I tried lots of things:
cookie
crackers
cheese
sorbet
fruit salad
Nope.
I'm pretty sure that what I wanted was something rich in umami, like Korean food, or a pixie stick filled with MSG. Sadly, most of what I had around that was easy to snack on was sweet, so I never really felt satisfied. I distracted myself with some e-mail and some TV and some exercise, but between activities, I'd stare pitifully into my fridge and cabinets and feel empty. (My life! So sad, right?!) I finally made myself a decaf latte, drank it, and went to bed.
The Indian leftovers I ate for lunch today helped, but I still feel unsatisfied. Does anyone else ever get those cravings? How do you figure out what you want? Do you have a craving cure-all?
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39 comments:
Good question, snick! I love to couple something salty with something chocolatey. And I don't mean melded together, a la chocolate covered pretzel. Nope, I'll alternate a bite of a potato chip or saltine with a bite of a Hershey's Bar or something similar, and repeat these steps until sated. My husband thinks I'm nuts when I do this!
Yes that happens to me. Blizzards seem to be my thing to satisfy what ails me in that department.
Why can't it be an apple.
Marmite! Does it for me.
Anchovies. On toast with butter and a squeeze of lemon. Ummm -- think I'll go have some RIGHT NOW.
A small handful of cashew nuts followed by a huge glass of water usually does the trick - nuts are better at satisfying my snacky cravings than crackers or chips because they're saltier and have lots of protein (and no carbs). The water is to fill my stomach a bit and balance out the salt.
OK, cashew nuts have carbs, but the ratio of carbs/protein is much better
Duck confit. What?
vietnamese spring rolls or sushi do it for me... but these are not exactly late-night snack options. If only!
-- Heather
Ice Cream is the current one, the richer the better, but so far I have not succumbed. Sometimes a yogurt will fool it, but with 100 degree weather we are having right now, only ice cream will do tonight, I bet.
I have no suggestions but wanted you to know that "pixie stick full of MSG" made me laugh!
Sometimes I get this because I'm a little dehydrated, so water works.
Aren't you pretty much vegetarian? If it happens a lot, maybe your body is trying to remind you that you need more of the stuff we herbivores get from meat? Protein? Iron?
Rich, creamy, haggan daaz!
Nothing better!
Oh, it's so funny how we're all the same inside :). I have the VERY SAME problem some nights (and it's usually at night, ever notice?). I think it's a comfort food craving - notice everyone here had different (or mostly different) responses, from fish to ice cream to nuts. Maybe the solution is, on a night when you get the craving, and someone else is watching the kids (I know, ha!), hie thee down to thy local grocery store and stroll the aisles, searching for your comfort food.
Personally, my cravings vary. Some nights it's sweet (so, ice cream/cookies), some nights salty (so anything from olives to pretzels to nuts), some nights it's anything carbs (usually peanut butter on warm toast, yum!). So experiment! This could be fun, Snick! :)
Yup, same issue here - I'm always searching to fulfill a "taste". I usually need a savory/salty item - leftovers usually fit the bill because it would be so. wrong. to order takeout every late night (it's not like we're in college anymore!). And if I do have a sweet, I *cannot* end the night with a sweet/chocolately taste in my mouth. A couple of chips usually fixes that. Speaking of... time to go raid the pantry!
When get cravings like that "feel food" is what I want. Like lobster bisque or Asian noodles, ummmmm
Pepperoni often satisfies my "meat" oriented cravings. :-) I don't often have "meat" in my house, but I do usually have Pepperoni. (Isn't that odd? I guess not... Meat spoils and Pepperoni doesn't. Turkey Jerky often helps too.)
pixie stick full of MSG...hahaha! That's great.
I usually go for ramen.
I also get those...I know it means I'm dehydrated but unfortunately water is about the last thing that sounds satisfying. Usually I just go for chocolate or cookies. Marmite on buttered toast is also very satisfying... But the feeling doesn't really go away until I, um, drink some water! I just enjoy the snacking part!
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans.
Oh man, I do that too...keep going back to the fridge hoping that the special "whatever" it is that I crave will have magically materialised since I last looked, usually around five minutes ago.
It's usually salty I crave when I get like that but sometimes I just can't put my finger on it...and I won't know what exactly it is until I eat it so I systematically work my way through the snacks in our fridge/pantry.
It's always evening though and a couple of hours after I have eaten dinner, I have been known to order pizza or Thai and have it delivered only to find that it wasn't quite what i wanted.
Most times now, I just give up and go to bed.
