I'm actually talking about food here. I bought a bunch of fresh fruit the other day when I went to the supermarket. Like a really big variety of only fruit I like. However, I ate all the oranges first. Like whenever I'm thinking "fruit would be nice", I almost always crazy oranges. I love mangos, plums, apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, and the list just goes on and on. But I seldom crave them.

I just can't figure out why, because I really don't think I like oranges better. I also don't think it's like a level of difficulty thing. Like pomegranates are good, but they're just a pain to try to eat. A lot of other fruits are actually much easier and more convenient than the orange. Yet the orange is the fruit I want.

I also don't think it's a matter of habit or routine because as much as I regret it it's actually much more rare that I have fresh fruit on hand than that I don't, and when I do (like now) I never really buy more oranges than other types of fruits.

So if it's not taste or practicality or habit...what is it?

Anyone else experience something similar?

-Kevin

P.S. I realize the irony that I'm comparing apples and oranges, and please also refrain from the obvious remarks about "fruits" that one might think of in this forum.

Hi, Kevin.

I almost always have a craving for chocolate cake and anything else that's chocolatey.

I'm not entirely sure what these "cravings" are, though. One could say that these things are all in our head, but that issue is still completely debatable. Some believe that we crave food we physically need. Hormonal changes are also connected to cravings, most commonly found in pregnant women. But since you're not pregnant, then that leaves the former.

Just a theory though, I'm not a nutritionist or whatever

I have that one too!!


LOL, well I certainly am not pregnant...I may very well be hormonal though!

Okay...my cravings depend on the mood.. Most of the times I crave for chocolate cake(don't we all? ), the devil's variety... chocolate truffle...

Other times I crave for the usual chocolate. I have a craving for cherries (the fruit!! ) and I simply crave for Pizzas sometimes. I crave for my mom's potato cutlets, when it has been a long time since she made them and I also sometimes crave for the tandoori stuff.

So yeah, I am prone to craving for a lot of things. Punjabis are known to like their food, and I am a good example of that..

BeaStKid
Who's getting hungry after writing alla this....

..........Well Kevin this might sound strange...but once in awhile I crave milk, maybe twice a year I'll get the urge for a bowl of cereal like Frosty Flakes. I get "kinda" a rush out of it. Otherwise I avoid milk ( afterall milk is for calves)

Often I crave candy, especially jelly beans and the like.

Cravings are fun. I want my steak period…
I do buy fruit cause I should, but rarely eat them. No idea why, I see some bananas or an orange and I just pass it up. But I love my vegetables, I’d be perfectly happy to make a meal out of a giant plate of broccoli, no butter or cheese needed, even raw sometimes. Spinach, asparagus, cabbage, raw mushrooms, I love it all; usually with a steak =)

And I know I’m a freak cause I don’t like chocolate much. A little in something sure, but its easy to be too much; and never just a strait chocolate bar. I love anything coffee flavored, candy and ice cream especially, and Mocha almond fudge used to be the favorite ice cream, but it got to the point I would say damn there’s just too much frikkin fudge in here ruining it!

I sometimes crave icecream and/or chocolate. Also, I have been known to crave a burger or some pizza.

I'm a big believer that we crave things that we are missing in our diet. That's not to say that we don't crave things for other reasons, but I believe that when our body wants something, you crave it.

So I have odd eating habits, not a big fan of meat for numerous reasons and don't get a lot of iron or protein. I tend to be borderline anemic, actually. Every once in a while I actually crave meat (no jokes please). Like, I really WANT steak. I don't like steak, but if I get one at a time like this, I will eat the whole thing. It is extremely odd.

I also crave other foods a lot. Sometimes my mom's cooking or just something I like. It usually tends to be either salty or pasta or bread. I really crave bread when I am hung over.

Bingo! That's exactly what I was going to say. Once you learn to appreciate your body it will often let you know what it needs.

That not only includes oranges, but also steak, ice cream, milk, chocolate, steaks, et cetera.

I hope that is the case with chocolate and ice cream.

Apparently, my body just needs chocolate mousse and instant noodles. I wonder if this level of neediness is affected by dietary habit, as opposed to metabolic need. Of course, once you've made a habit of what you eat, your body might adapt towards making it what you need. It's almost like an addiction. Yes, addicted to food. Lovely.

I'd probably not have said the above if I ever craved healthy food. Sadly that's never happened.

Yes, of course it's affected by dietary habit. That's why I emphasized you need to appreciate your body in order to know what it needs as opposed to what you want.

I have a strong craving for Orange juice. If I don't have any for awhile, I can down a whole gallon in a span of four days.. lol. It's a healthy juice to drink, but I do crave that more than anything. I also have a craving for cucumbers as well. I did learn that people crave sweet and salty foods, the whole reason we add enough salt to things to taste the change is because our body is making us crave it. So we are definitely prone to having strong cravings.

We don't crave sour and bitter tasting foods because our bodies apply those to potentially dangerous substances.

You're not the only one who craves milk. Though, for me, it's at the oddest times. I usually get one in the middle of the night. I'll wake up, grab a big cup of milk, grab a book and drink the milk. Wait half an hour, go back to bed.
Though, on occasion I'll have the oddest craving for strawberry cake or lemon cake with homemade peanut butter frosting. And I'm not fond of either cake flavor.

There are different sorts of cravings but the most basic kind tells our mind what our bodies really need to eat.

