food cravings

I'm sure we have all craved various foods or tastes at one time or another. Why? I think it depends; maybe it's emotional, maybe your body is lacking a particular nutrient, maybe you've just had much of one particular taste and are now craving the opposite (sweet vs. salty) or maybe you just imbibed a good amount of alcohol. One particular instance of food craving comes to mind when I think back to my year in Germany. The other grantees and I had been there for over a month and were each coping with the difficulties and excitement of living and teaching in a new place. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon those of us residing within an hour train ride of Dusseldorf met downtown near the Rhine promenade for lunch. We passed various ethnic and German restaurants but finally decided on 'Louisiana.' Yes, we chose the one American restaurant and yes, ordered burgers and beer...I'm not even a big burger eater! Were we craving these American classics because we were lacking iron? Probably not. While we were enjoying living abroad, we did miss the American culture. Eating these burgers gave us a little piece of home and filled some of that which we were missing.
Sometimes we also confuse hunger or food craving for thirst. Last night, for example, I went out with friends and no, did not crave pizza, bagels or fried food when I got home. Instead, all I wanted was the leftover salad with tomatoes and balsamic mustard dressing sitting in my fridge. I don't think I craved the sour taste of balsamic vinegar (although, I love my home-made salad dressing); I just wanted something juicy because, in the end, I wasn't hungry, I was thirsty. Our bodies generally do a good job telling us what we need; we just need to be better listeners.