Comfort Food

What is comfort food? There’s so many things that can bring us comfort: a hug from a family member, a warm blanket in the cold, a familiar face in a crowd of strangers, a home. But why food? How does food bring us comfort? It can bring back childhood memories, give us a literal as well as psychological warm feeling, happy thoughts of a loved one that has passed on, a feeling of being home. So food can give us very similar thoughts and feeling of comfort that other things do. And comfort food can be anything; it can be any food, and snack, any appetizer, any dessert. Comfort foods are different for each and every person, and each food for a different reason. I like pizza; I like cake; I like cereal and milk; I like steak; I like sandwiches; I like iced tea. But what is comfort for me is not comfort food because it gives me memories, or because it’s my favorite food. The foods that give me comfort, that make me feel good, are fresh fruits. On the contrary, foods that give me no comfort are quite interestingly the foods that are comfort food for many other people, this food being fast food and junk food. These foods give me no comfort, but instead make me feel almost sick, and physically less healthy. A juicy apple on the other hand, is my comfort food because after eating an apple, I feel like I can take on the world. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and in my opinion, that make a lot of sense. Fruit is what makes me comfortable, it makes me feel healthy. Grabbing an apple in the morning kicks my day off on the right foot. An apple rejuvenates me after a long run. Strawberries and bananas are a great dessert, ending my day with more comfort food. It’s interesting that most people’s comfort food is chocolate or candy or junk food, mostly foods you should limit in your diet. Strangely I can’t eat more than a little of these foods without starting to feel sick. If I eat too much sugar, I feel sick to my stomach; too much chocolate, I get nauseous; too much junk food, I begin to feel tired and lazy. It’s strange how these foods can have such a strong impact, seemingly being so minor. And when I eat fruit, I feel clean, healthy, and ready to take on the day. Comfort food is not something to make me feel ok when I’m sad or lonely, it’s something to get me going, to get me up and out, to motivate me to live. Comfort food is a strange concept to me. Mainly because it does not have the same meaning to me that it does to most other people. Comfort food is not a tub of ice cream and a spoon, it’s an apple, an orange, a banana, or a grapefruit. Fruits are my comfort food.