Some foods just make you feel so good when you eat them that they have come to be known as “comfort foods.” They can be a great part of your tea time, especially with the right tea.

Some of the best memory triggers are aromas. Just the smell of certain foods can take you back to childhood when Grandma was frying up something tasty or you arrived home from school to the aroma of cookies fresh from the oven. That is one of the aspects of these comfort foods. They evoke such homey images from the past.

Another important aspect to comfort foods is fat content. [Side note: Aaaaaaaggggghhhh – not “fat”!!] If you are dieting and find you never feel satisfied, try having a small amount of one of these foods, maybe one cookie or a half cup of macaroni and cheese, along with all that low-cal “rabbit food” that dieters are supposed to eat (and which I’ve eaten when struggling to shed those extra pounds). Alternately, you can add a healthy touch to one of these comfort food dishes. Use whole-grain elbow macaroni and margarine instead of butter, for example.

Some of the standard comfort foods (in the U.S., at least) are:

• Pasta dishes: Macaroni and Cheese, Spaghetti with Sauce and Parmesan
• Chicken dishes: Fried, Soup, Pot Pie
• Spuds dishes: Mashed Potatoes (especially with gravy), “loaded” Baked Potatoes, French fries
• Sandwiches: Grilled Cheese, Grilled Hotdogs, Hamburgers
• Pizza with your favorite toppings
• Chicken-fried Steak with “the fixins”
• Meatloaf, especially when leftover and cold from the frig served up in a sandwich
• New England Clam Chowder with those wonderful little oyster crackers
• Popcorn — opt for the kind without butter to cut the calories
• Cereal, from Fruit Loops to Oatmeal
• Cakes and Pies
• Chocolates in candies and puddings
• Chocolate Chip Cookies, claimed by many to be the #1 comfort food

There are also “comfort teas,” ones that go well with the above foods or that even by themselves are satisfying enough to give you that feeling of inner peace. The tea I turn to most often for this purpose is a CTC Assam, but I find some Barry’s Gold Blend, PG Tips Black Tea, or even Typhoo will do the job, especially since these teas are good with milk and sugar or sweetener. You may find that a nice oolong or your favorite green tea will suit even better. A wonderful Darjeeling could do the trick, also.

Next time life is getting to you, steep a pot of “comfort tea” and pick your favorite comfort food. Enjoy them and let their goodness fill you!

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