People like soup. It's what a psychologist would call a comfort food. Easy to eat, easy to digest, hearty soups are quick energy builders.

Studies indicate that most adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called "comfort food"—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother's poached egg or famous chicken soup.

After the relationship ended, she overindulged on comfort food every night.

In his recently published "The Thin Book by a Formerly Fat Psychiatrist," Dr. [Theodore Isaac] Rubin applauds "comfort foods" for dieters. He states that it is important for dieters to have a comforting food on hand that can be quickly prepared – "fat people are most receptive to comfort." At the top of his list of comfort foods is tea. He recommends it to dieters because it's calorie-free, can be drunk hot or cold and gives a little lift …

[C]omfort food’s power may lie primarily in the associations it calls to mind. People who have positive family relationships are more likely to reach for reminders of those relationships in times of sadness—and often, those reminders come in the form of something edible.

Comfort food

Meaning

Noun