Blog Post - What is so comforting about Comfort Food?

As I write this post, we are in the midst of the Coronavirus threat. Mark and I are following all the recommendations for social distancing, and taking care to up our cleaning and disinfecting habits. A lot more of the internet content I read is about gratitude, meditation and of course, coping skills. I am enjoying this every much. One additional trend I am seeing is the posting of people “needing” comfort in the foods they eat. One of my best friends even got into his car this week, drove through Dunkin Donuts just to “treat” himself with a donut as a way to minimize the stress he is feeling. I completely understand this way of thinking. That was me for so many years. Unfortunately, using food to comfort yourself does more harm than good.

Using junk food to relax can lead to weight gain and has been scientifically linked to cancer, heart disease, inflammation, and diabetes. Unfortunately, it can also lead to depression and feelings of low self-esteem. I had spent the majority of my life in that cycle, and even today - I have to fight the urge to over eat, just to do something “productive” with my time.

I know getting off processed comfort food is not easy. It is complicated by the fact that your brain doesn’t give you credit for celery that same way it does for a Klondike Bar.

What I try to do everyday on this site is to give you options. Ways to trick your brain into thinking you are not being deprived, while at the same time rewarding your body for the self-care and control we all strive for.

My hope is to get people excited again about cooking with real ingredients and improve their health and well-being in the process. Hope is a wonderful thing to have, and that is what gets me through these difficult times.