Hooray: comfort food that won't make you fat
A base that just tumbles over the edge of your plate, melted cheese that smiles at you and how delicious it smells. It can really be okay sometimes, such a pizza, but how convenient is it to have comfort food that doesn't immediately add a kilo on the scale? Great, we thought. Help is here, because our foodie Emma from FavorFlav explains how you put that together. Enjoy your meal.
A large plate of pasta, a bowl of ramen, or a casserole with lots of cheese: all comfort food in its essence. Unfortunately, just not that healthy. Craving comfort food but want to keep it healthy? Then go for one of these dishes.
Falafel
If you have cravings in the middle of the night for a sandwich with fried chickpea balls and a generous scoop of garlic sauce, we can safely say it's comfort food, I think. I always make my falafel myself, because homemade is extra tasty and healthy, but store-bought is also fine. Instead of frying the balls, I bake them in a thin layer of oil (the supermarket ones can even be baked in the oven without oil) and the pita is whole grain. Hello, fiber! I make garlic sauce with low-fat Greek yogurt and believe me: if you add enough garlic, it really doesn't matter. Tomato, cucumber, and pickle on the sandwich, a salad on the side, and you're done.
Miso soup
A warm bowl of soup always provides comfort. Thanks to the miso, this soup with soba noodles is ultra umami. As if that wasn't enough, you fry the shiitake in sesame oil and soy sauce, making them crispy and almost taste like bacon. Almost. Add crispy, spicy tofu (thanks, Sriracha) and the ultimate fit girl food kale on top, and your healthy comfort food is a fact. Sometimes I replace the kale with spinach, which makes you strong, so that still falls into the healthy category. You can also replace the tofu with grilled mackerel for extra Omega 3.
Congee
This might just be my ultimate comfort food, whether I want to eat healthy or not. Savory rice porridge sounds a bit strange, but try it once and you'll know what I mean. A huge advantage? For one part rice, you use twelve parts water, which means you ultimately consume very few calories and still feel mega full. You can go wild with the toppings; mine always has pickled cucumber, a boiled egg, cubes of silken tofu, and thinly sliced green onion. Leftover chicken works too. Whatever you do, fried onions and Sriracha are an absolute must.
Dahl
Another lovely dish that you best enjoy on the couch with just a spoon. Under a blanket. This red dahl with lentils and coconut milk is exactly what you need when it's raining outside. The coconut and Indian spices give the curry a very warm flavor that makes all your problems disappear like snow in the sun. Extra nice: this dish is perfect for freezing. Make a huge pot and freeze single portions, so you can always grab a bag from the freezer in a moment of stress.
