5 Little Tricks To Make Your Comfort Food Healthier!

October 9, 2020

By Nanette Cameron, RDN

We all love our comfort food.  You know the kind – the stuff that just makes you feel GOOD as you’re eating it.  And as you’re probably aware, some of these are not exactly the healthiest foods for your body.  So why are we drawn to eat things that are so unhealthy, and why do we crave them in certain seasons?

For example, in the fall we tend to eat a lot of foods that are higher in fat and carbohydrates such as mashed potatoes, pastas and stews.  Fall and winter months also bring less activity since it’s colder out and gets darker earlier and that can be a problem because we might be burning less calories.

Less activity + higher fat foods = weight gain.

So, let’s discuss 5 ways we can combat this formula and set ourselves up for healthier habits!

5 Little Tricks To Make Your Comfort Food Healthier!

1)  Substitute mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes.  You can find these in the frozen foods section and all you need to do is heat them up!  And while we’re at it, use either a little less (or no) butter or gravy or lower fat versions of these products.  You can make up for them by focusing on seasonings instead of just adding calories from fat.

2) Pasta – look for more whole grain or veggie based pastas.  You can usually find pastas made from whole grain, lentils, chick peas, zucchini, or spinach right there next to the regular old pastas, and this will add more nutritional value.  These pastas contain more fiber which will fill you up faster with more nutrition and you will east less.

3) Chili instead of stews.  Stews tend to have more fat from red meat and gravy, whereas chili especially when made with beans can still give you that hot and hearty comfort that you’re looking for with more fiber and less calories from fat. 

4) Soups – use broth based soups instead of cream.  There are several ways to accomplish this.  For starters add veggies, and then when you’re done adding veggies, add more veggies.  Creamy soups like broccoli cheddar or clam chowder are the biggest offenders and contain too many calories from fat.  You can make a really hearty soup with broth instead of cream by loading it up with carrots, celery, broccoli and even some riced cauliflower and it will be a hearty dish.  Also here’s a tip: Take a couple labels of your veggie soup, blend it and add it back to create that creamy texture that you love.

5) Apples.  Granted this can be applied to other fruits which you should eat more of, but in particular apples are abundant in Michigan in the fall and you can make them in many tasty and yes, healthy ways.  Apple pies can add more carb and fat calories.  Try cutting them up, sprinkling them with cinnamon, sautéing them in a skillet with maybe just a little cooking spray, and topping them with low fat cottage cheese or vanilla greek yogurt – YUM!  Or try this – slice an apple, place it in a baking dish, pour a half cup of diet Vernors over the apple and bake at 350 for 10 minutes…  DELISH (with a little Detroit flavor to boot)!!!  An apple bake per day keeps the doctor away (even though the doctors at South Macomb Internal Medicine are very nice hehe…)!

So how are YOU going to use these tips to make YOUR comfort food healthier?  Let us know, and enjoy!

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

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