craving good food.

These beauties are from the farmer's market.
I need to grow more varieties next summer.

I have been craving good food lately...greens and beets and tomatoes and onions and mushrooms and beef and fresh fruit and cheese. Especially greens. I can't seem to get enough of them.

Admittedly, my diet hasn't been the healthiest lately. Especially while working full days, I eat too much fast food at lunch and then get lazy about dinner because I'm worn out from work and eat too much fast food then. And if not fast, something quick and easy and...processed.

So when I start craving good food, and when nothing else will satisfy, I know that there is a reason for it...my body needs nutrients.

If you listen, your body will tell you exactly what it needs.

When my body needs Iron I begin to crave oatmeal and greens and whole wheat quesadillas with mushrooms, spinach and onion. I am always a bit deficient in Iron, apparently.  I learned this when, for the third time, I was unable to give blood because it was Iron deficient. So when I need it, my body tells me, loud and clear.

Lately I've been craving onions, greens (like crazy!), mushrooms and beets. I am drawn to them at the farmer's market. I can't stop thinking about garden fresh tomatoes. I am making sure I have a big Costco sized bag of broccoli florets on hand at all times so I can steam it, stir-fry it or mix it up into a tasty salad. I've had a mixed green salad for lunch and dinner for the past few days. And do you ever get those slaw kits at the grocery store? I especially like the Asian kit and make it often, making sure to add extra cabbage.

Because I was craving such specific foods I decided to see what nutritional quality each of them contained, and do you know that everything I've been craving contains Vitamin C? Here I was thinking that my body needed Iron (and I'm sure it did, it always does), but apparently it also needed Vitamin C.

I mean, of course, our bodies always need all of this good stuff. But when we don't eat well, our bodies need it even more, crave it in my case (and probably yours, too), and won't be satisfied with anything else.

Do you ever notice that? You're hungry, and you want something, you just can't quite put your finger on it. So you eat whatever is convenient, or fast and you walk (or drive) away feeling unsatisfied. Full, maybe. But unsatisfied.

I hate that feeling.

(I just had a thought...I didn't include it specifically, but I'm going to add something to my manifesto...listen to my body. Feed it what it asks me to feed it...within reason, of course. I'll have to be careful because I'm pretty sure my body thinks that ice cream is a balanced meal. We'll have to work on that...)

Here's a list of foods rich in Vitamin C as well as all the reasons our body needs it. Scroll down for the complete list.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure there will be times when my body will tell me that I need a bacon cheeseburger, or a yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting. And I will listen then, too. What? Those are good foods, too. Maybe just not good for you. Ahem.

I like to think of it as balance. Or as my grandparent's said...all things in moderation. (And they lived into their 90's so they must have done something right!)

*wink*