Comfort food or pleasure food. No matter how you say it, what is certain is that we are talking about traditional dishes of each country, which speak directly to the heart of its inhabitants.
The great thing about comfort food is that it is always there for us and never lets us down. The brain responds to happiness and stress relief by continuing to crave "comfort" foods. To define it, we can say that it exists to cheer us up, as it acts as a booster.
When we eat, we receive positive reinforcement – on the one hand we meet the need for food and on the other hand we are satisfied with taste.
The term comfort food refers to those foods whose consumption provides us with comfort or a feeling of well-being, as stated in an extensive article in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. Simply put, foods or foods that provide some kind of emotional relaxation.
Indeed, comfort food recipes are often simply prepared or based on tradition and may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal, perhaps reminiscent of home, family and/or friends. After all, nostalgia plays an important role in our food.
As your brain gets used to the healthier comfort food, you will strengthen the positive reinforcement, finally choosing foods that are good for your body and psychology. A trachana soup , for example, will warm you up and relax you, without filling you with empty calories or making you addicted, as would happen with a soft drink. Finally, think about the choice you will make in comfort food as a way to eat deliciously and do good for you.