Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hey everyone! I'd like to talk about comfort foods. Which ones do you like, when do you use them, how do you use them, and why do you use them?

Is the craving for comfort foods an emotional / psychological female trait more than a male trait? If so, do we know anything about how it works? What separates THIS specific trait from a male trait?

I'll start off...I get cravings for comfort foods mostly when I'm worried / anxious about something, depressed, or just in a melancholy / shiftless mood where I have no idea what to do with myself.

I crave things like Cheetos, certain types of ice cream, my favorite drink (non-alcoholic), pizza, nachos, favorite soups, maybe a certain type of sandwich, crackers with cheese, chips and favorite dip, and will even sometimes just feel like curling up in quiet or might even enjoy one of these things (usually my fave drink) in a nice soothing bath.

What say you all? 

Chicken corn chowder on a cool, rainy day.

Midnight fried chicken with some cold soda makes a boring summer evening more tasty. Also, some cheesy parmesan pasta-chicken thing would also be good.

  Tonight I had broiled marinaded steak.  From the garden: Yukon Gold baked potato with butter, sour cream with some savory toppings and a side of broccoli.  Dessert:  A slice of watermelon from the garden.
  Joelene

A perfectly delicious meal ...

aside from the broccoli.

Another of my comfort foods ... pearl tapioca puddling.

When I do my weekly shopping, I purposely skip buying snacks like crisps or ice cream, except for nuts and fruit. I have a weak will and would plunder the lot within a short space of time. I used to be addicted to pistachio nuts when feeling anxious, but gave them up because of finding too many worms inside. Euww! So it's fruit and nuts and a cuppa for now.

Eating this previously frozen burrito is oddly relaxing now that you mention it. >.<

Ice cream is one of those comfort foods for me. The grocery store has been out of the flavor I love for weeks now (what gives!?) so it's been homemade ones lately. I tend not to do sweets a lot but when I do it can be dangerous

I was going to say I don't have any, while I'm eating Cheezels.

Quote from: Cindy James on August 27, 2012, 04:33:35 AM
I was going to say I don't have any, while I'm eating Cheezels.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Faussiefavourites.com.au%2Fcornershop%2Fimages%2Fcheezels125.jpg&hash=bb1a6698dc6e1d8b6e977faaec6c95403225fc83)

For Americans, something like a puffed Cheetos cheese ball

Starts with a lower case "c"? There can't be any real Cheese in those!

Paella Valenciana. Shrimp, beef, rice, chicken, vegetables in a mix. This and a side of beans. YUMMY!!

Quote from: DianaP on August 28, 2012, 05:17:38 PM
Paella Valenciana. Shrimp, beef, rice, chicken, vegetables in a mix. This and a side of beans. YUMMY!!

There has been a whole discussion about paella.  Our resident expert is Alexis.

You'll never come up with a "Paella 101" thread!

Ok, it's been so long since I was here last that I forgot about this thread and glad I re-discovered it. Lately, my comfort food has been either pizza, burgers, taco dip, or tortilla chips.   

homemade black rasberry icecream it reminds me of when i was little and living in vermont

Mac and Cheese,  my fav!

Mac N Cheese is always good!

Polish Kielbasa and Sour Kraut/Apples

Peanut Butter Crunch cereal and some 2% milk.

My comfort foods are:

- Coca-Cola
- Dark chocolate
- Pasta
- Pizza

I don't think it's more of a female psychological trait over a male trait.  I know many men who will indulge in something when not in the greatest of moods.  I also don't think it's necessarily a human trait, either.  My friend's mom recently lost a dog and her other dog who was close to her [the deceased dog] started to eat a lot more than usual along with just laying around.

Tomato soup,veggie sausages with mashed potatoes and gravy and rice pudding on a cold winter evening

  Hi    ,           

  I crave for comfort foods in many moods :  when I am depressed , anxious , scared , when I feel like I fall and it is no hope anymore  .  Sometimes I feel like I wish to get depressed only to allow myself to eat those foods , so it is more like ' forbidden food ate while feeling hopeless ' than ' comfort food '  :))
  The food I usually eat is :  Nutella cream , Chocolate , too much honey  ,  too much peanuts or peanut butter ,  milk cream  ,  sweetened cereals  ,  bread - although I don't anymore  ,  and many others I forget now .  Yet , I also get comforting by eating any food when I feel hungry  beside being depressed and anxious , instead of common diet hold backs  .  It is sad that after I eat it  I feel guilty and I blame myself so much , I feel that is my fault for not being how i want to be , so the comfort is gone and I am left with many extra pounds  . 

I haev a couple of dishes that are comforting to me for various reasons, primarily they remind me of a time in my life..

Today I'm cooking a navarin of lamb, whish is essentially a simple lamb stew.. It's a dish I learnt to cook in the dark days just prior to coming out but also something that, at the time, lit up my world.

The ultimate comfort (and if I knew what sex felt like, this would be better): chocolate cake (and/or pie, if I can have both I will), ice cream (sometimes I'll mix several flavors if I bought more than one kind), banana, frozen fruit (peaches, pineapples, mangos, strawberries, blueberries, cherries), and anything else I can add to it to expand the flavor (cookies, candy bars, peanuts, whatever I can) above the average desert. I'm feeling comfort right now thinking about it.

