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Comfort Foods Guide

Comfort food. Even the words feel cozy. When you’re tired, cold, sensitive, or under the weather, chances are you want to reach for familiar favorites like bread, noodles, or sweets. Many people have go-to comfort foods (think mac and cheese, pancakes, or fries) that have been soothing them since childhood. The urge for these foods is totally human, and nothing to feel bad about. 

Comfort eating can become problematic, however, when we get confused about the difference between foods that serve as self-care (meaning practices that are nourishing to our overall wellness) and foods that are strictly for self-indulgence. 

What is real comfort?

People are poor predictors of what will bring us happiness and comfort, especially when it comes to food. When we’re feeling low and we treat ourselves with comfort food, we tend to attribute any improvement in our mood to that food. But, plot twist: according to research, it’s likely that you’ll feel the same mood boost if you forgo an indulgent meal. How? Simply by waiting your feelings out.

Knowing this is all well and good, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t crave comfort from food any longer. The question is, how do you satisfy the yearning while staying true to the Calibrate program? The answer, as with so many things Calibrate, is by using behavioral science to understand more accurately what motivates your habits, and then learning how to tweak those habits for the results you want.

Getting specific about the desire for comfort

One of the first things to do when it comes to reframing your relationship with comfort food is to ask yourself exactly what kind of comfort you are seeking. On the surface, all desires for a big warm hug in a bowl may feel the same, so you may need to do some digging into your psyche to uncover the nuances within. 

Ask yourself how you are feeling, what you want, and what you need. Be specific. Then, ask yourself, What food sounds like it will make me feel better right now? Follow up with, What has my experience been the last time/several times I’ve eaten that food? And, finally, ask yourself, If the food I want will not actually make me feel the way I want to feel, what food might?

For example, if you’re fighting off a cold and you haven’t slept well in several days, you might be feeling achy, grumpy, tired, and chilly. You want to feel relief from these symptoms—to feel warm and free from pain and irritation. What you need, mostly likely, is a nourishing meal with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables that will support your immune system, healthy fat to provide satiety, and protein to support your body as it deals with the stress of being over-tired. You also need, perhaps more than anything else, some sleep. 

The foods that may sound appealing to you in this scenario will probably be some combination of fat, sugar, salt, and carbs—dishes like pizza, burgers, or mac and cheese. But for most people, eating a carb and fat bomb doesn’t feel good for very long. As soon as the meal is over, heartburn and acid indigestion set in, making sleep difficult. A little later, the unsettling combination of being overfull and yet somehow also hungry again can set in. (That’s your blood sugar spiking and dipping while your digestive system is still working away.) Is this what comfort really looks like? 

Instead of fried chicken or lasagna, what would bring you true comfort? What would fill your belly, soothe your sore body, and allow you to receive quality sleep? Protein, fiber, and healthy fat are the nutritional elements that will promote healing and deep sleep, so here we’ll explore some delicious options that will support your body and make you actually feel better.

How to have it both ways

The balance that you want to strike when it comes to comfort food is seeking genuine comfort, which includes both immediate satisfaction (that “Mmmm!” feeling) and sustainable nourishment that makes you feel digestively and energetically well. 

This principle of balance applies over the long-term, as well, which means that if you catch the flu and eat cinnamon toast and noodles with butter in survival mode for a day, it’s okay. We look at your progress over the course of your program, not from one single day to the next. There’s plenty of room in Calibrate to be less than perfect, and it’s perfectly acceptable to have some less-than-ideal days. 

If you’re dealing with illness, exhaustion, burnout, or some other temporary state of unwellness that makes you feel like reaching for food that is not nutritionally ideal, remember what you learned in the Calibrate Mostly Good Guide: namely, that all-or-nothing thinking is not your ally. The principle of Mostly Good asks you to set a low-bar goal that you fully expect to exceed on most days, but which is a safe home base to return to when you are really struggling. 

An example of applying Mostly Good to sick-day nutrition would be to commit to having actual meals and including a serving of vegetables in each one, but letting yourself choose a reasonable portion of whatever you want for your main dish. Another way to deploy Mostly Good when you’re unwell would be to avoid red foods for most of the day as per usual, but to then allow yourself one of your comfort foods at the end of the day. Remember, no single meal (or day or two) will torpedo your progress. The spirit of adaptability is huge when it comes to reshaping habits, and you don’t ever have to be perfect—least of all when you’re sick.  

