A reuben sandwich, pizza, chocolate pie, fried chicken!!!
I've been on a diet for the past few months, oh, how good these would taste. Yep, I crave them every day.

I haven't had a recent craving but when I do I take care of it. Life is too short to deny yourself the simple pleasures.

I have what some ppl might regard as an unusual approach to cravings however, I discussed my theory with my doctor about a year ago and last week she says they have now commissioned a medical study to see if I am correct.

I believe that our bodies have the ability to be pretty much self healing if given a chance. Whenever our body senses that it is low on a chemical or nutrient the brain will review what foods it assimilated that chemical or nutrient from in the past, and we will get a craving to eat that food. By example, I had not eaten liver or beets in years but all the sudden I felt like I just couldn't get through the day without some and after giving it considerable thought, I think that was my bodies way of saying my iron was low.

All I know for certain is that I constantly get cravings for foods that I have not eaten in years, but all the sudden I crave them, and after eating those items for a week or two, I have no further desire to eat them.

Chocolate, baked custard, cookies, cakes. All the wrong foods. But I will also crave roast prime rib and fruit.

Lazypup, I have always suspected that the body will crave what it needs too. And I remember being revolted by coffee, even the smell of it, when I was pregnant; disliked meats then too.

Lazypup, it's actually a known and accepted correlation between cravings and nutritional deficiencies, so your hunch is correct. The body is smart and knows how to get what it needs. I get ridiculous cravings for marinara sauce! And spinach, which makes sense given I don't eat red meat.

A few years ago, out of the blue, some foods started causing my tongue, lips, or throat to swell. I'm trying to figure out which foods cause this so I can avoid them. One of them being cantalope. I love cantalope, and there are times that I want it so bad, that I can literally taste it!

Yay!!! I'm thrilled to know my body needs ice cream!!!!

Hmmm, Reuben sandwiches, Cobb salads and just about any other salad. My tastes are on the salty, lemony, vinegary side. Favorite snack right now is Tostitos scoops and Pace salsa :-)

I remember you mentioning this last year, Lazypup, and I was surprised at the time (and still am) that your doctor would say she wanted to study an old theory that was proven a long time ago. Just Google food cravings body needs, and you'll see what I mean.

I should add that sugar cravings don't fall into this category. :-)

I rarely crave sugar or chocolate, I lean more toward salty and savory-bacon, peanut butter, pickles,etc. Yes I know the salt is bad for me.

Herr's Cheese curls.

I think sugar/salt/grease cravings are more mental/taste bud/socially constructed cravings rather than true body cravings due to the amount of processed food we consume that humans have only been exposed to in the last century or so. The problem is the junk food cravings are so much louder and tend to drown out the vitamin cravings. :P

I'm linking the similar thread from last year that Lazypup started that has a lot of interesting info on it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Last year's thread on cravings

Paula Deen sometimes sparks a craving for something yesterday as she and her son grilled mushrooms :o)

Think I'll go to Cheesecake Factory cause they serve great portobello mushroom sandwiches.

For a while, I craved mashed potatoes pretty much all day, every day. I didn't give in too often, but I wonder what that was about. Maybe low potassium as I hate bananas and try to avoid them.

Two days ago I had a craving for a dough-nut. I haven't had or craved a doughnut in years. I was out grocery shopping and gave into the craving. I bought one apple fritter. It was so good. No more craving.

I'm not sure if this is a fact or one of the many 'Things I Think I Know':

Babies in utero react positively to 'sweet'.

My DH is a sugar/salt person. Never met a doughnut or chip he couldn't savor *in quantity*. Fortunately, he knows that, and limits the quantities.

I could crave Roselani's Chocolate MacNut Ice Cream, but I can't have it until we are in Hawaii! It has memorable chocolate flavor that 'catches' the back of the throat/roof of the mouth. It reminds me of the chocolate shop in the town where I grew up. They made and sold candy and had a soda fountain. I can smell the chocolate now!

I know the body does crave salt when we have been out in the hot/humid weather and lost it all through perspiration.
One thing that has always intrigued me is that people who bite their finger nails have something lacking that triggers this. Anyone know about this?

Oops, did not mean to avoid the question. I crave sweets at times or cheese. Guess the cheese would be a craving for protein, but the sweets?

I thought nail biting was more psychological, a stress response rather than a deficiency. Not sure though.

Cheese is also high in sodium - that is sometimes the craving trigger for cheese.

I only bite my nails when I'm stressed but it's not something I consciously do. Sometimes I don't realize I'm stressed until I look down and all my nails are gone!

I never heard that nail-biting indicated a nutritional deficiency. I suspect for most people it's strictly a habit in response to stress. It was for me . . . I bit my nails when I was young, but quit easily when I was having some dental work done.

Like wildchild, if I crave something, I try to get that food and eat it until I don't crave it any more. Last thing I craved was chopped beef barbecue from my favorite barbecue joint. I sometimes crave beef. I usually eat a lot beef anyway.

