Thursday, January 20, 2011

Cravings

I think one of the fundamental questions of the human experience is, "does this happen to other people?" So I'm curious, and I want to talk about cravings for a little bit.

This is coming into my head right this minute because, after a few weeks of having my eating all messed up due to an early class and no lunch break (been scarfing down peanut-butter sandwiches in 5-minute breaks and starving by the time i get home), I think I'm finally identifying the point in intuitive eating where my body starts telling me it needs more variety. My last couple meals haven't been very veggie-friendly, and I'm thinking later tonight I need to go get a salad. It's a great change of pace for me, to be really wanting this in more than an "I should be eating better" way.

But here's where the question comes in - I'm not craving any kind of salad flavor. I want Crunchy, and Cold.

I tend to get texture cravings far, far more strongly than taste cravings, and this is what I wonder what other people experience. I want Crunchy Cold right now, so some nice crisp stringy celery, or carrots, or baby corn, or bell peppers, would all be great. I remember a time in my past when I wanted Gooey Warm - what I had in my head was "brownies", but there weren't any even remotely close to avaliable. So I put a banana in the microwave and drizzled it with chocolate syrup. Not really all that close to being a brownie, but it was the right texture and chewiness. I  get Baked Good cravings a lot of the time, probably more often than anything else; if I'm craving Chocolate Cake, then vanilla cake will satisfy the craving better than a piece of chocolate or anything else chocolate-flavored.

So does that sound familiar to anyone? How often do you think your cravings match up to what your body is missing, and how often are they more comfort-oriented (I've got a feeling that my Baked Good moments are comfort food moments, since I get them so often)? Textures, or tastes?

2 comments:

  1. Yep, this is really familiar to me. Back in high school when I was eating one fat-free, vegan meal per day (loooong story there), I used to get cravings for plain boiled chicken breast because my body needed protein. Now that my eating is (mostly) "normal", I will get cravings for veggies - sometimes cooked but most often raw - when I've gone for a while without eating them.

    And I definately get the texture cravings too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't get texture cravings.

    I get cravings for chocolate. Not sweets in general, but chocolate, and milk chocolate won't do. This started either with pregnancy, but has continued. Since then, I tend to keep around dark chocolate.

    Also, when pregnant, I eat a whole lot more eggs. I go from eggs once in a while for breakfast to eggs for breakfast every day.

    ReplyDelete