Healthy Comfort Foods

Talk about your oxymoronic titles…Healthy Comfort Foods, really? That’s like saying “an in-depth Disney movie” or “a horrible Pink Floyd song.” These things just aren’t possible. Well, I’m here to tell you that there are, in fact, healthy comfort foods out there (and one or two horrible Pink Floyd songs). You’ve just gotta know where to look for them.

Just for fun, I looked up the definition of “comfort food” and here’s what I found via the Oxford Online Dictionary: food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being, typically with a high sugar or other carbohydrate content and associated with childhood or home cooking (my emphasis). So, by definition, comfort food must contain a ton of sugar or other high carb content. That’s just not true and as proof I offer you the following…

• Pasta e Fagioli (Italian pasta and beans) is the soup that is a welcome replacement for the over-used comfort soup known as chicken noodle. This blended soup eats more like a stew with crushed tomatoes, your choice of pasta and beans, as well as chopped carrots, onions, and kale. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and Italian parsley and you’ve got the perfect comfort food to enjoy while binging superficial, yet entertaining, Disney movies. Learn how to mix together a pot here.
• Oven-fried chicken takes the heavy breading and deep frying out of traditional fried chicken without sacrificing its status as an uber comfort food. The recipe uses panko breadcrumbs, eggs and a small amount of buttermilk as breading and your oven instead of a deep fryer. The recipe even includes a honey-Dijon dipping sauce. Discover how to bake up a batch here.
• Shepherd’s pie (whole30) is chock full of veggies and lean, grass-fed, ground beef or lamb which qualifies it for this list. Don’t focus on the “whole30” designation as it’s a program that involves eliminating all sugars, alcohol, grains, dairy and legumes from your diet for 30 days in order to achieve enlightenment…I jest about the enlightenment aspect, of course. In order to achieve Whole30 status, the mashed taters are made with almond milk steeped with thyme, garlic and clarified butter…how the use of butter is permitted under the auspices of Whole30 is beyond my reasoning capabilities. Find the shepherd’s (or cottage pie if made with ground beef, who knew?) here.
• Baked turkey meatballs with quinoa is a wonderfully healthy take on spaghetti and meatballs. However, I do take exception with the redundancy of the term “turkey meatballs.” However, it is perhaps more appropriate than the more concise, yet loaded term, “turkeyballs.” I digress. This recipe also comes with plans for a flavorful marinara sauce and the great idea of cooking your turkeyballs, OK, turkey meatballs, in a mini-muffin pan to ensure even cooking. Mangia here.
• Healthy slow cooker chicken pot pie stew eliminates most of the butter and cream that goes into traditional, and member of the Comfort Food Hall of Fame, chicken pot pie. It also eliminates most of the prep time as well. Using plain Greek yogurt instead of cream, this stew also features skinless chicken breast, onions, corn, chicken stock and garlic to create a deliciously creamy dish that will have you wondering why you ever ate the unhealthy version. Get your pot pie on here.
• Healthy mac and cheese is like finding a woodland fairy flitting around the head of a unicorn next to a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow with no evil leprechaun in sight. It does exist. This recipe still includes cheese, but it adds healthy items such as butternut squash, onions and vegetable broth to ensure its qualification on this list. Whip up your fantasy version of mac and cheese here.
• And as always, if you are not interested in whipping up these dishes, MagicKitchen.com comes to the rescue with these low-calorie, low-carb entrees:
  Chicken Fajitas, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Roasted Turkey with Gravy, Broccoli, Mushroom & Zucchini Soup

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and there are healthy comfort foods too! If you’re in doubt, just try a few of the above recipes and you’ll find yourself setting out cookies (healthy versions, of course) and almond milk for the jolly old elf on December 24^th.