by Cammy Cort

Everyone gets stressed, especially if you go to HB. With all the papers and test due it seems like a never ending cycle, but there are ways to cope with that. Sure, you could meditate, but that takes up 15 minutes of precious time you could be using to work on your History paper. Why not do something that helps you destress, meditate, and work on homework at the same time? Why not eat some good old comfort food. Eating comfort foods is by no means “stress eating”. “Stress eating” is binging out on chips and an hour later finding you have already gone through a whole bag of Tostitos. What’s worse, after eating all of those chips, you’re still stressed. Comfort foods are not a bag of Tostitos, but foods that leave you feeling like you’ve just been wrapped up with your favorite fuzzy blanket. In my opinion, the main comfort foods, like most foods, can be broken down into two main categories: Sweet and Salty.

Sweet comfort foods are usually thought of as chocolate and icecream, but there are actually many different ones. My favorites are chocolate, popsicles, fruits like strawberries or oranges, and cereals like cinnamon toast crunch. Chocolate is one of the most common and best sweet comfort foods. When you bite into a good chocolate bar, it makes your heart light. You feel as if you don’t have a care in the world. But, don’t get lost in that feeling because remember, you have a math test to study for. Along with making you happy, the sugar in chocolate also gives you energy, so it is a win – win. Another sweet food that does this is popsicles. Popsicles are usually much healthier than chocolate, and they last longer. They are also very refreshing because of how cold they are. Another sweet, refreshing, yet healthy comfort food is any type of fruit. Fruits like apples, oranges, peaches, and strawberries are sweet but still healthy. They help bring this sense of peace and comfort and fun when you bite into them that everyone is looking for. Sweet comfort foods are wonderful, but sometimes you’re looking for something that will fill you up a bit more. That’s where the savory comfort foods come in.

My favorite savory comfort foods are pasta (especially with butter), Red Peppers, and flatbread Margherita pizza. Pasta is a good food in general and dough always helps with stress when you eat it. If you have the right amount of butter and pasta put together, it just melts away your stress like it never even existed. A good pizza can do that too, but not one from Pizza Hut. It has to be a good pizza where you can taste all the flavors in the pizza and not be overwhelmed by how greasy or how much dough it is made with. That’s why flatbreads pizzas are better. There isn’t as much dough, so you can really focus on the taste. Pizza and Pasta are both mainly dough, which isn’t too healthy. One food that is healthy but also a savory comfort food is salads. When people think of salads, they think of lettuce with some vegetables and dressing. What they don’t think about are the possibilities of a salad. Salads are very versatile, they can be sweet and summery or savory and wintery. It really depends on what you want, and that’s why they are such a great comfort food.

Everyone has to find their own favorite comfort foods. No matter what your favorite comfort foods are, eating them is a great way to get rid of your stress. It allows you to stop focusing on whatever is stressing you out and focus on something that tastes good and lightens your mood.