My "cravings" tend to be socially-induced -- as in, a co-worker had spaghetti yesterday and suddenly I realized I hadn't made spaghetti in a couple of months, so today a pot is on the stove.

I think I craved meatloaf (and mashed potatoes) last week probably after seeing the frozen stuff at the grocery (but also, with the lingering nasal drip and cough I've been having, I figured it was the one meal I could eat safely, since my stomach has been achy and my throat scratchy still.)

I made the meatloaf over the weekend, had a couple meatloaf sandwiches, the rest is still in the fridge.

There are some things I crave because I can't get them easily, like Chisue and the ice cream. One of mine is the key lime ice cream -- with graham cracker crumbs -- that a shop in Winston-Salem, N.C. makes. Delish! There's nothing in the freezer cases in my neck of the woods, several hours away, that comes close. The theory that you want the most what you can't easily get!

Just remembered, years ago I read if you really crave chocolate, you might have a magnesium deficiency. I am a chocoholic, so I started taking a magnesium supplement. It actually worked, I could easily go without chocolate. I should start doing that again.

Eggs and fish (separately, not at the same time LOL).

Every morning I wake up dying for scrambled eggs, a style I don't usually make for myself. And I have to eat them searing hot right out of the pan.

I have been in the mood for more fish and seafood type meals than usual.

Perhaps I need protein and minerals....

Dances.

I always thought that's why pregnant women get such weird cravings sometimes. Not only have the nutritional needs changed to support the pregnancy but there are two sets of craving needs and demands to deal with - the lady and the baby. I guess it makes more sense to deal with them together even if it's a gross combination, lol.

I rarely get cravings but when I do, I have the item and it seems to satisfy me after one serving.

I wanted fish today and got it YUM

Peanut butter is my big time craving.

I've had my fill lately!

I crave Doritoes every once in awhile and I can assure you that it's not because of some nutritional deficiency! I mean, REALLY.

Sometimes we have a yen for something because we like the taste.

Petra,
it is funny that you mentioned the magnesium deficiency and chocolate craving. When it gets to that time of the month, I want chocolate and I want it now, and the thing is I DON"T usually like chocolate at all. In talking to some herbal specialists and research, taking a magnesium supplement when the cramps start or PMS and continue through Aunty Flo's visit.

So that totally explains my chocolate craving.

I crave Doritoes every once in awhile and I can assure you that it's not because of some nutritional deficiency! I mean, REALLY.

Are you sure, Rhizo? Maybe you and Blfenton share a grease deficiency.

Sometimes in mid-winter I get a watermelon craving. I like it occasionally in summertime, but can't say I crave it then.

My big craving is about anything citrus, particularly lime or lemon. When we go to a Thai restaurant, I always ask for a fresh lime slice to sprinkle on my food. I already eat a lot of fresh oranges & drink a lot of orange juice, as we have a huge yielding backyard tree so I doubt I'm Vit. C deficient, but prefer grapefruit juice becaue of its semi tartness.

"Hand over the chocolate, and nobody gets hurt!" LOL

I have been craving a hot roast beef sandwich for 14 years now. When we lived in CT there was a hole in the wall diner that had the best food. Can't find anything like that here in the South.

This is an interesting post, since I only craved certain foods with two of my pregnancies. With the twins, I ate huge amounts of raw cabbage. We had our own stored in the basement and I was always going down to get a new head. With D#5, it was raw potatoes.....took me forever to get them peeled for cooking as I was eating them ferociously. It's strange, but after babies were born, I had none of these cravings. I took the required pregnancy vitamins, etc. but guess it wasn't enough.

One thing I really crave is beef vegetable soup. I make it just like my mother did and I think I could eat it every week.

Another craving is for pork barbecue from a place in Harry's hometown. I can't go there without having it in the little old restaurant with the screen door the bangs and bringing some home in a cooler, too. It's just the best I've ever had.

I crave sweets all the time :-)

Lately I have been craving avocado/guacamole!!! Like crazy! Wonder what that means, other then I love Mexican food!

I will have to try those magnesium supplements as I crave chocolate all the time!

Sometimes cravings:

Chocolate - been known to eat semi-sweet baker's chocolate.

Potato chips with bean dip

Potatoes fried in bacon grease (nasty for the cardiovascular system. I substitute a baked potato for this one.)

Polish sausage/Brautwurst - Not often, but very tasty when desired.

Raw cabbage with a little salt and black pepper.

Hamburger sandwich with a meaty double patty.

Oranges and grapefruit - must refrain from grapefruit with a particular medication I am taking. It interferes with the timed release of the micro-capsules.

There's some items in my list that are bad for the arteries, but that does not stop the cravings.

When PG with baby #2 I had to have a fresh pineapple every week. It was heaven on earth! I like pineapple, but don't eat it much-but back then it was a must-have no matter what the cost.

My cravings vary now, but never like it was back then. Just this week I kept thinking how good waxed turnips would be. I decided to make a whole meal around them and made a turkey dinner yesterday.