Calibrate friendly comfort foods

Now let’s get down to nuts and bolts:  what exactly should you eat? 

Nourishing and Mostly Good options can satisfy common category cravings like sweet, salty, carby, and rich while still keeping it Calibrate with protein, fiber, and healthy fat. 

Sweets

Hyper-palatable and rarely nutritious, sweets like cookies, pastries, and ice cream can sound so good when you’re down, but they nearly always leave you feeling worse off than when you started. Here are some sweet comfort options that won’t take you off the rails.  

  • Prep a batch of high-fiber energy cookies that will scratch the itch for sweets without spiking your blood sugar. 
  • Freeze some bananas and use your blender to create homemade creamy soft-serve with fruit and nut butter, shredded coconut, or dark chocolate.
  • Find a local alternative bakery that makes low-sugar treats, and think of them as an option that’s Mostly Good every once in a while. 
  • Opt for dark chocolate (a food that is so intense that it is difficult to overdo) with almonds or dried cherries for fiber.
  • Fruit (fresh, dried, or frozen) with a bit of coconut cream or nut butter can satisfy the desire for sweets while also offering antioxidants and fiber.
  • Make an upgraded bowl of cereal with high-fiber granola, berries, and nut milk.

Salties

Salty and highly seasoned foods like nachos, pizza, chips, and pasta rank high on many people’s comfort food lists. Fortunately, salt and flavor are adaptable and translate well to nutritionally dense versions of comfy go-tos.

  • Bone broth (with or without veggies and an added fat like coconut cream or grass-fed butter) is deeply satisfying when you have a salt craving but won’t leave you feeling parched and oversalted. Make your own by simmering bones with spices, or try Kettle & Fire's shelf-stable options.
  • If salty crunch is what does it for you, consider seaweed or vegetable chips rather than, say, potato chips. 
  • Melt high-quality cheese on something nutritionally dense (like broccoli or a whole grain) rather than on pasta or rice.
  • Lean into flavorful sauces that are big on spice and heat, and small on fat and carbs. Use the Amplify Your Food Guide to build a pantry and fridge with lots of different flavor options that can turn a boring sick day standard into something exciting like a spicy coconut milk chicken soup.

Carbs

Bread, pasta, rice, noodles: we all love them. They’re soft, uncomplicated, and make our bellies feel full. Because eating them on their own doesn’t make for a nutritionally optimal meal, try these hacks for occasionally including them in your diet in a more metabolically supportive way.  

  • Opt for alternative versions of simple carbs, like legume pasta, or try a half/half mix of traditional comfort carbs and more nutritional versions, like a mix of white rice and cauliflower rice. 
  • Bake a batch of almond flour bread (you can do this at a time when you have extra bandwidth and freeze it for later), toast, and serve with smashed avocado or almond butter. 
  • If you’re going for a carby childhood comfort food–say, chicken noodle soup when you’re sick–punch up the fiber and satiety factors by sneaking in some veggies like sliced carrots and celery. 

Rich

When we talk about foods being “cozy” or “warming,” what we often mean is hot, flavorful, or, often, rich—aka marked by the taste and mouthfeel of fat. Healthy dietary fat is not bad, and Calibrate meals always incorporate fats, so here are some warm, flavorful, and wonderfully rich choices that you can try: 

  • Opt for warmth with hot broths and teas (include lemon for a bonus dose of vitamin C if your belly tolerates acid).
  • Create creamy textures by adding in healthy fats like full-fat yogurt, avocado, coconut cream, olive or sesame oil, or nut butters.
  • Miso, tahini, anchovies, and other savory flavors can bring a sensation of richness to otherwise light meals. Keep a batch of pre-prepped sauce, dressing, marinade, or soup in your freezer to thaw for an off day.

When it comes to cravings, it’s important to remember that we have all been culturally conditioned to associate certain foods with comfort. It can be alarming, after all the progress you’ve made, to suddenly want something that you know doesn’t support your goals. You have good options, however, to honor that desire for comfort in a healthful way. You don’t have to white-knuckle anything, because you now have an understanding of how to respond to comfort food cravings. Now doesn’t that make you feel better?