Granted, you don't need carrot cake, but there is a pleasure payoff when you satisfy a craving which is positive reinforcement for getting what your body needs.

Other sorts of cravings, like for carrot cake and choclate, may be based in a need and a want- the need: low blood sugar and want: choclate.

Odd cravings during pregnancy are definitly hormonal and be careful with them. Giving into odd cravings during pregnancy can make you real sick (as if preganacy wasn't quite enough to handle).

I've actually been craving some Chinese food, but the Chinese restaurant was closed. I ended up having Mexican food instead. I still want some shrimp fried rice and crab rangoons.

Odd cravings during pregnancy can be based on dietary needs as well, though the body can get confused sometimes -- for example, if you need calcium, you may crave chalk, which isn't a great thing to eat. (This happened to a friend of mine.) Lucky for me I only craved chicken and doughnuts (no, not at the same time )

It was interesting, too, how so many foods and smells made me sick during pregnancy. Like, close-to-vomiting sick. Almost everything, in fact, apart from chicken and doughnuts. That might be some kind of mechanism designed to protect pregnant women from unknown foods... I think?

I like chicken and doughnuts too. I'm not sure why some food makes pregnant women sick. That is something good to research though.

All my sister wanted during both pregnancies were salt & vinegar potato chips. I'm not sure she ate anything else for each nine month gestation period.

Tim, are you trying to let us know you're pregnant?

Right now I'm craving coffee and it's *late*!! And my banana cake isn't done yet... I might end up staying up all night!



I love that knife-and-fork smiley... looks quite European, too, makes me feel at home. And yes, if one loves chicken and doughnuts one just has to be pregnant, there's no other explanation.

It's actually a twig...

What's a twig?

The thing that poking smiley has in its hand...

I'm insulted and I'm craving doing this to you: .

I dare you to call that a twig!

roflmao It looked like a twig!! But on seeing the second smiley and comparing, I'm sure its a twig! The second smiley has a hand...

Err...wasn't there a topic for this thread?

*checks*

Oh yeah...cravings....

Hmmm...i don't know about y'all, but I'm craving a pizza right now...

I don't think I can post what I'm craving. But I'm definitely craving something!

I was referring to the one that has a stabbing tool in its left hand and a cutting tool in its right... Not the one with the twig. The one with the twig is also nice.

A twig? I'm sure they're full of vitamins... And this thread is about food, I'm sure you can't have meant anything else...

I often find myself craving mint chocalate chip ice cream.

Also, I often crave orange, apple, or grape juice.

Often, if I've gone a while without something sweet, I'll develop a craving for cake, or cookies.

Hmm... you crave a cuddly kitty cat?

I crave Orange Juice, or a type of apples,

Hmmmm... I wonder what cuddly kitty cat you're referring to, but I am a cuddly kitty cat.

Well I know I'm craving a cuddly kitty cat

I cannot say exactly what I am craving, but you can probably guess.

... Pudding?

We can call it that. I do not object. Pudding is so delicious, especially vanilla.

Thats one of my favorite flavors too...

Though i also like pudding with some carmel flavoring...

Caramel pudding is definitely good. Chocolate is good too. It's absolutely scrumptious.

Are you calling me a detritivore?


Hmm. He is delicious. But I'm sure you stand a better chance with him than I do. In his eyes I'm an old man. Kids... Experience counts for nothing these days.


Doesn't this belong in the annoying euphemisms thread?


Every once in awhile I get a craving for orange juice. I really should know better than to give in because it always gives me heartburn. What kind of apple are you referring to? I happen to love Fuji apples. Oddly enough this Japanese apple is the result of having crossbred two American apples.

I have no idea what you are talking about. I find most kinds of pudding to be absolutely delicious. If you do not like pudding, then that is a personal problem

You are correct about that. Perhaps Gary's mind is in the gutter. I have no idea how pudding could ever be a euphemism.

Wow, I can't recall the last time I've seen so much defensiveness.

Pudding is thick, creamy and tasty. Enough said!

I'm not being defensive. I just like pudding.

I'm craving a hamburger.

In an attempt to get back on-topic, is this really a craving or merely a desire?

I wanted a cheeseburger for lunch today so I had one. That was a desire.

On the other hand I have a craving for chocolate today.

I don't care what kind of chocolate. I'm just craving chocolate.

In my mind, and in keeping with the theme of this thread, that suggests to me there must be something in chocolate my body needs.

You can call it a need or a craving. To me they're the same thing and completely different from a desire.

I'm craving something with beef in it. That's all I really know. It could be a regular burger or something else.

OK, that's fair enough. Your body needs something found in beef. Therefore any beef will do. It doesn't have to be a burger. IMO that's a legitimate craving.

That's not necessarily true. When my mother was pregnant with my older sister, she craved sour. To this day, my sister just peels and eats lemons as if they were oranges.

During my first pregnancy, I didn't crave a particular food, but I did crave cold. I lived on salads, grapes and applesauce.

Sharon

Yes, I was going to say something to that effect. Like maybe your body needs something sweet, and whether you reach for an apple or an apple pie all depends on your habits and choices.


Or maybe it's an ingenious mechanism to make KFC and Dunkn' Donuts rich?

*gasp* You think my gene switches had been tampered with?! I wouldn't put it past them... Though, of course, we don't have KFC and Dunkin' Donuts here.