Mentally Healthy Foods

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  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,259 Member
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    raymax4 wrote: »
    Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches puts me back into my teens

    Yup. This.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Kadoober wrote: »
    Red pepper jelly with cream cheese on Ritz crackers is always comforting because it reminds me of my Grandpa. He and I were the only ones that liked it, so it was 'our' thing when I was little.

    Are you sure? Speaking as a grandmother now, my grandkids and I have things that we love, that is, they love it and I love the way they look and
    Act when we share it. Maybe you loved those crackers and grandpa loved you!
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
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    NovusDies wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    There’s some science behind it.

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-babble/201501/smells-ring-bells-how-smell-triggers-memories-and-emotions

    I suggest if you go for emotionally evocative foods that you decide ahead of time what your portion will be and fully immerse yourself in the feelings and the memory.

    Otherwise you may eat mindlessly, one after the other, trying to repeat the experience.

    It makes sense and good advice for those of us that enjoy mental time travel.

    My next example is something I will never eat again:

    Boiled spinach from the frozen box or the can. I liked Popeye as much as the next kid but spinach cooked that way would only bring back negative emotions. Is is good for me nutritionally? Sure. Does it represent an otherwise fairly obedient child taking bite after nasty gagging bite for 45 minutes after the meal was over? You betcha. I like raw spinach and I like barely wilted spinach but even if I have outgrown the aversion to boiled it will not ever be on my plate again

    OMG! This. My mom used to make us eat boiled spinach and boiled beet leaves with vinegar it was so gross to me as a kid. It took forever for me to try spinach again, and now its my absolute favorite green. But yeah I eat it raw in salads or mixed into soups or lentil stews or baked in casseroles. But never again will I boil a can of spinach and eat it as side dish. Its makes my skin crawl to even think about it.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    glassyo wrote: »
    I don't really have any mentally healthy foods that remind me of good times but I *have* tried a pb & pickle sandwich! I read a series of books by Sue Grafton and that's something the main character would eat. It's pretty darned good.

    I wouldn't be so sure. If you read a series of books that you enjoyed and mimicked the main character that binds you to the experience when you eat the pb & pickle. Plus, it is never too late to create more.

    When I eat chili I think of Columbo. I have loved that show for years and years. It is not exactly the same as transporting me back in time but I don't discount the positive feeling I get.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    theres foods that make me think of people, sure. pretty sure we all have them. some i eat, some i dont lol

    grandma- stuffed bell peppers. i loved them as a kid and she would make them for me all the time
    papa- any baked goods (and really its where my love of baking came from) - but especially banana split cake. and i havent made that since he passed 3 years ago. i need to. my fiance would really like that. maybe next weekend when hes home....
    my mom- spaghetti. i hate spaghetti to this day.
  • DamienAngelica
    DamienAngelica Posts: 281 Member
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    Shake 'N Bake pork chops are comfort food for me that remind me of my Sunday dinners at my grandparents' house. My grandmother always made them with roasted carrots and potatoes and now I do the same. With a side of applesauce, of course.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    AliceDark wrote: »
    I'm a firm believer (to the point that I'm probably annoying about it) in the idea that "health" isn't just about the physical. It's okay, even good, to prioritize our mental health, and anything that causes joy is good (at least in moderation, if necessary).

    When I'm sick, I want god-awful, nutritionally-deficient white bread toast with melted butter and Sprite. I can think of a bunch of goods ways to make it more nutritious (toasted Ezekiel bread with mashed avocado and sparkling water with lemon/lime slices, for example), but the nutrient-dense version doesn't make me feel like my mom is taking care of me. That mental/emotional boost is good for me.

    I always want toast when I'm sick too. Gluten free bread just doesn't cut it.

    I've settled, after years of looking for something, for gluten free pretzels. Bland and salty. Ginger ale was the soda we always had when we were sick, so those two things are my feeling awful go-to's.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    AliceDark wrote: »
    I'm a firm believer (to the point that I'm probably annoying about it) in the idea that "health" isn't just about the physical. It's okay, even good, to prioritize our mental health, and anything that causes joy is good (at least in moderation, if necessary).

    When I'm sick, I want god-awful, nutritionally-deficient white bread toast with melted butter and Sprite. I can think of a bunch of goods ways to make it more nutritious (toasted Ezekiel bread with mashed avocado and sparkling water with lemon/lime slices, for example), but the nutrient-dense version doesn't make me feel like my mom is taking care of me. That mental/emotional boost is good for me.

