Finding Comfort

How do college students find solace during the most stressful years of their lives? Some turn to meals that remind them of home and simpler times.

written by SAMANTHA LOZANO, CHLOE STRICKLAND and ANNA WARD

College, while it may be some of the best years of someone’s life, can also be the most stressful. Different students find different ways to feel closer to home and find peace. Ivan Moncure, Zoe Brown and Kaitlyn Wood are three University of Oregon students who have different meals that they turn to when feeling overwhelmed or upset. Their stories (and favorite meals) are all different — though not as different as you might think.

Ivan Moncure Keeps Things Basic

Hailing from Long Beach, California, Ivan Moncure comes from a foodie family that has taught him how to cook many hearty meals. When cooking his comfort food, Moncure likes to keep things simple.

Moncure’s comfort food consists only of Italian sausage, russet potatoes and sweet onion topped with salt and pepper. “[The meal] is a classic staple,” Moncure said. “It’s really cheap, nutritious, warm, savory and spicy.”

The ingredients are chopped up in bite-sized chunks and put in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours. The spices and grease from the sausage crisp the potatoes and onions and spread flavor throughout.

Moncure says this dish is his comfort food because it’s something simple that he doesn’t have to put much thought into. Because of the basic recipe, the dish can be curated to last a long time, leaving Moncure to focus on his responsibilities without worrying about what he’s going to have for dinner.

“When I’m stressed out by life, and I want to get my life organized, I can make this and I won’t have to cook again for a week or two,” Moncure said. “And when I’m stressed, I find I crave saltier, fried foods, and this kind of hits the ‘French fries’ kind of itch, but it’s not so awful for you.”

Moncure’s memories of this dish from back home aren’t so much of the cooking process, but the gathering of the ingredients. He recalls going to the deli shop near his house with his dad to pick up high-quality sausage. They would also get lunch from the deli and spend time talking in the parking lot.

This comfort meal is hearty and fulfilling, but it is also one of the many roots that connect Moncure back to his home and his family. “It’s just a warm and comforting meal,” Moncure said. “It just simplifies my life, and it tastes like home.”

Zoe Brown’s Simple Delight

In her Eugene apartment, Zoe Brown sits on her couch relaxing to the sound of music coming from her living room. She reaches for her Kraft Mac & Cheese, something that holds a special place in her heart. “I ate it as a child, but I never used it as a comfort food until college. Definitely not because that’s all that I eat. It’s so easy to make — and I am a broke college student,” Brown says.

This comfort food is not just an easy meal but something that Brown saw as a “special occasion” meal. Brown grew up in a household surrounded by organic and non-processed foods. Every now and then Brown sneaked over to her neighbor’s house to eat food she usually wouldn’t consume at home.

“My next-door neighbor was my best friend, and her mom always cooked Kraft Mac & Cheese. I feel like I had to sneak over there to get it,” Brown said.

The cheesy pasta isn’t just food for Brown but a symbol of freedom. “Now that I’m an adult I can buy it whenever I want, and I eat it too much.” Although she may be 20, Brown’s inner child still loves the food and can’t get enough of it.

Kaitlyn Wood’s Reminder of Home

When comfort food is mentioned, most people will often think of mac and cheese or mashed potatoes. But for Kaitlyn Wood her comfort meal is something that is a little different. She takes comfort in a meal made up of seared salmon with sauteed spinach and roasted potatoes. It was Wood’s favorite family meal that she would eat growing up.

“For as long as I can remember it has been one of my favorite meals,” Wood, a sophomore at the University of Oregon, said.

While only a couple hours away from her home in Bend, Oregon, Wood still turns to the meal when she is stressed or overwhelmed. “It always makes me feel super refreshed and focused for anything that I need to get done,” Wood said.

A human physiology major intending to go to medical school when she graduates, Wood can usually be found on campus studying. So, when she is feeling overwhelmed, she turns to her comfort food. While ingredients can be a little expensive, they’re worth it. However, she faces a different challenge with such a busy schedule. Wood rarely can find the time to prepare the dish she loves so much. While college is an exciting four years, it is also hard to live away from parents for the first time. So, even though Woods’ comfort food might not be everyone’s, for her it represents her childhood and the time she spent at home eating dinner with her parents.