Comfort Food for a Rainy Day

Dark, dreary, rainy winter weather calls out for one thing!! Comfort food! 

When you're feeling sad or blue what food do you crave? Most of us want something that evokes an emotional response...chicken noodle soup and toast like mom served when you had a cold? Or maybe something warm and loaded with carbohydrates like macaroni and cheese to give you energy and a comfortably full feeling. Perhaps something decadent, creamy and smooth like a quart of Ben and Jerry's because you deserve it after what you've been through!

Regardless of what your guilty pleasure is, there is a solid biological reason for theses cravings. Chocolates contains alkaloids, nature's feel good brain chemical...eating carbohydrates raises serotonin levels in the brain, which immediately counteracts feelings of depression. Research shows that saturated fats - even when not ingested by mouth, but introduced directly to test subjects  stomachs by a feeding tube - inhibited feelings of sadness and blocked the stimulation of  areas of the brain which produce sad feelings.

Evolution has made every aspect of ingesting food as rewarding as possible so early humans would take advantage of ample food supplies to store as fat so they were able to stave off starvation when food supplies dwindled, which for most of human history, was most of the time!

Of course, few of us "need" to gorge on high fat food to make it through the winter, and this evolutionary response can lead to obesity and all its related health issues. We can also combat depression and sadness by going for a brisk walk out of doors, dancing to upbeat music or laughing with friends.

But...sometimes a little comfort food can really be good for you and for the soul! As in all things, balance and moderation is key!

Today, I am going to cook up a big pot of reasonably healthy stew! Here's my recipe...Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds stew beef trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Dash each of ground allspice, ground cloves, ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled cut into small cubes  
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 cups spicy vegetable juice *Or regular vegetable juice, vegetable stock or beef stock  
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 16 oz. bag of egg noodles, cooked

Directions

in a zipper seal plastic bag, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, allspice cloves and cumin. Add meat to the flour mixture, seal the bag and shake to coat meal well. In a large stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and brown the meat in the hot oil in batches. Don't overcrowd the pot. Remove the meat and scrape up the crispy browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and lightly sauté the garlic, onion, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery, about 5 minutes.  Return the meat to the pot. Add the juice or stock, the hot sauce and bay leaves. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Add more juice or stock if needed. Remove bay leaves. To thicken the gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly. Serve over noodles.