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Back when my grandmother was a housewife, she said dinner most nights was meat and potatoes. This used to be the go to for family meals, especially during the Winter. Since a lot of us were raised that way, we are programmed to think of comfort food being heavy and starching …. most likely because we are trying to recapture a bit of our childhood.
Well things are changing and this generation is starting to create a whole new mindset… hopefully for the better of our children and grandchildren. The goal is to find comfort in lighter, better for us foods.
Foster Farms Simply Raised (antibiotic-free) chicken is starting a new movement #NewComfortFood.
Here are some survey findings from 2000 grocery shoppers in the US
Consumer priorities have shifted as consumers take a more purposeful – vs. emotional – approach to foods they feel good about.
Sixty-eight percent of Americans agree that they have to be a lot more concerned than their mother was about what goes into foods they feed their family. This finding was even more pronounced among millennial parents, with 75 percent of millennial moms and 78 percent of millennial dads reporting they are a lot more concerned than their mothers were.
Seventy-three percent, including 81 percent of millennial moms, say their idea of the food they feel good about serving their family has changed as compared to five years ago. This could be a driving force in consumers’ approach toward new comfort food.
More Americans, 34 percent, now favor a more purposeful approach to ingredients they eat every day than those, 25 percent, who favor foods that offer emotional comfort. Forty-one percent preferred a mix of the two. Out with the old: new definition of comfort food based on consumers’ prioritization of tasty, quick, healthy meals with fresh, local, healthful ingredients. Compared to five years ago:
Eighty-two percent try to make healthier recipes
Eighty-one percent agree they make an effort to eat less processed and more fresh foods; 48 percent strongly agree
Eighty-one percent care more about the quality of their ingredients
Seventy-six percent use more chicken/leaner protein
Sixty-five percent agree they prioritize simplicity in cooking
Fifty percent pay more attention to buying food locally grown/grown in their state
I created a recipe that I know my kids will love eating and I will feel good about giving it to them!
Fig Chicken Skewers With Coconut Rice
Ingredients
2lbs Foster Farms Simply Raised (antibiotic-free) chicken breasts
1 bag frozen semi dried fig ( found at Trader Joes)
1 jar Fig Butter (found at Trader Joes)
2 large yellow onions
2 cups brown rice
2 cans Coconut milk
2 cups water
1 cup dried coconut flakes
2 tsps chicken bouillon
Directions:
Soak your kabob skewers in water to prevent burning
Chop onions and chicken into bite size pieces. Arrange your kabob with chicken, onions and figs.
Grill till thoroughly cooked. Remove from direct heat, brush on fig butter and allow to melt into the cooked kabob.
To make rice, use a large pot, place on stove. Add all ingredients bring to boil, once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 min. After 20 min fluff with a fork, serve with kabob skewers and ENJOY
For inspiration on other great meal ideas, here are some examples of new comfort food recipes developed by Chef Dean Rucker for Foster Farms:http://www.fosterfarms.com/recipes/the-new-comfort-food/.
