September 14, 2021

What's Your Idea of Comfort Food?

Oxford dictionary definition of comfort food:

com·fort food

/ˈkəmfərt fo͞od/

noun

1.food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically any with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content and associated with childhood or home cooking.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is comfort food to some. It even got some attention a few years ago from a popular NBA team when served pre-game.

Perhaps your comfort food is ice cream. A single scoop, please.

Ice cream cone

Or, a bowl of soup. What's your favorite? Chicken noodle, vegetable, tomato?

Carrot cumin soup

Cookies? These chocolate and nut topped almond shortbread cookies are family favorites.

Shortbread cookies with chocolate & nuts

Last year showed us how important food is, especially if you couldn't visit your favorite restaurant or get your favorite foods at the store. Bread baking became epic as did sales of chocolate, alcohol, ice cream, cereal (yes, cereal) and snack foods. The 24 hour a day school/work/be at home showed us what we really craved as a way to feel safe and comforted.

Perhaps you're eating foods that are familiar to you or are using this time to try out new brands. Our days and nights became crossed and we were faced with the inevitable challenge of what to eat. Meal fatigue set in, as we were asked "what's for dinner" when we'd hardly finished eating breakfast!

I asked my sister Susan for ideas of what she’s made her daughter when faced with a case of the hangry child. How about a homemade egg McMuffin? Fruit and veggie plate; grilled cheese and tomato or bacon. Nuts, cheese and pretzels; ham and cheese roll ups; PBJ; Graham crackers, honey and cream cheese; bagel bite with cream cheese, sliced cucumber, chopped tomato.

Susan and I can typically make a meal out of whatever we have on hand and usually make it taste good.

Susans lunch plate includes a little bit of this and little bit of that...greens, avocado, hard boiled eggs, beet hummus and pita.

Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil

With fresh tomatoes in season, I've opted for a plate of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Especially good on days when it's been too hot to cook.

Here’s a few other ideas:

Small plates with cut up veggies, cheese, pita, yogurt, crackers, bread, nut butter, honey, granola, chunks of apple, pears or bananas have sustained us.

Open faced sandwiches (great for when you may be short on bread) have been popular with my kids. Try hummus, tuna, cheese topped with veggies and pickles (we love pickles).

English muffin or pita pizzas topped with whatever cheese you have, chopped tomato or tomato sauce and a dash of oregano has been a welcome lunch. I’ve even added salsa, if I had it, for a Mexican pizza.

Smoothies are a way to enjoy fruits (and veggies) with your choice of milk. I’ve even topped it with granola for a hearty spoonable breakfast or lunch.

Got eggs, milk and bread? Turn these into omelettes, pancakes, French toast or sandwiches. Breakfast for dinner has been on our table more times than not.

Pan fried eggs

And I’ve been known to roast a pan of sweet potatoes or carrots as a "whatever" dish. Tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and a drizzle of balsamic glaze right before serving—it's filling and delicious.

Roasted carrots

A baked stuffed potato is also a delicious one dish meal. Try stuffing the potato with chili, cheese, veggies, or even granola.

As we morph into a return to in person work or school, our days are still long and we still look forward to having something good to eat (and are fortunate to be able to do so).

Pat Bennett is the founder and President of Pat's Granola, a Cleveland food and lifestyle company.