Comfort food only works if you am aware it's poor for you. "Healthy" versions completely miss the point.
A healthy mac and cheese made with cauliflower is only just disappointing pasta. Part of what makes comfort food comforting is the psychological permission to not optimise for a moment. When you remove the indulgent element, you also remove most of the comfort.
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I think you just misunderstand what comfort food is. For me it is the simplest raw salmon sushi or tuna onigiri. Both are healthy, yet I could devour a lot of it whenever I feel out of shape. Comfort food is a highly subjective, individual thing. It's food that brings you com...
Yes! My comfort food could also vary on the day. I think some people are trying to find healthier versions for themselves so they can have the comfort more if they want or need it.
Yeah! My comfort food is a bowl of Bran buds with almond milk and some raw broccoli. So yummy in my tummy.
I think they probably mean when the food isn’t healthy from the beginning. Anyone can have any comfort food regardless of its nutritional value. But I think OP is trying to say is that eating a substitute for the sake of health would not satisfy the same way. Perhaps for your ...
Dude, you're confusing the term Comfort Food with some other term. What you're thinking is probably Guilty Pleasure or Cheat Meal. No one has ever thought of Comfort Food needing a requirement to be unhealthy. One of the most popular Comfort Food (at least in the Western wo...
I get the point, comfort food can be statement. Just like comfort booze. "Ok, fuck this shit, Imma gonna get a quarter and ruin everyone elses day too."
while I don't think comfort food has a requirement to be unhealthy, the whole point of it being a comfort food is as OP said, To NOT think about whether or not it is.
I disagree with this only because this implies that mac n cheese is a cheat meal/guilty pleasure and I really strongly kick back against that kinda framing (since that is their example in the post) I wish we'd get out of the diet culture of xyz is "healthy" and abc is "unheal...
My comfort food is mashed potatoes or Brussels sprouts with lots of butter. I didn’t realize our comfort food was supposed to be bad for us
Me with broccoli and cauliflower roast them, bake them, Thomson that bag in the microwave. Idk. Salt and pepper and grab a fork!
Yeah, in OP’s example it sounds like they just… love one recipe and not the other. Two of my biggest comfort foods are my partner’s spaghetti bolognese and my veggie curry. They’re not intentionally ‘health foods’ but they’re perfectly normal, nourishing meals.
Bytter is bad for you. Moderation obviously but "lots of butter" is not healthy
Unpopular opinion indeed. Because it’s dumb as fuck 😂😂. Comfort food has nothing to do with how healthy or unhealthy it is
A nice bowl of homemade chicken soup is one of my favorite comfort foods and is pretty healthy for you.
Me too. That and lentil soup are like my two cozy meals
Comfort food is food that comforts the one eating it. It’s a subjective label. To disqualify healthy variation because it’s not “indulgent” is missing the point.
>Part of what makes comfort food comforting is the psychological permission to not optimize for a moment. That's not at all why comfort food is comforting. Comfort food is literally food that brings you comfort. Just because it's healthy doesn't mean it's not comfort...
I genuinely love vegetables and would prefer a mac and cheese with cauliflower and/or broccoli because it tastes better to me. Funny thing is my take is probably a much more unpopular opinion than yours; picky eaters that only like plain / yellow / beige food are reasonably co...
My comfort food is pumpkin soup… last I checked it’s definitely not bad for you
Comfort food is not tied to how "unhealthy" it is, although it is debateable as what makes food unhealthy is the amount. A burger every now and then is absolutely fine. Couple burgers every day is not a good idea. Food that makes you happy is not "missing the point" just bec...
Poke bowls are one of my comfort foods as is chicken and corn soup. Neither are unhealthy
Comfort food is meant to be wait for it.....comforting If someone is comforted by healthy mac and cheese, its still comfort food.
idk man, my comfort food for like three years was just. Carrots. Like raw carrots. Did you know that if you eat enough carrots your skin literally changes color? I did not until it happened.