Quote from: Megan Joanne on June 01, 2014, 02:22:12 AM
The ultimate comfort (and if I knew what sex felt like, this would be better): chocolate cake (and/or pie, if I can have both I will), ice cream (sometimes I'll mix several flavors if I bought more than one kind), banana, frozen fruit (peaches, pineapples, mangos, strawberries, blueberries, cherries), and anything else I can add to it to expand the flavor (cookies, candy bars, peanuts, whatever I can) above the average desert. I'm feeling comfort right now thinking about it.

More chocolate, less cherries and I agree. The best thing is to throw it all in a blender and then simply call it food, and delicious.

The pizza I make from scratch.
Breakfast burritos.
Margaritas from my own lime trees.
Dark chocolate anything.
Sashimi.
BBQ.
Cheese.
Spaghetti Carbonara.
The burgers I make while camping.
My voodoo chili.
Hot and sour soup and  moo shu pork while sick.

Mac n cheese.
Brunch.

Salted caramel ice cream on two snickerdoodle cookies.

i think sushi and sashimi are the only foods that will actually comfort me. and curry, must not forget curry.
but i eat liquorice, chocolate, pizza, and other fast foods as well, when i don't feel in a mood for cooking and sushi isn't easily available.

haha~ for me lasagna is the opposite of comfort food (bad multiple experiences of food poisoning!)

My comfort food would have to be beef and kimchi stew :) its warm and filling and makes me think of good memories!

My comfort foods (In no particular order):
Spam Musubi (from when I lived in Hawaii, spam is a staple in my pantry)
Loco Moco (Also from Hawaii)
Spicy gumbo
Cajun style dirty rice
Chicken and dumplings
Perogis
Pot stickers
Pizza (especially pepperoni and olives)
Gyros/Schawarma
Swedish meatballs
Beef stroganoff
Shephard's pie
Beef stew
And nothing beats grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup/chicken and stars when you're sick.

I usually have cravings for many things but that's different... like when I'm feeling alone or depressed I usually just eat ice cream or something sweet, but never chocolate I find it way to rich, or I would make a nice smoothie which fresh fruits.  I'm pretty easy to please xD. 

Homemade spinach and ricotta lasagna.
Homemade cheese sauce. I will just make this sometimes and nothing else.
Chocolate
Quality ice cream
A good made hot chocolate
A slice of my homemade vanilla chocolate chip cheesecake with peppermint mousse topping

Any meal cooked for me that I didn't prepare myself

Quote from: nayuki on August 06, 2014, 08:32:26 PM
I usually have cravings for many things but that's different... like when I'm feeling alone or depressed I usually just eat ice cream or something sweet, but never chocolate I find it way to rich, or I would make a nice smoothie which fresh fruits.  I'm pretty easy to please xD.

So, mostly a sweets kind of person? :)
I can't do sweets and I hate dessert rounds or challenges on cooking shows because I have sensitive teeth. I can't eat 90% of what's shown on cooking shows or in restaurants. I get a little mad when they do dessert challenges on my cooking shows. Show me the meat challenges! Make them do a vegetarian/vegan dish! Make them cook fish! Oh great, another effing dessert challenge.

Pecans, sunflower seeds, tuna, kimchi, nori snacks and my all time favourite pistachios.

spaghetti

Strangely enough for me I find comfort in yogurt especially strawberry

Hummus with carrot and cucumber slices.

Quote from: StevieAK on August 09, 2014, 10:51:43 AM
Hummus with carrot and cucumber slices.

Mmmm, I haven't had good hummus in what seems like ages. I used to get it all the time when I went to my favorite Greek restaurant before they closed and my friends all raised their eyebrows. Don't knock something till ya try it I always say :)

Milk... In fact I think I'm addicted to milk. Speaking of which I need more.

Tortilla chips and salsa. Must be spicy. I usually add hot pepper to the spicy one.

I cook for a living and run my own business, but there are times when "comfort" foods trump something that takes a lot of effort. I love meat loaf...and chicken pot pies.....and anything made in my slow cooker.

My comfort "food" is actually coffee. That might sound really weird but I can't quite function right without it even after I stopped drinking it for five or so months.....there is always this nagging in the back of my head that wants it after a long stressful day.

One word: chocolate (I prefer it kinda bitter, >70% cocoa. )

falafel
curry of almost any type made with chicken
kugel
stir fry made with chicken (I have countless recipes)
bourekas
skhug (a middle eastern hot sauce that looks like pesto)
sometimes a greasy burger from Five Guys

I have a few of them, Pancakes, Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, but for some reason Fish & Chips tends to top the list

Either udon soup topped with pork (broiled in soy sauce, brown sugar and sake or rice wine vinegar) and blanched pak choi or Kassler done in a Römertopf with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes.

One is difficult to get the ingredients and the other takes forever, so they're a real treat when I do make them. :icon_biggrin: