| Comfort food. It even sounds warm and | | | | and entertain at home. We're expressing |
| welcoming - like cuddling up by the fire | | | | an interest in cooking everything from |
| on a cold winter day. Comfort food | | | | easy party food recipes to BBQ to slow |
| trends have seen a real resurgence in | | | | cooked roasts with all the trimmings.We |
| recent years and our desire for comfort | | | | also want to experience different |
| food seems to be holding strong. So what | | | | tastes, sometimes tastes from around the |
| is comfort food? Generally it's the food | | | | world, sometimes the familiar foods we |
| we have good memories about, the food we | | | | love, with twist or an extra bit of |
| think of when we hear the word homemade, | | | | pizzazz. So we have things like garlic |
| and that reminds us of simpler times.The | | | | mashed potatoes, 4 cheese macaroni and |
| list of favorite comfort foods can be | | | | cheese and thin crust gourmet |
| different for each of us. While homemade | | | | pizzas.We're also a population that is |
| macaroni and cheese and meatloaf with | | | | becoming more aware of health and making |
| mashed potatoes have been staples for | | | | healthy food choices. With aging baby |
| many of us, for some of us comfort food | | | | boomers creating a bulge in our |
| may include a delicious cheesy lasagna, | | | | populations, healthy lifestyle trends |
| or yummy sweet potato pie. We all tend | | | | are front and center. We want fewer |
| to love the food that takes us back to | | | | calories but all the taste, healthier |
| our roots - the foods we grew up | | | | eating with the comforts of our favorite |
| with.Some Of Our Top Comfort Food | | | | foods. So where does this leave us? How |
| Choices Were Found To Be:- Soup | | | | do we combine comfort food trends with |
| - Meatloaf | | | | healthier lifestyle trends?As much as we |
| - Pasta sauces | | | | love our comfort foods many of us now |
| - Pot pies | | | | look for ways to turn them into |
| - Mashed potatoes | | | | healthier choices, with a lower fat |
| - Pizza | | | | content and fewer calories. We tweak |
| - Potato salad | | | | those great recipes from the past so we |
| - Macaroni and cheese | | | | maintain (or sometimes even improve) the |
| - Biscuits and scones | | | | taste but forgo some of the fat, |
| - Chili | | | | unhealthy carbs and sugar content. And |
| - Beef stew | | | | while most of us are still eating our |
| - Fruit pies | | | | favorite comfort foods, maybe it's just |
| - Chocolate chip cookiesWhy the | | | | a little less often. We might decide to |
| increased desire for comfort foods? It | | | | share that piece of amazing cheesecake |
| seems to be a combination of things. | | | | so we get the taste but not the |
| People are busier and more stressed than | | | | pounds.We're going back to our roots - |
| ever. The last few years have also | | | | but with a nod to healthy food choices |
| resulted in many of us feeling less safe | | | | and a few wonderful, tasty twists along |
| in the world. We want to feel warm and | | | | the way.Karen Ciancio is a cook and |
| safe again, the way we did when we were | | | | lover of all things food and cooking |
| young and the world seemed | | | | related. Her website contains recipes |
| simpler.Comfort food trend watchers say | | | | for comfort foods, plus lots of other |
| that we are craving the foods we grew up | | | | recipes, cooking tips, measurement |
| with. People want to enjoy their homes | | | | conversions and kitchen ideas. |