Saturday, September 17, 2011

What do cravings mean and chilled sake infused crabmeat salad

Semolina with mixed veges and yellow peas
Food Diary (September 17, 2011)
Breakfast: Muesli
Lunch: Semolina with mixed veges and yellow peas
Dinner: Chicken chilli con carne with pasta
Baking/sweets:


Today's Favourite Photo
Chilled Sake Infused Crabmeat Salad



Today’s Favourite Blog
Source: Care2
Craving – it’s a phenomena we regularly experience. For example when I see bloggers mention ANZAC cookies, I start craving it. But what do cravings indicate?

Chocolate.
Craving chocolate does not mean that your body has a chocolate deficiency, though we like to think so! Chocolate is high in magnesium so craving could indicate magnesium deficiency. The chocolate you eat may not have enough magnesium, unless you eat a lot. Other foods high in magnesium include nuts, seeds, fish, and leafy greens. Personally if I am carving chocolate I will not choose fish as an alternative snack, though nuts and seeds may work. I don't want to discourage you.

Sweets
If you crave sweets you may be experiencing blood sugar fluctuations. When your blood sugar drops, your body may be trying to get you to give it more fuel to keep your blood sugar levels stable. If this is a chronic occurrence you may have hypoglycemia, which simply means low blood sugar. In any case it is important to choose the right type of food to bring your body back into balance. Giving in to cookies, cakes, candies, or other refined sweets will only make the problem worse and cause a blood sugar roller coaster that leads to more cravings. Instead, choose fruit when you’re craving sweets and add more high-fiber foods.

Salty Foods
Cravings for salty foods often indicate stress hormone fluctuations in the body. Getting on top of the stress in your life is step one. The adrenal glands help your body cope with stress and tend to become worn out, especially from stress-hormone production. Try meditation, breathing exercises, or other stress management techniques. Research at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City showed that people who take a break to breathe deeply or meditate before reaching for salty snacks reduced their stress hormones by 25 percent and cut the bingeing in half.

Cheese
Cravings for cheese often indicate a fatty acid deficiency, which is common in most people. Eat foods such as raw walnuts, wild salmon or flax seeds. Supplement with a high-quality supplement that includes the beneficial fats, especially Omega 3s.

Red Meat
Cravings for red meat usually indicate an iron deficiency. Alternatives for red meat include iron-rich beans and legumes, unsulphured prunes, figs, and other dried fruits.

Snacky
If you often feel snacky, whether for sweets or salty foods, it can mean you’re not eating a well-balanced diet and may be missing a variety of nutrients.

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10 comments:

  1. Whoa! Those crabby legs are nuts! I'm not sure I could eat that...

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  2. hahahaha i was totally "craving" watermelon earlier today....... the article is so interesting. i've read something like this before too!

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  3. Ooh, sake infused crab. Yum!

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  4. OOoohh ... aliens coming out of my salad! Definitely waaay too many movies.
    Ah, I only crave one simple category .... Food! Big trouble!
    There's that semolina again, bringing back my childhood trauma. :(

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  5. That sake crab looks funny at the same time great. Very playful use of crab legs

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  6. Your semolina looks so mysterious I would never guess what it is.
    I crave often different food products, but I wish I craved the healthy ones more often ;-)
    When I enter my butcher's sometimes I feel I cannot go out without black pudding (aka bloody sausage. A doctor told me it's an excellent source of iron (like red meat). I probably lack iron. This is probably why I also crave often steak tartare...

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  7. That is brilliant information about why we crave certain foods...A chocolate deficiency :-) and yes, I love semolina and love what you have done with it....

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  8. Parsley Sage: Crabby legs sounds…interesting!

    Junia: maybe your body needed water and sugar:)

    Yummychunklet: it probably is!

    ping: semolina trauma - if you can’t beat them join (eat!) them:) Pity that you get a throat ache.

    Angsarap: it is creative indeed

    Sissi: it does look mysterious, I agree. Talking about black pudding I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit recently and supermarkets have it on special now – noticed it in few places. Must be a sign that they want customers to eat more iron:) Actually I think since its getting close to Christmas many pigs are getting slaughtered now for ham and as such there is influx in supply of pork and blood. Pork is quite cheap also now.

    Shilpa: thank you

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  9. Great round up of what cravings could mean! I was just mentioning cravings and nota bene anti-cravings on my blog today. I'm currently having a pasta anti-craving and hoping I'm not becoming allergic to gluten. I still like bread though. Strange.

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  10. I really believe in listening to your body when it feels like something. Sometimes it's hard to know if a body is actually craving a pastry or whether your taste buds want it! :P

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