Hello Dazzle! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to talk about comfort foods. We’ve all got them. Those things that we like to eat and drink because they help us emotionally feel better. They are foods that we associate with the goods times in life. For those of us with chronic illness, they are also foods that are safe for us to eat. Ones that won’t lead to us having a flare or trigger sensory issues.
For some of us, these kinds of foods are pretty hard to come by because there is a long list of things that causes our bodies to flare up, have reactions or trigger sensory issues. These are the foods that we can safely eat without worrying that it will trigger our sensory issues or flare up our medical problems. A large part of why they are so comforting is because they are safe. When you have a long history of foods causing you to feel some kind of physical discomfort it can be difficult to trust your food. But these few gems are the treasures because they can be trusted.
Every time we go to them and get the comfort of that safe eating experience it adds to the emotional comfort that they provide. They become life long friends that we make sure to always have on hand for when things get emotionally or physically difficult. Which foods these are is different for everyone and is as diverse as the bodies that humanity has. But despite this diversity, we all share having comfort foods in common.
My go to comfort foods are the saltiness of popcorn and the crunch of celery. There is also the tartness of the dill pickle. Then there is the divine goodness of the cheese and dill pickle quesadilla. I know that last one is weird, but you should try it before you knock it. But in the end, it doesn’t matter if I am the only person on the planet that eats it, because it is one of those foods that I know I can rely on. There is sashimi, ramen and rice that can also be regularly counted on.
Many people are surprised by my comfort food selection. I’ve been told that these are unusual selections and that they tend towards the bland side. To this, I only shrug. You are welcome to consume what ever foods give you pleasure and cause you no harm. For me, these are the foods that can be relied upon to always be a pleasure to consume and never cause me physical discomfort.
While on the topic of comfort foods, I’ll go ahead and list a few of the foods that I will never eat. There are tomatoes and beef because they cause me intestinal discomfort. There are the pineapples and bananas because the mouth feel is distressing. Then there are the foods that I have an on and off again relationship with such as peanut butter which has a laxative effect on me. There are also hot peppers which if applied judiciously can add a wonderful and pleasant warmth to a meal without any distress, but more often then not the cook is heavy handed and I end up with an altogether different experience.
So, what about you? What are your comfort foods? Are there any foods that you will never eat? How about ones that you keep coming back to even though you probably shouldn’t?
Well, that’s about it for my rambling today. Thanks for coming and spending some time with me. If you like what you read, click on that like button. It really does help! Until we talk again, you take care of yourselves!
Zebra Pig 