Knowing I’d be making a road trip to Baton Rouge, La. and back, I stocked up on audiobooks from the Fort Bend County Library.

One was by a favorite comedian – Jim Gaffigan. The title – “Food:  A Love Story.”

Gaffigan covered his obsession with food with his usual dry humor, but there was one particular category he didn’t quite cover: Mood Foods. These are foods that go with a particular frame of mind you’re experiencing.

Everyone has a go-to food for whatever cloud or sunbeam is hanging over his or her head, but here’s my suggestions. Feel free to add your personal choices to my list.

Sad Foods:  When you’re devastated, most of us don’t want food. But for the times when you’re feeling down or melancholy, ice cream is my go-to cure.

Not the off-brand chocolate brand but high-fat, high-calorie Blue Bell Dutch chocolate ice cream.

If all you have is vanilla ice cream, add a river of chocolate syrup, a mountain of whipped cream and top it off with a cherry. Lactose intolerant? Bake a pan of chocolate brownies and eat them right out of the pan while they’re still warm.

Comfort Foods:  These are foods from your childhood, the ones your mom, dad or grandparents made sure you had when you were feeling homesick.

These include fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, beef stew and tortilla soup. All should be homemade for the ultimate cure.

Sick Foods:  Most of us don’t want to eat when we’re really sick. But for days when you’re feeling a little bit icky, Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich is a must have.

Happy Foods:  This would be foods you want when life is treating you like the queen of England.

Happy foods are, lucky for you, almost all foods. Well except vegetables, anything low calorie or anything low fat. Greek yogurt is not your go-to treat when you get a raise or promotion.

Guilt Foods:  These are the ones you eat when you’ve done something wrong and nobody yet knows you’ve blundered.

Guilt foods are always eaten alone and, for the best effect, in the dark. These foods include Twinkies, Ding Dongs or M&M’s. The whole bag.

Bored Foods:  There’s nothing on television. You’ve watched enough TikTok videos to last you a week and it’s too hot to go outside. Your checking account is at an all-time low so you can’t go shopping. That’s when you turn to the foods on the “I’m-bored” list.

My top choice is peanut butter right out of the jar. Forget bread. Forget crackers. Get a spoon and dip away.

Bored foods also include Oreo cookies. Take your time – eat one whole. Take the next one apart and eat each side separately. Take the next one apart and lick the cream off and then eat the cookies.

Angry Foods:  When steam is practically coming out of your ears, you need to eat something crunchy and hard.

Tacos are a good bet as are potato chips, Doritos or Cheetos. Be forewarned – the bags are tough to open, so that could raise your anger level even before you start munching.

Celebration Foods:  You just got a promotion, a raise, the universal waters parted and you got a parking spot close to the entrance. A celebration is in order.

A banana split is the way to go. A tiny celebration can be observed with whipped cream sprayed straight to the mouth. Also under the banner of “I did great” is cheesecake, a steak dinner or a thick slice of watermelon.

Scared Foods:  These are foods you eat when you’re scared to make a move, staying home alone for the first time or there’s frightening weather.

Cut-up apples are my best choice because I have something to eat and the security of a knife by my side.

So there you have it – my list of foods to eat when the mood strikes. Happy, or sad, eating!

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.