Comfort Foods

The New American Plate Comfort Foods Recipes for a healthy weight and a healthy life Comfort Foods Table of Contents What Are Comfort Foods? The New American Plate Proportion Portion Size 3 4 5 6 Adjusting Comfort Foods for Health 10 Sensational Substitutions 12 Recipes 14 1 More than ever, Americans who choose food for both taste and health are turning to AICR’s New American Plate. They’re filling their plates with two-thirds (or more) vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans and one-third (or less) fish, poultry or red meat. They’ve heard that experts recommend a mostly plant-based diet to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and to maintain a healthy weight. Traditionally, many comfort foods are high in calories and fat, laden with butter, cream, whole milk and cheese, and lacking in the nutrients and protective phytochemicals (unique plant substances) that vegetables and fruits have to offer. The good news is you don’t have to stop eating your favorite comfort foods to reap the health benefits of the New American Plate. These dishes just need a little remodeling to help you reach the “2⁄3 to 1⁄3” ratio. Start by making a few healthy adjustments to traditional recipes. This brochure contains 10 modified recipes for some of your favorite comfort foods. Serve them in smaller portions, accompanied by an extra helping of vegetables. Try the suggested menus that precede each recipe to make these foods part of a health-protective meal. By making simple adjustments, eating for a healthy weight and a healthy life can be comforting, too. 2 What Are Comfort Foods? Comfort foods can be defined as feel-good, hearty foods that are both nourishing and nurturing. They are frequently craved in moments of unhappiness, and, interestingly enough, during times of celebration. Comfort foods are what we ate at grandma’s house, after a long day at school or what mom served when we were sick. As adults, we relish flavors from the comforting past. These foods take us back to a time when life was easier and someone else made the hard decisions. Besides the nostalgic feelings they evoke, it’s the textures and mouthfeel that make comfort foods so appealing. They are generally characterized by moist, creamy, soft, mashed, rich or still-warm textures, and are known for having a relatively high fat content. Age, regional origin and ethnic background all have a bearing on which items people consider comfort foods. Many Americans include foods like macaroni and cheese, beef stew, chicken soup, chili, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, pizza, spaghetti, chocolate chip cookies and rice pudding. Since many of these foods come from a time when the relationship between diet and disease was not well known, these foods are often less than healthful. But rather than pass up the foods we crave, we can make simple adjustments to increase their nutritional value. The result: “comforting” foods that fit well on the New American Plate. 3 The New American Plate AICR and its affiliate, the World Cancer Research Fund in the U.K., assembled an expert panel of scientists to review the existing research on the connection between diet and cancer. The panel reviewed more than 4,500 studies conducted around the world and issued a landmark report entitled Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective. This report clearly shows the link between a predominantly plant-based diet and reduced cancer risk. Eating more vegetables and fruits, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight could cut cancer rates by 30 to 40 percent. The New American Plate is based on the recommendations from this expert report. It isn’t a short-term “diet” to use for quick weight loss, but a new approach to eating for better health. It emphasizes the kinds of foods that