Somedays we keep on craving for a food item in particular. Most often this food item is rich in calory and fat. And our brain infers this as it’s very own food or ‘comfort food’ or ‘soul food’. Hence basically what’s your go to comfort food holding, may not be so healthy for body.
More we try to resist having this high-calorie food, the stronger its ‘guilty craving’ grows. As soon as we have this food, we feel an abrupt surge of serotonin and euphoria.
What Is A Comfort Food ?
Meaning of comfort food is distinct for each individual. But one thing that is universal is, this food has an emotional component. This emotional component of comfort food, embeds a nostalgic feeling to it.
Smooth texture coupled with loads of carbohydrate and fat, make a comfort food highly palatable and cravable. The kind of calory kick it provides, entitles it to be a feel-good food, especially during bouts of stress.
So eventually a what’s your go to comfort food doing is filling the tummy and satisfying the soul.
Examples Of Comfort Food
A comfort food can be a cuisine your mother or grandmother used to cook at home. It can be a food your father used to grab from market while coming. Or else it can be a dish you enjoyed feasting upon with friends, during school or college days.
For some people it is icecream, for some it is chocolate and for some it is french fries or even maggi. But all these are so unhealthiful, isn’t it! Thus, in this blog we will reveal few simple and homely ideas for comfort food, that are good for your body.
Below mentioned are some of my go to comfort food, that are not only soul satisfying but also wholesome at the same time. Moreover these foods are so easy and quick to prepare that, it will hardly test your patience.
1. Khichdi
Khichdi is that national dish we all grew up eating in India. It’s nothing but rice, lentil and vegetables brought to boil together with some salt and turmeric powder. Subsequently a tadka of Indian spices and herbs on ghee adds that x-factor to it.
Texture, taste and flavour of khichdi varies as food culture across different communities diversifies.
The best thing about khichdi is, it is a nourishing and holistic dish. On top of it, this recipe takes only minutes to prepare. You just need to customise khichdi as per your liking and it becomes one of the best healthy comfort food.
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2. Omelette
Debate around vegetarian vs nonvegiterian diet is never ending. But one thing I absolutely relish being a non vegetarian is egg omelette and egg bhurji / scrambled egg/ poached egg.
These egg recipes are cheapest, simplest and quickest to prepare. Besides, these can be consumed along with bread, chapati or rice.
Is egg good for the health or not, I have discussed in detail in another blog. But whatever it may be, egg is still a complete protein that carries all essential aminoacids, so is a healthsome food in terms of protiens. Vegetarians’ substitute for egg omlette could be besan ka cheela (gram flour pancake). Similarly something that closely resembles egg bhurji/ scrambled egg is paneer/tofu bhurji ( cottage cheese )
3. Soupy pasta
Pasta made just the right way, makes it a highly tempting food. Owing to it’s super smooth texture and taste, it is first-choice for many.
But one major downside of pasta is, it is made out of refined flour. Thus, it gets absorbed very fast and shoots up blood sugar immediately after food.
To counter that it should be mixed with plenty of vegetables. Soupy pasta is nothing but a fibre rich soup to which limited amount of pasta is added. This pasta is a soul food, as it brings satiety without pumping up blood sugar much. Thus it can be your weight loss food as well.
4. Vegetable Paratha
Parathas are Indians’ version of Pizza. Just like pizzas are readily available with a variety of toppings, parathas are prepared with an array of stuffings. But it is superior to pizza as is not made out of maida (refined flour).
Stuffing in Parathas range from sattu ( lentil powder ) to vegetables like cabbage, carrot, spinach etc. It has some oil too. Thereby paratha is a well-balanced food.
ALSO READ : 3 SIMPLE HEALTHY DRINK RECIPES YOU CAN EASILY MAKE AT HOME
5. Mixed rice recipes
Similar to khichdi there are other rice based recipes too like dal-rice, dalma-rice, sambar-rice, bisibele bath, curd rice, rajma-rice, kadhi rice, chhole rice etc which can be taken with salad to make it an out-and-out balanced diet.
Further adding peanuts, cashew nut, almonds etc enhance its nutritive value.
Conclusion :
Food is a form of happiness that brings people together. Good food is something that lifts mood instantly. Food lessens boundary between different cultures and communities. So keep sharing food and keep spreading happiness.
Kindly mention what’s your go to comfort food, in comment box below. Share this blog if you find it interesting and useful.