I knew this because of an episode of The Magic School Bus LOL.
My comfort food is pho. What I think you mean is fake versions of food aren’t good which is totally right
God I agree with this so hard.
Ive not optimized a meal once in my life and I'm 37.
Well, my comfort food of boiled potatoes, fried eggs and cucumber salad or green beans would disagree. Or steamed broccoli with rice and egg. Or stuffed cabbage with boiled potatoes. Or miso soup and rice. There's nothing inherently unhealthy about comfort foods. Comfort foo...
Yeah. Oof. My comfort foods are the tasty meals my deceased family members used to make. You can bet they were health freaks.
Nah. Comfort food does not inherently have to be unhealthy. Look at something like ratatouille. Tons of veg, simply seasoned and with herbs and olive oil.
Mm I don’t have this relationship with comfort food. It ISNT bad for me. Mac and cheese, for example, is just fine for my body. I will also, later, need nutrients and protein and stuff. But it is not bad for me. If I’m making comfort food, in probably not making cauliflower ...
You're conflating comfort food with guilty pleasures. Comfort food doesn't need to be bad for you - it can be chicken noodle soup your grandmother made from scratch when you were a sick child, a stew made to warm your spirits, or something unhealthy. The two aren't the same th...
TIL that comfort = unhealthy. Who knew?
This is not an opinion. It's just that you don't know what the word means
No. Comfort foods are any foods that bring you comfort. You're thinking of guilty pleasures
Hahahah, op delulu.
Actually disagree. I've been about to methadone a comfort meal!
So your saying comfort foods are to eating like catholics are to religions? j/k
Homemade Mac and cheese (no cauliflower) is the tits! Not processed. Comforting and delish
I like whole grain bread better than white bread. Even though it's healthier for me, it's also more comforting.
No, you just have an addiction to garbage food. Homemade dal or pozole are my top comfort foods in the world.
Pozole is one of my go to wholesome comfort meals
Disagree on the idea that comfort food has to be "unhealthy", but agree that "healthy" versions of stuff like mac and cheese completely miss the mark
Often comfort food is something that brings you back to childhood or a happy time, it can be healthy food or not, that’s not a criteria. Heck Ratatouille did it best, maybe OP you should have a watch, and a ratatouille is an healthy dish.
Comfort food for me is my mum's home made sticky rice with fried fish, followed by dessert which is..... Sticky rice, milk and mangoes. I don't care if it's healthy or not.
Hard disagree. Comfort food is what makes you comfortable. When I miss home, I literally boil a whole chicken with herbs. Then I take the chicken out, season it with salt, pepper, and herbs. Add some tofu to the chicken broth and have this with rice and pepper dip similar to...
Cauliflower cheese is one of my most favourite foods and definitely is a comfort food for me. Also, you're misunderstanding what the term comfort food means, as well as not understanding that people find comfort in different things.
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It's weird that you seem like you don't understand what comfort food is. It's food that brings comfort and happiness, whether it's healthy or not is irrelevant
If you can make a healthy food that tastes and feels like battered deep-fried chicken or fish, i assure you I will take great comfort devouring it.
You are so wrong I won't even bother to argue that nonsense.
Just flat out false. I make a delicious creamy chicken soup with tons of celery onions, garlic, carrots, colored bell papers, potato gnocchi, brown rice, chicken stock, butter, milk, dill and a splash of red wine. I use a giant stock pot and relatives and even neighbors lov...
Funnily enough, broccoli with cheese sauce is a comfort food to me. My brother makes a mean vegan bowl of noodles that my wife and I make for special occasions because it’s fantastic- he knicked it from a Michelin starred chef he used to work for. It’s a wonderful pile of yumm...
Pet food hits different for everyone like sometimes it’s junk food, sometimes it’s sushi vibes
People think cauliflower cheese is mac and cheese with cauliflower substitute?
Problem: Americans (I'm one) have been too comfortable for decades and are now obese with insulin resistance.