    I always want toast when I'm sick too. Gluten free bread just doesn't cut it.

    I've settled, after years of looking for something, for gluten free pretzels. Bland and salty. Ginger ale was the soda we always had when we were sick, so those two things are my feeling awful go-to's.

    Ginger ale and poached egg on toast were my mother's go to when I was sick. And when I was home from school because I was sick, my grandfather always walked up to our house and brought me Wrigley's spearmint gum. He swore it could cure the world of any disease known to man. I don't see it around much anymore, but when I do it always makes me smile.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
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    When I was growing up, we would occasionally have scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and homemade biscuits for dinner. What made it special (besides breakfast for dinner!) was that mom and dad would bring home 8-10 different flavors of jelly for the biscuits - everything from grape to guava! Those were incredible nights.

    Going with the smells theme, one grandfather always smoked cigars and to this day, I cannot smell a cigar without thinking of him. My other grandfather had a fireplace and always kept a fire going during the winter when we were visiting - that small always triggers memories of him and those visits.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    @girlwithcurls2 Another vote for PB&Pickle. I may have to try this.

    @corinasue1143 I love that you are passing along nice food memories to your grandchildren.

    @mutantspicy So we agree that a traditionally healthy food might not be mentally healthy. I mean it has to work both ways, right?
    sunfastrose wrote: »
    My mom lives near me and is a good cook. We're both single so she gives me portions of food when she cooks. My favorite is her homemade chicken noodle soup - soooo good. Served with crescent rolls + saltines. She also does excellent spaghetti + meatballs, lasagna, chili... I had one of her meals for lunch today. It was chicken breast on top of dried beef, in a sauce made of cream of mushroom soup + milk, with bacon on top. Served over white rice. She would count it as "healthy" because it's chicken =)

    Oh BTW - my mom has always been a healthy weight, even with the wonderful cooking mentioned above. Moderation in all things!

    Make sure you get the recipes. I love her definition of healthy.

    I don't fix food I learned from my mother she fixes food she has learned from me.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    edited May 2018
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    seltzermint555 wrote: »
    I'm not big on Pizza Hut, but the little snack bar area of my local Target sells these Pizza Hut personal pan pepperoni & cheese pizzas that take me straight back to the 80s and the "Book It!" reading program, where you turned in book reports and eventually got a coupon for a free personal pan pizza. I swear they look and taste identical. Such a good memory.

    @WinoGelato has a similar memory so this reply is for her too.

    I love this memory because it is so unexpected. I don't have a specific food but the librarian at my high school would let me eat my lunch in the library (shocking I know) because I was such an avid reader, not to mention I was a charismatic devil that got away with all kinds of things.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    theres foods that make me think of people, sure. pretty sure we all have them. some i eat, some i dont lol

    grandma- stuffed bell peppers. i loved them as a kid and she would make them for me all the time
    papa- any baked goods (and really its where my love of baking came from) - but especially banana split cake. and i havent made that since he passed 3 years ago. i need to. my fiance would really like that. maybe next weekend when hes home....
    my mom- spaghetti. i hate spaghetti to this day.

    If I have inspired you to fix the cake I am happy. If you were going to do it anyway I am still happy. Enjoy celebrating his life!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    @DamienAngelica Shake N Bake was not a phenomenon that was I aware of until early married life. I can see why that meal is comforting.


    @GottaBurnEmAll and @lporter229 Ginger ale is always in my food first aid kit. My egg on toast dish is a fried egg over easy.


    @ccrdragon I read the first line of your reply and thought, "what, no gravy?" But then I saw the jelly party part and thought that was probably really fun. If you ever visit I will make a withdrawal from my humidor. I enjoy a cigar on occasion and I smoke a pipe on occasion too.

    I think I am caught up now.
  • Ninkasi
    Ninkasi Posts: 173 Member
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    Waffles, using my dad's recipe. On nights when my mom would work late my dad would cook, and when I had a bad day and he was cooking he would make me waffles for dinner.

    Now I make them sometimes when I've had a bad day and my husband, who's very much a "breakfast food is for mornings ONLY" kind of guy, will be on his own for dinner.
  • New_Heavens_Earth
    New_Heavens_Earth Posts: 610 Member
    edited May 2018
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    Movie theater popcorn reminds me of trips to the circus and whatever new blockbuster movie came out with my huge extended family as a kid. Even most of my date nights, single or now married, involved the movies. Great times. I still must have popcorn at every movie or event.

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