Hmmm, it's just after 10pm Tuesday evening here...had better go to bed before the craving gets me tonight.
P.S.
Forgot to add...often salted pistachios work for me. I always have to have them in the pantry.
Thanks also to those who suggested being dehydrated, will be mindful of that next time it happens
I totally know what you mean. Whenever I catch myself staring pitifully at the (full!) fridge, for long, lonely minutes I think ... what I'm looking for is NOT in there.
And maybe that's a metaphor, you know?
I do baked sweet potato sticks (shaken in a baggie first with olive oil and salt, maybe some cayenne pepper, paprika and garlic powder if I REALLY feel up to it).
I have that craving - I call it my "Dis-satisfied" state. I'll walk around saying, "I feel Dis. Satisfied."
Some days I just feel like something needs to be taken care of - I always think it's a food craving at first. But no matter what I eat or think of to eat, the feeling doesn't go away. I've realized over a long time that it's almost always my cue to go take care of myself. When I feel this craving that I can't pin down, that nothing seems the right shape to fill... it almost always means I need to take time for a hot bath, a good book, a drive in the twilight, to plan a few days off.
When it's that strong? It's almost never food, no matter how much I want it to be.
I can get very obsessive over snacks (but have lost 148lbs so need to be) I think savoury satisfies and for me sweet tastes make me crave more. So I do
Miso soup
salted pretzels
rye toast with marmite
I also know that the more I deny the craving the bigger it gets !
Hi Snick,
I have this all the time! My two solutions are:
1. a square of dark chocolate (really dark) or 2. a grapefruit
Both take away the desire to continue eating for me.
Susan
Trader Joe's potato pops. They are super crunchy, super salty with no msg, and low fat and low calorie so I can crunch and crunch and crunch salty foods all night.
But I agree with other posers, most of the time what I need most is not in the pantry. If potato pops don't satisfy me, then I know it's emotional.
I'm w/ legally brunette -- only i use dark choc. m&ms and popcorn. :)
I like to have gouda cheese and chocolate(weird right? but really works) or pistachios or papitas with ice water. It sounds very particular but usually does the trick
I HATE it when I have a craving and can't seem to satisfy it!
Lately, SPICEY foods are what's helping me. I made soba noodles with a homemade spicy peanut sauce - lots of red pepper flakes - along with shredded carrot and shredded chicken although I would have preferred tofu had I had any in the house!
I saw that several people suggested water - I've taken to drinking a HUGE glass of ice-cold water because oftentimes when I'm 'craving' it's merely that I'm dehydrated.
corn on the cob with a slab of butter, salt, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, always satisfies.
i just went through a bowl of ice cream, a banana, toast, pasta, and a glass of lemonade (not in that order!). a huge glass of water probably would have been better in the long run.
What about peanut butter and marshmallow fluff??? Another subject ~ what happened to Gio's blog? It now says I must be invited to read..sniff sniff. I read both of your blogs daily. Tell her that TBM wants an invite!
Trail mix usually works for me. Here is the recipe:
1 cup almonds
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 M & Ms
1 cup pretzels
1 cup whole grain cheerios
Cured meats, like salami or prosciutto...even cured salmon.
Olives seem to satisfy me in ways no one and nothing else can!
I like to have some olives stuffed with feta or bleu cheese on hand.
The ones stuffed with garlic will do the trick too.
Sharp or stinky cheese with walnuts work wonders.
I once read that dehydration is often misindentified by a body as a craving or as hunger, so whenever I crave something very salty I examine my day and total up my water intake versus my activity level and whether or not I have spent alot of time out of doors. If so then I drink an electrolyte replacement drink. If I just want something really salty then I have ramen noodles with soy sauce.
Just read the first comment and had to laugh! I do the salt/sweet thing, too. If they're around, some Lays chips followed by some semi-sweet chocolate chips. I try not to have them around, and then have evenings similar to yours where nothing really hits the spot.
beer helps
Oh, I hate those cravings! It's interesting to read that it mostly means that we're dehydrated. Hmmm...sometimes I have a craving to drink something other than water all of the time. Usually that means Diet Coke, although I try not to drink it often. I also get frustrated when I'm so hungry that I just want to eat SOMETHING, but I have no idea what it should be. My husband knows to stay out of my way when that happens.
You know what might be good? Kettle Corn. You get salty and sweet and crunchy all in the same food. Mmmm!
Cravings like that usually require McDonalds french fries or Chinese food. And I am usually PMSing when said cravings occur.
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