When people are asked to name a comfort food, many mention meat loaf. This is one item that is either loved or hated. There are not many foods like that. For those who love meat loaf, one of the special ingredients is the memories that go along with it. There are family recipes for meat loaf, just like there are secret recipes for other comfort foods.

Jesse Brewer, during his freshman year in college, soon came to the stark realization that cafeteria food can be either great or really bad. This was especially true during the first week, when upperclassmen were calling meat loaf the mystery meat entree. Curious, he ordered the meat loaf. A student employee, with a grin on her face, served him a slice on the generic cafeteria plate. It came with gravy and mashed potatoes, which were the staple of dinner on certain cold winter nights at the Brewers.

His new friend and dorm mate, Jill, told Jesse that he had better have a back up plan for dinner when she saw that he had ordered meat loaf. This flamed Jesse's curiosity even more. What is it about meat loaf that most people find either comforting or disdainful? All that Jesse recalls is the delicious slices that were prepared by his mother at home. Why does the meat loaf have such a reputation?

Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort foods
Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort foods

Cheer up wisely: Comfort foods can be made healthier (Asheville Citizen-Times)
By definition, comfort foods are generally not the healthiest.
Remaking comfort foods: Cheddar and beer soup (South Bend Tribune)
Healthful eating and comfort food don't have to go together like spinach and brownies.
Back to basics: Experts predict food in 2009 will be comfort driven with more...
ANDREW SULLIVAN/STAMFORD ADVOCATEFrugal fare such as bean soup can be a reliable comfort when money's tight in uncertain times. Food trends are fickle. They ebb and flow with economic times and over the past few years they've run the gamut...
The Recipe for Cool Weather Comfort Foods (Today's News-Herald)
(ARA) - As the weather gets brisk and the sun sets earlier, we find ourselves yearning for food and beverages that are simple, familiar and home-made. Comfort food is as soothing as a warm sweater, but it doesn't have to be boring if you add a little creativity.
Recipe Makeover: chicken-fried steak and gravy (San Jose Mercury News)
In making over chicken-fried steak, "we skip the deep frying, but with rich country gravy as consolation, you won't miss it," writes Jessie Price in "Comfort Foods Made Healthy.
Coffee and Chocolate Holding Up in Down Economy (AG Weekly)
In the United States, the true comfort foods are chocolate and coffee -which may provide relief for investors battered by plummeting prices for oil, gold, wheat and other products.
Comfort foods can be healthy too (The Charlotte Observer)
(By Heather Lalley, Chicago Tribune) Healthful eating and comfort food don't have to go together like spinach and brownies. It's just that we've become so accustomed to thinking good-for-you dishes can't be warm, gooey and soul-satisfying. But Jessie Price and her fellow editors at Vermont-based EatingWell magazine want to prove that conventional wisdom wrong. They've compiled nearly 200 ...
Feel-good Foods to Battle the Winter Blues (Lexington Clipper-Herald)
(ARA) - It's that time of year again when temperatures hit single digits, clothing gets heavier and it can be difficult to resist the urge to curl up all day under a warm and comfy blanket with an engaging book.
Cold comfort (The Age)
Justine Costigan savours a range of flavours that take some licking.
Kettle adds sweet onion chip (The Portland Business Journal)
Kettle Foods added a new flavor to its line of ?Big Game? chips.