Slow Cooker Cravings

posted September 12, 2007
  by Pamela Chester, The Savvy Slow Cooker

Over the last couple of months, my eating habits have changed dramatically. It is as if my body has been taken over by a force not entirely within my control. And this is for a very good reason— I am happy to share the news that I am now in my fifth month of pregnancy! By year’s end (well hopefully by this year unless he decides to take a little longer) we will have our first child, a baby boy. And we'll have a considerably different lifestyle.

So you might ask, how has my diet changed? Well I have gone from being particular in one way that I eat to being particular in a completely different way. Before becoming pregnant, I was a fairly healthy eater— getting my recommended five veggies a day was no problem for me because I really enjoy all vegetables. I am a big advocate of eating fresh and local produce, especially when it is in season.

But in the first few months of pregnancy I noticed a huge change. The healthy things I used to eat, such as a lunchtime salad, became almost completely inedible to me. Just as all the great spring produce was coming into season I had absolutely no desire to eat it. Suddenly coffee tasted terrible to me. It was as if a switch inside me had been flipped which made me have the same palate I had as a little kid. It wasn’t that I was terribly nauseous more than a few days; I just had no appetite for most “healthy” foods. For the first time since childhood I really appreciated the value of simple (and quick) foods such as frozen pizza and grilled cheese.

I will never forget going to my sister’s for dinner when she had prepared a nice dinner of turkey meatballs, salad, and asparagus. As I took the first bite of asparagus, one of my former favorites, I turned away in disgust. I actually had to take it off of my plate so I didn’t have to look at it. Luckily fruit was spared, and all fruit tasted even better to me. One of my favorite things has been to make homemade applesauce (in the slow cooker of course) or to make a blended smoothie of fresh fruit, ice and milk.

My aversions have subsided a bit and given way to a much more intense hunger. The urgency with which I need to eat has increased so that now I really do have to plan my eating schedule. I used to be able to put up with hunger for a little while to hold out for something really great, or wait a while to get seated at a really good restaurant. But not so anymore. This is where the value of the slow cooker is immeasurable. I feel much better at the end of the day knowing that dinner is waiting for me, and I won’t have to scramble to find something good to eat!

And what about those cravings? Well I am here to tell you it’s not just an old wives' tale. While it may be more psychological than biological, when I get it in my mind that I want a certain food, it becomes my personal mission to find it as soon as possible. Mostly it’s ice cream, but also sour things have kept me really satisfied and I have started a ritual of drinking a nightly glass of lemonade.

So don’t be surprised if my next article is about slow cooking with pickles!

Cinnamon Applesauce Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 4
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 10 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 cup sugar

Put all ingredients into crockpot. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

©2008 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction of this article may be made without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.



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