect combo for some. Others might prefer hot apple pie with melted cheese on top. One is warm and cold and sweet and has protein. The other is warm and salty and has protein.
For some people mac & cheese is the perfect combo. It’s warm and salty and has grain carbs.
Trying new combinations can lead you to comfort you haven’t previously imagined. You may even discover that the best comfort food for you is what you grew up eating with your family on special occasions.
There’s no right or wrong to comfort food choices as long as you only include foods within your dietary restrictions. The idea of experimenting with specific choices and noting how you feel is simply to help you know exactly what to go for to feel better. That way, you feel better sooner and without accidentally consuming too much in an effort to find the thing that will satisfy.
Instead of waiting until you feel distressed, have some fun giving comfort food a trial run! The competition is sure to be enjoyable.
