Comfort Foods for Uncomfortable Times
October 8, 2022
Author: Lily Miro
Editor: Alex Vena
Every month, without fail, it becomes time for me to lay curled in a fetal position on the floor of my room. On these days I make frequent trips to the bathroom, pop Tylenol and Aleve like candy, and try to mitigate my sneezing. When these brutal days end, I crawl out of my hole and try to pretend that my period doesn’t exist. Periods are no joke, and the stigma around them makes them even more unbearable to deal with - especially when you're away from the comfort of your childhood home and warm snuggles from your dog. So, in an effort to break this stigma and help all my ladies on campus out, there is a certain remedy to those especially brutal days of menstruation. In those days when I assume my fetal position, the one thing that gets me to uncurl my aching legs and move on with my day is, and always will be, food.
My classic go-to lunch for the first, and often heaviest, days of my period is a good old-fashioned chicken noodle soup. Specifically, the Whole Foods chicken noodle soup. This soup is magical. It comes in its own small container that's just the right size for a mini dorm fridge and tastes like home. The soup itself isn’t necessarily gourmet, but it tastes like that home-cooked soup your mom would make on rainy days- the one she put in her le Creuset pot while the hum of coffee shop jazz played quietly in the background. The soup is nostalgic, comforting, and feels like one big, warm, hug - suffice to say, the soup can cure the worst of your cramps.
Though nothing beats food that tastes like home, I often find myself craving something refreshing when I am on my period. When this happens, I have discovered that only an açaí bowl from Amer’s Deli will do the trick. As an LA native, I am pretty well-versed in the language of açaí, and I have definitely tried my fair share of bowls over the years. However, nothing has come close to the perfectly sweet, yet refreshing, açaí that they serve at Amer’s. The best thing about Amer’s’ açaí is that you get the same choice of toppings that you would get at a frozen yogurt bar. So, when I am craving chocolate - as I always am when I am on my period - I opt for a healthy scoop of chocolate chips, along with the usual mango, strawberries, and granola. As the air starts to get crisper and puffer coats populate every corner on campus, a freezing açaí bowl might not be the most logical option, but I find that its refreshing and reviving taste can cure the worst of period aches even in the coldest of weather.
My third and final remedy for the monthly cramps is a warm, toasty spinach and ricotta croissant from Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea. This comfort food is versatile in its nature; it can act as a quick yet delicious snack, or it can be a full meal - depending on how hungry you are. Something that I have come to realize about my period is that I am often in need of a quick pick me up, yet can’t stomach anything too rich or too sweet. During these times, the spinach and ricotta croissant is my go-to. It is a perfectly crispy and buttery croissant, filled with a deliciously warm mix of cooked spinach and ricotta cheese. Although it is a savory snack, the croissant has a certain sweetness to it that gives you the best of both worlds - perfect for when your cravings can’t decide between salty and sweet.
While I know that food isn’t a guaranteed way to cure the worst of period cramps, food is a constant - it will always be there when you need it and will almost never fail to make you smile.
