What Foods Do You Eat When You Have the Blues?

[=Mark]

For some reason my "comfort foods" are generally hot & spicy, probably due to my being a card carrying chilehead (Anyone spot me in the TV Food Network special Eat the Heat?).  Extra spicy Buffalo Wings, Jerk pork, chipotle rubbed hickory smoked spare ribs...

That last one especially.  I've been into BBQ for quite a few years and nothing picks me up more than the ritual of preparing to spend a few hours smoking up a thoroughly spiced rack of ribs!  Sit back, crack open an Adult Beverage, poke at the fire at appropriate but unnessesary intervals and tell lies...

[tommy]

[everyone, watch this...hehehe]

hey =mark, what kind of BBQ sauce did you use on the ribs?

[=Mark]

I always save the little packets of BBQ sauce I get with my 6 piece chicken McNuggets.  When I get home I use Hoboken Eddies Mean Green sauce on the McNuggets, and save the little foil sauce packets for my ribs...

I've found 8 packets of BBQ flavor mixed with 2 packets Honey Mustard to be just about perfect.

[col klink]

I hear ya Mark, smoking a rack of ribs for 3 to 6 hours is a very relaxing ritual and the best part is eating the ribs afterward.  There something very Zen-like in getting the fire real low without going out, very fulfilling.

If I need a quicker fix though, I go out for sushi!

[Ruby]

This is all well and good, but you were linking this to relaxing and going to sleep.  When I want to go to sleep or "relax" the last thing I want are elevated blood sugar levels.

Feeling both emotionally good and "awake" seems to be substantially different from feeling relaxed and sleepy.  I don't think you get to these places with the same food.

??? Say what? My primary question for this topic was "what foods do you eat when you have the blues?" Relaxing and falling asleep is an example I gave with eating bananas before bedtime. Since that post, this thread has taken on different twists and turns.

[Jinmyo]

this thread has taken on different twists and turns.

Yes. Very sorry. I meant just a one sentence comment, actually to encourage examples because I am interested. Let's get back to the original point:

What foods do you eat when you feel "blue" or "in the dumps"?

[mellaf]

A big bowl of polenta with butter and cheese cheers me right up!  I make a nice pot for myself, grab a class of wine and eat it in bed while watching the food network.  Better then prozac.

[tootsie6105]

popcorn, the new kettle corn is great!

[Kim WB]

Onion dip. Breakstones and Lipton's onion soup, must mix and set for 1 hour. I think about it the entire hour. Lay's chips, sometimes Utz's.    Changes my entire disposition. Whatever I am upset about becomes trivial compared to the amazing guilt I feel for consuming this many calories.

Otherwise, I use wine as my comfort food.  I was at a difficult closing this week, ( I'm a Real Estate Agent), called my son from t he Lawyer's office , and walked him through going downstairs, finding the  chardonnay I wanted chilled, and putting it in the fridge. After I hung up, I commented to the legal secretary of what kind of therapy he will need.

[sandymalloy]

I wonder if understanding the whole notion of "comfort food" has anything to do with people's childhood experiences?

For me, a comfort food is something I really enjoyed as a kid, because my mom (with whom I did not always get along) was at her best when she was feeding.  She was the ultimate nurturing mama then.

So I like hamburgers, lamb chops, mashed potatoes & ice cream as comfort foods. I don't give a darn what they do to me scientifically; I just know that when I eat them I'm more likely to smile afterwards.  

This is only when I'm feeling down.  When I am ANGRY, I totally lose my appetite.

Intersting thread for the reactions as much as anything...

(And I am not overweight.)

S.

[Liza]

Blue? Cheese.

Angry? I get dizzy when I'm angry. I know I'm really angry when I get vertigo. Quite unsettling.

But blue? Cheese. And not food related, a good snuggle with a cat helps dispatch the blues even faster than a slice of Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog.

[PaulaJ]

Grilled chesse sandwich. Although I love mashed potatoes, I

don't have the energy 'to give' at such times. Of course, there's homemade chicken noodle soup also.

[Beachfan]

Grilled cheese sandwich.

Ahh.  Now you're talking.  You and I could meet for a depressed lunch at Artisinal.

I like cheese.

[Beachfan]

But there's no consolation to be had from chocolate in the mouth or foie on the fork or champagne in the glass. They weren't the problem, they're not the solution.

In strong contrast to some other advice posted, I say don't explore the notion any more and keep to your healthy orientation.  

The comfort I got from comfort food lasts no more than a half hour after completion, sometimes much less.   The calories remain until burned off (which if you believe in Last in, Last out, will be 10 years from now).

Save the calories for more celebratory experiences.  

Of course, there are many others, less compulsive than I, who can use chocolate, cheese, etc. without health implications.  So maybe I'm just talking to myself here.

Cheese anyone?

[sng sling]

I've got to line up on Jinmyo's side -- if I'm upset or angry, I tend to munch junk food like chips or petzels and then feel like cr*p afterward.  Much better for me to go for a walk/run/workout.  Food is for celebrations (almost every day).  

I wonder what the common threads -- gender, ethnicity, age, whatever??? -- are here that make some of us find comfort in certain foods and others in work, exercise, pets, etc.

[Jinmyo]

I'll have some cheese, Beachfan. It's a beautiful day.