Comfort food is comfort food because it comforts you. Saying it needs to be unhealthy is like saying comfortable clothes need to be ugly and made out of plastic.
Comfort food could be $500 caviar or gas station pizza. It can be healthy. A big comfort food for me is the Banza white cheddar mac and cheese bc I genuinely love it. Or that could be indulging for somebody bc it’s like $5 a box instead of 79 cent store brand and maybe the Ban...
Comfort food doesn't have a thing to do with health or not, it's just food that brings back good memories.
Another wrong opinion rather than an unpopular opinion
Comfort food is something that makes you feel comfortable and safe. My comfort foods are beef stew and pizza. If some else's are a veggie platter or couscous then who the hell am i to judge what brings them peace?
I enjoy soups, which aren't unhealthy, more than most meals. I also had roasted carrots last night, which I love and can eat an entire plate of. Neither is unhealthy.
Salad is a comfort food, guess salad is secretly bad for you! - Reni
Comfort food…is whatever makes you comfortable lol. For some it can be ice cream…for others maybe it’s a bowl of exotic expensive fruit.
The comfort aspect usually comes from the food tasting really good. It's entirely possible for healthy food to fit that criteria.
Comfort is comfort. If it tastes good and is warm in my belly and reminds me of good times, who care if it is healthy or not.
Nobody can agree on what comfort food is. For me, comfort foods are foods that I've been eating my entire life, that I can eat when I'm sick or depressed or anxious and don't take much effort to prepare.
? That's not what comfort food means
If it’s warm and tasty, it’s comfort food imo. If it’s also healthy, it’s even better. Vegetable soup is one of my all time favorite comfort foods, since childhood.
Um I think if it brings you comfort that is what makes it “comfort food”
That's a misunderstanding of comfort food. Comfort food can be ANYTHING for a person. It can literally be a string cheese. It's different for everyone.
If you need to know food is bad for you to derive comfort from it that actually sounds like a kind of abstracted self harm, it’s deriving comfort from knowing you’re hurting yourself. In b4 someone comes and calls me sanctimonious and armchair therapizing; I’m not saying eat...
I think of comfort food as any food that makes your heart warm and your tummy full
Comfort food is whatever comforts you. One of my favorite comfort foods is kale chips. My mom used to make us kale chips as our veggie with dinner. I eat them all the time
Comfort food is about how it makes you feel. It's a feeling of contentment, of satiation, of relaxation. It's not about being healthy or not.
this is true until you learn to make your substitutes as good or better than the original. i crave my spaghetti squash shrimp scampi just like a regular alfredo at this point
That's why I add healthier foods to my comfort food. Instead of just having Kraft mac and cheese I'll add shredded chicken and broccoli. Instead of having a half pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting, I'll have less and add some fruit or something on the side or directly on...
lol the idea of comfort foods is inherently subjective. People find different things comforting.
Comfort food != guilty pleasure. My comfort food is a chicken and rice burrito with avocado. Idk about you but at the very least it ain't UNhealthy
If you do it right you can make something almost as satisfying without the penalty. If it’s been a while since you’ve indulged in the unhealthy version and/or you don’t care about what had to be done to make it healthy then it’s not an issue.
No.
Comfort food works if it tastes delicious/has good memories attached. It can be healthy, but I agree you shouldn’t make any health-increasing alterations (for that explicit purpose) for it to qualify as comfort food.
>Part of what makes comfort food comforting is the psychological permission to not optimise for a moment. You seem to be assuming that everyone applies this same thought process to comfort foods. I don't think that's the case. I would guess your experience isn't typical at...
I half agree with you. If you are trying to lose some weight, or stay in shape, and just want to 'scratch the itch' so to speak, substitutions can sometimes suffice (A&W Zero where we at). However, I still think that sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and fully ind...
Some people may actually preder the "healthier version" and don't want or need to "bite the bullet"....