Do you get cravings for specific food colors? - PaleoHacks.com

Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-24T04:30:13Z

Just noticed that I'm having a very red orange week. I am craving carrots, red peppers,hot peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, red onions, red apples, and red meat. Yes... I'm eating some other foods.... but I'm also smoothering everything I eat in Romesco sauce, and I mean EVERYTHING. When I think about it, in the past, I craved primarily white foods like potatoes,bread, rice, etc... Since becoming Paleo, I've been very diversified in my eating habits up until now.

Has anyone else anyone else had these color cravings?

Answer by thatkate for Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-24T04:42:06Z

Sounds like your body is telling you what it really wants without all the signal disruption from frankenfoods, antinutrients and excessive carbs (sugar). My hypothesis: you need more of the nutrients that are available from foods with those colors. As for it apparently spanning "food groups" (you mention red meat), that could be because you just also need nutrients available in other foods that just happen to be red/orange, and the most obvious grouping of all these foods is color so that association jumps out at you. Still a hypothesis, but all I could think of at the moment.

Oh--or you could be an alien.

Answer by legup for Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-24T04:45:14Z

Yes! That tends to be the way I cook, too. I will think 'I need red' instead of 'I need a tomato'. I think of this when I am worrying about the fact that I know next to nothing about how much of which vitamins and minerals I need and what 'superfoods' I should be eating. I figure that if I am tuned into my body enough to crave or need certain colors in my cooking, I must be doing okay, and hopefully getting everything I need. Even if it is willy-nilly.

Answer by Frugal Jen for Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-24T12:33:09Z

Ditto what others have said: Yes! Some days I'll feel like I've got to add more green to everything; others it'll be reds and/or oranges.

And I learned recently that some organ meats are rich in the Vitamin A that's in the orange veggies; that could be another link between your plant food and red meat cravings.

Answer by Campbell Barnum for Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-26T18:43:34Z

Carotenoid food colorings that are derived from nature often have an orange hue. These include beta-carotene, paprika, and annatto. Some have antioxidants which can be healthy. Twitter @foodcolour

Answer by Nance for Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-26T19:07:44Z

I do find a plate or salad with varied bright colors very appetizing. I've found when I look at salad peppers my hand goes to the assortment package rather than one type. I also like to use red leaf lettuce and romaine with several colors of vegetables in a salad.

I think the color trigger is tied to vegetables and fruits only, though. In general I don't really care about the color of my meat and my only interest in color when selecting raw meat is "healthy" color although I think that's fake nowadays.

Answer by Caleb the Hobbit for Do you get cravings for specific food colors?

2012-01-26T23:09:38Z

For me food is not just about eating, but an all-around sensory experience (this does in some ways become a kind of spiritual/mindfulness practice, but I digress). So I look for a balance of colors, textures, smells, etc. This also, I have noticed, leads to me feeling more full.

It's also important, I think, that different colored foods (especially fruits and vegetables) contain different nutrient make-up. I'm a layman when it comes to nutrition, and I find that mixing colors makes for a more nutrient-balanced bowl. If you are craving certain things, listen to them. The body is surprisingly wise when not bogged down by 'frankenfoods'.