By LINDA MARIA STEELE
The words comfort and food paired together conjure images of super tempting and tasty items like large bowls of macaroni and cheese, thick burgers on fluffy buns with French fries, buttermilk biscuits, nachos, cream soup and pound cake. We get hungrier by the mere sight of them. We crave them. My own appetite increases just by thinking about them.
What makes comfort food so appealing is it promises to provide a soothing feeling that we all long for at times. After a stressful day who hasn’t indulged in large slices of cheese pizza not only because we’re hungry and it tastes good but it makes us feel good too? Comfort foods are typically high in sugar or carbs. For some, comfort foods are meal staples. For others, comfort food can be something that makes us feel guilty if we allow ourselves to indulge in it a little too often.
With the arrival of fall and the start of a new school year we’re given an opportunity to re-imagine some of our favorite comfort foods. We can cut down on an overload of sugar or carbs but not give up on taste or comfort. Sometimes we are so used to making a certain food a certain way we might be surprised to learn there are much healthier alternatives. The key to discovering healthier alternatives is to find options that maintain a recipe’s consistency or texture, yet allow us to be creative with healthier substitutes. When we opt for a healthier alternative we may be surprised that we don’t have to sacrifice taste.
If a recipe calls for heavy cream, try milk, yogurt or cottage cheese instead. If a recipe calls for sugar, simply try cutting the amount called for in half or use honey instead. Try unsweetened applesauce for butter, mashed banana for bacon fat or avocado purée for butter. The idea here is not to knock these substitutions until you’ve tried them.
Many times I’ve substituted an item in a favorite recipe when making something for my family, either because I didn’t have an item on hand that was called for or I wanted to offer something a little healthier at the time and it either tasted just as good or they didn’t even notice a difference. Macaroni and cheese can be made with cottage cheese or cooked chopped cauliflower for a comforting and healthier treat. When snacking, instead of eating chips or crackers with hummus try slices of fresh-cut vegetables instead.
Last year, my daughter’s science fair project revolved around a taste test of different versions of chocolate chip cookies. She made three versions of the same basic recipe—one had butter and egg, one applesauce and another banana. Not only did the testers hardly taste the difference, each of the cookies were equally good.
If you’re looking for a little comfort food this fall but don’t want to overindulge in high carb, fat and sugar foods try a healthier substitution in your favorite recipes and you may be surprised how satisfying the slightly healthier versions are.
At times a sandwich made with thick slices of white bread, grilled with butter, cheese and tuna may be just what you crave. Although the same sandwich can be much healthier with a simple substitution of lettuce for the bread and be equally satisfying. I will leave you with two recipes to inspire healthier alternatives. The first is an easy and tasty sandwich without the high carbs from the bread. The second is a recipe for macaroni and cheese from the popular Moosewood cookbook, because nothing says comfort food like a good macaroni and cheese.
Tuna Tarragon
Lettuce Wraps
Makes 3 sandwiches
1 large can white albacore tuna, drained
1 tsp. tarragon
¼ cup cottage cheese
1 tsp. light olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 romaine leaves, washed
In a small bowl mix well the cottage cheese, oil, tarragon, salt and pepper.
Mix in the tuna until covered well.
On a flat surface rest the Long romaine leaf flat and scoop the tuna in the center. Roll the ends of the lettuce to wrap the tuna.
Moosewood
Macaroni and Cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pinch cayenne
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 pound dry macaroni
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 T grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 9 or 10 inch pan.
In blender, mix cottage cheese, buttermilk and spices until smooth. Combine in a bowl with DRY macaroni, cheddar and grated onion.
Scrape into pan and top with breadcrumbs, parmesan and a few sprays of cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes or until macaroni is fully cooked.