Having experienced the taste of cafeteria meat loaf in college, Jesse began to think of what made meat loaf that his mother prepared so much better. The taste certainly had something to do with it. So did the gravy. So did the mashed potatoes. As much as he liked his new friends in college, the memories of gathering around a dinner table were what made meat loaf at the top of his list for comfort foods.

The cafeteria version of the meat loaf was... well, Jesse could not describe it. His father, who served in the army, once told him of how meat loaf in the military could be really good, especially if you have been surviving on instant food for weeks. No matter, college was not the army. Jesse first identified the excessive use of fillers. Was it bread crumbs? It was not possible to really tell. It could have been leftover bread from the day before for all he knew.

Then there was the lack of recognizable meat taste. It looked liked meat. But what was it? Jesse began to understand why his upperclassmen friends referred to the cafeteria meat loaf as the mystery meat entree. Someone thought of the secret ingredient as leftover Spam. Could the source of meat have been leftover hamburgers from the day before? To this day, ten years after graduation, Jesse still does not know. But he does remember his first cafeteria meat loaf experience and jokingly calls it the college comfort food.

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.