comfort foods

In honor of next week's release of Michelle Obama's cookbook, American Grown, we baked up something sweet, and now we're onto another one of America's favorite comfort foods, mac and cheese.

I was initially a little wary of this version because it didn't call for making a roux, which gives most mac and cheese recipes that creamy, hearty texture. In the first lady's recipe, you simply stir together cauliflower puree, milk, cheese, and pasta, and you're ready to go. While I love the fast and easy nature of her rendition, it missed a few of my favorite characteristics of homemade, from-scratch macaroni and cheese.

To ensure a crunchy crust, I sprinkled some buttered bread crumbs across the top and popped the dish in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. What resulted was a bubbling, crusty casserole that — despite the unmistakably delicious flavor of cauliflower — could pass for homestyle mac and cheese any day. Mrs. Obama says that this is Sasha and Malia's favorite, and I can certainly understand why! Ready for the recipe? Just read on.

Let's face it: unless you reside in tropical climes, the idea of cold cereal and Caprese salad just doesn't cut it right now. Instead, you should succumb to that secret desire to enjoy the succulent, creamy, gooey nature of the season's finest comfort foods, from griddle patty melts to just-out-of-the-oven peanut butter and chocolate chunk brownies. Here are a few of our favorites right now; for more, check out all our best comfort foods.

Savory Egg-Topped Oatmeal	Logan County Hamburgers	Chicken and Sage Stuffing
Basic Meatloaf	Gruyere Gratin With Thyme	Peanut Butter Brownies

We have all medicated our moods with chocolate or pizza at some point in our lives. While experts know that certain meals soothe us, the exact reasons remain a bit of a mystery. New research, however, sheds light on the hows and whys of emotional eating. Researchers found that even without seeing, smelling, or tasting food, study participants were better at battling negative emotions with saturated fat in their bellies rather than saline solution. High levels of saturated fat are found in hard-to-resist comfort foods like ice cream and bacon.

Although the study was small, the results illustrate that the comfort you derive from comfort food isn't all in your head; there's a physiological component too — independent of our sensory experience or emotional attachment to the food. The exact mechanism is unclear, but researchers believe saturated fat triggers a release of stomach hormones that positively stimulates the brain.

We know that high levels of saturated fat are not good for the body, and while a bit of mac-n-cheese might soothe you in the short term, it's good to find other means of calming your nerves and buoying your spirit. Exercising outside can boost your mood, but what happens when you find yourself feeling down at midnight? Psychologist Dr. Susan Albers, author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food, suggests tuning into your senses rather than reaching for the Doritos. Focusing on what you hear, see, and smell, in a kind of sensory medication, can help you side step an emotional food craving.

There must be countless ways to soothe yourself without food. How do you calm your stressed nerves or fend off negative emotions that don't involve raiding the fridge? Share your methods below, because we can all use new ways to avoid using food for comfort.

Flickr User Worth the Whisk

We're huge fans of comforting and delicious scalloped potatoes. Usually they're loaded with cream and milk, but girla has shared an awesome recipe that's 100 percent vegan.

The Husband LOVES potatoes and several days a week, he makes hash browns from scratch. But in an effort to reduce fried and sauteed food, he decided to make these baked scalloped potatoes from Veganomicon. They turned out fantastic! The only change we recommend is layering the spices, broth, almond milk, and nutritional yeast instead of just topping the potato slices with them.

Get the recipe after the jump.