Comfort Foods

Recipe for Gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese below

Making comfort food comforting to your waistline

Comfort foods are familiar, simple foods that are usually home-cooked and are often emotionally significant and sometimes related to pleasant associations of childhood.

Comfort foods are typically inexpensive, uncomplicated and easy to prepare. Many people eat comfort food because it is generally easily digestible, is tasty and flavorful, or as a way to reward oneself.

However, when people think of comfort foods, they don't typically think of healthy foods. Comfort foods tend to be high in fat and calories, rather than vitamins and minerals. Things like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and fried chicken may be soothing to the soul, but not to the waistline.

Amy Haynes, a registered dietician and culinary instructor at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Dallas, explains that "high-fat, high-sugar foods such as comfort foods elicit 'feel good' hormones quicker than a plate of raw vegetables." These comfort foods therefore bring us back to fond memories and instant satisfaction, creating a psychological connection with the food that is difficult to break.

With the holidays approaching, many traditional family recipes of favorite comfort foods will be made. Many experts say that you don't have to give up these old friends to lose weight. It just takes planning and portion control. Haynes suggests an even more lax attitude during this time: "If you plan on indulging in one or two of these holiday feasts for the month, don't worry about it! If you really want to make your recipes healthier, try to make simple modifications that won't change the end product drastically."

Chef Whitney Anderson, nutritionist, certified executive chef, and instructor at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Tampa (a branch of Miami International University of Art), agrees. "The question we should really be asking ourselves is, how healthy do you really want to go when eating a comfort food," says Anderson. "Do you really want to alter the taste so much that it is no longer a comfort food to you?"

Simple substitutions and recipe modifications can help save the flavor of your favorite comfort foods and stall any holiday weight gain.

For example, when making pumpkin pie, Anderson suggests, "altering some of the ingredients will change the consistency of the pie but should not change the taste. When the recipe calls for four whole eggs, you can change it to two egg whites and two whole eggs, using pumpkin puree (a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and potassium) instead of pie filling, replacing granulated sugar with a natural sugar like Xylitol (a natural five-carbon sugar found in birch trees, fibers of many fruits and vegetables, mushrooms, corn cobs and more), and using skim evaporated milk instead of whole-fat evaporated milk with lots of spices like cinnamon, which enhances the pumpkin flavor and helps control the spiking of the blood sugar."

Another holiday favorite is macaroni and cheese. "One of my favorite comfort foods is macaroni and cheese. About 10 years ago, I discovered that I have a gluten intolerance which does not allow me to eat anything made with barley, rye or wheat. In dealing with these food limitations, I discovered some wonderful alternative products such as pasta made from corn, brown rice or quinoa," says Haynes. "I researched to find a good homemade macaroni and cheese recipe and simply substituted gluten-free pasta for the regular pasta the recipe called for.

"You may not have a gluten intolerance, but you may have the desire to make your favorite comfort foods more nutritionally beneficial. Using my favorite comfort food, macaroni and cheese as an example, you can easily substitute whole grain pasta for the refined white pasta, and replace half of the cheese with mozzarella, which is inherently lower in fat per ounce compared to other cheeses. This immediately improves the nutritional profile of the dish without compromising flavor."

As this recipe illustrates, you can take the fat and calories out of comfort foods while keeping the taste - and comfort.

Gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese
Serves: Eight

16 ounces penne pasta - brown rice or quinoa (uncooked)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup potato flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded
1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese - shredded, reserve 1/4 cup for topping
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Cook pasta according to package directions in salted boiling water. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat, add potato flour and stir until flour is moistened and begins to bubble. Add milk and chicken stock and stir until smooth. Add cheese (except for 1/4 cup of cheddar for topping), and onion, garlic powder and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Drain pasta. Add cheese sauce to pasta and mix well.

Place macaroni in ungreased 3 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remainder of cheddar cheese and bake five more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Per serving (excluding unknown items): 518 calories; 24 grams fat (42.1 percent calories from fat); 19 grams protein; 56 grams carbohydrate; 3 grams dietary fiber; 75 milligrams cholesterol; 469 milligrams sodium. Exchanges: 3 1/2 grain(starch); 1 lean meat; 1/2 non-fat milk; 4 fat.

Courtesy of ARA content