Comfort Foods That Are Heart Healthy
Comfort foods are mentally and emotionally gratifying but often empty or limited in nutritional value. We reach for them when we want to satiate a feeling in our mind rather than our stomach, such as sadness, anxiety, anger, or boredom. Often we reach for comfort foods just because they’re handy and within our sight, and not because we’re hungry. Perhaps we just don’t have the ambition to cook or pull something together. Most, but not all, comfort foods consist of a high level of calories, simple carbohydrates, and sugars or sodium. All of these are bad for the heart, and can result in high blood pressure, diabetes, poor circulation, obesity, and more.
Ask yourself whether you’re really hungry, and whether a glass of water or a walk in a park might take your mind off of reaching for food. When you are genuinely hungry and want a snack or a meal, it’s important to reach for a satiating, satisfying food that will help you maintain good overall health and fit into your 2,000-calorie-a-day limit (for moderately active people). Here are some ideas for making healthy choices when you need a little comfort food.
Meals. Add beans, lentils or wholegrain rice to soups, stews, burgers, and chili. Make a salad heartier with beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, a hard-boiled egg, chickpeas, avocado, and grilled or baked poultry or fish. Replace rice or risotto with riced cauliflower.
“Eating at a table instead of in front of a screen can help slow the pace of the meal,” says Rachel Lustgarten, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Also, try putting the fork down between bites, taking smaller bites, and chewing each bite 15 times.”
Individual Snacks. Instead of a cookie or a scoop of ice cream, reach for a plain Greek yogurt (frozen or fresh). Mix in some fruit, chopped nuts and seeds. Make a large batch, fill a tray of small paper or plastic cups, and freeze them for another day. “Planning ahead for indulgences can help prevent impulsive eating and increase enjoyment of the food,” says Lustgarten.
Skip the chips. Instead, dipping celery sticks, carrots or apple or pear slices in nut butter or melted dark chocolate are heart-healthier choices. Or, put whole-grain ready-to-eat cereal or oatmeal in a small cup and spoon it dry with cinnamon, nuts, seeds or fruit on top. “Using a cup or bowl rather than eating out of the package can help increase mindfulness and limit overeating,” Lustgarten says. Also, “foods served warm can be more comforting than cold foods.”
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