Have you ever thought about the foods you crave?  Do you crave food at a certain time of the day?  Perhaps you crave food before or after a certain event in your day.  Many people can’t function without that first cup of coffee in the morning. It is impossible for them to do anything except make it to the kitchen to get that morning cup of joe.  Typical cravings might be for sugar to get energy or perhaps salty items.  I crave raisins.  Sometimes I crave raisins mixed with some almonds or cashews or walnuts.  A nice mix of sweet and salty although I use lightly or no salted nuts now.  Otherwise I don’t really crave anything except occasionally hugs.  I think it could be a good sign that a person is eating correctly for their body if they don’t have many cravings.  If your body gets what it needs it should run pretty much efficiently.

To help deconstruct cravings it is good to know the why, what, and where behind a craving. They are a number of reasons among them; Lack of Primary Food, Need for Water, Yin-Yang Imbalance, Inside Coming Out, Seasonal, Lack of Nutrients, Hormonal, De-evolution.  We sometimes substitute food for lack of something else in our lives (Primary Food) or we think we are hungry when we actually are thirsty (Water).  Try a glass of water first.  (Yin-Yang)If you have eaten something sweet your body might want some meat to offset the sweetness. (Inside Coming Out) Sometimes you crave something that is from your childhood.  A food that you consider a comfort food like macaroni and cheese.  Seasonal resonates with me.  In the fall of every year I want apples.  Not just any apples but the slightly sour apples that are super crisp that you get here in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.  (Lack of Nutrients) Certain cravings can come from a lack of minerals in the body or a nutritional deficit can cause a coffee craving for energy.  (Hormonal) Women can experience weird cravings when pregnant – who hasn’t heard of the ice cream and pickles craving or sending ones mate out to get something in the middle of the night because she just had to have it.  De-evolution is a strange one.  It tends to be a self-sabotaging thing that comes when things are going well and we eat something that throws us off and perhaps causes low blood sugar and mood swings.

More cooking took place this week.  Our guest Ashleigh Sawdon arrived with fresh Maine lobsters and after introducing them to Libby and to the fur crowd we proceeded to enjoy a typical Maine lobster boil with newspaper tablecloth and candlelight on the porch.  It was a perfect North Hatley evening.  Since Ashleigh was here for a visit we of course had to have a party to celebrate.

It was time to invite our good friends for a gathering on the porch to celebrate summer and being here and to welcome Ashleigh to the lake.  All of us got into the kitchen to make hors d’oeuvres including Libby as she insisted on making her “famous” cockroaches.  Not sure the name is enticing but the way they disappeared means they were very tasty.

Our guest lecturer this week was Geneen Roth who has just released a new book called Women Food and God.  Geneen spoke at our April conference in New York and I found her story very compelling and fascinating.  It was great to hear her again.  This lecture focused on having a healthy relationship with food.  When she spoke at the conference she shared her story of losing all her money in the Madoff scandal and how she learned from that experience that her relationship to money and food were tied together.  Here is a link to her website.  Click Here.  She offers on-line courses, her books, retreats, newsletters, articles and more.  You may enjoy her world.

This week’s food experiment was for breakfast.  I love poached eggs but couldn’t figure out how to have them and not on toast.  Sometimes I have them on steamed spinach but I didn’t want to go through the process of cooking the spinach too.  I had some beautiful tomatoes from the local vegetable stand and some of my own homegrown basil so I invented “eggs Caprese” although there wasn’t any cheese.  I sliced the tomatoes, put a dollop (small) of olive oil and balsamic in the middle of each tomatoe slice, topped with basil leaves and the poached egg and enjoyed.  Quick, easy and filling.

I have the big nuclear stress test on Monday so will be spending the day in Hanover, NH.  Wish me luck.  I hope I pass or whatever it is you have to do when you take this test.  Blood work and a Doctor visit to follow. It will be a long day.  I have heard from pals that the test leaves one with the ability to set off the alarms at the border when crossing into the US from Canada.  Those big yellow poles on either side of the lane are sensitive to radiation.  I was told to get a note from my doctor just in case.  This could be the real stress test!!   John says he is going to surprise me and take me somewhere for a quick holiday afterwards.  Katie will be back in North Hatley with Libby and Libby’s BFF from New London so we are free to have some time off.   Jack is three weeks into his canoeing and camping trip. The summer is going by too fast.  We will be heading up there soon enough to pick him up.
Have a wonderful week everyone.