PMS: Tell it Like It Is. Your cravings, Babe (Part 1)

[maggiethecat]

I have noticed in the past few days, odd mentions of an eGullet Sister or three who has admitted to, er, unnatural food cravings during That Time of the Month.

For me, it is basically anything that isn't chained down. Except that apples and broccoli can rest easy. Likewise lettuce.

And for me it's not chocolate. Carbs and fat, my Sistergirls! Fried! Heavy cream. Triple cheeseburgers. Bacon. Pasta alla Carbonara a special favorite. I will admit to eating (raw) ramen noodles.

I have shared, and bared, ladies. What should I bring out if you come to visit me on Day 24?

[JAZ]

Red wine, red meat. Cheetos. Caramel. Not chocolate, especially, for me either. Red wine (did I say that already?). Cognac, which ordinarily doesn't do much for me.

[col klink]

Wow, ooops, this is Batgrrrl not the Colonel!

Edited February 23, 2003 by col klink (log)

[Batgrrrl]

Wow, ooops, this is Batgrrrl not the Colonel!

Well, that's what I get for forgetting to log him out and myself in before posting! Or rather, that's what he gets! He's going to be veeeeeeery amused by this...

Anyway, as I was saying, I'm a red meat eater too. Big time. During some poor phases (almost wrote poor periods) in college when I was living on grapefruit, milk and ramen, I would break down once a month and go to McDonald's--cheapest sourse of red meat (let's not split hairs on that one!) around.

Other than that, while I don't do the chocolate thing, I do crave sweets generally--and I lost my sweettooth when I hit adolescence, pretty much. But once I craved (and actually made and drank) a chocolate coke--coca cola and as much hershey's syrup as I could get to dissolve. It was wonderful and disgusting and I was up for hours.

Batgrrrl

[maggiethecat]

Colonel: Although I hang on your posts, didn't you see : No Boyz Allowed?

Batgrrrl: Your chocolate coke. A PMS classic!

[snowangel]

Salt. Meat. BACON. BACON. BACON. Carbs. Eggs. I've been known to whip up Eggs Benedict for a snack. Or a bacon, lettuce and hummus (or tomato, depending on season). None of my PMS munchies are simple. Gotta dirty a bunch of dishes and then bitch about it.

No sweet tooth here, either. Especially in the morning or late at night.

[awbrig]

[maggiethecat]

Salt.  Meat.  BACON.  BACON.  BACON.  Carbs.  Eggs.

Snowy: Yup. Come to my house on day twenty four! Carb, fat , egg, pork freakout.

[CathyL]

Red meat, very rare (Rosemary's Baby dripping chicken heart rare). Fat/salt, as in potato chips. Milk chocolate, which I disdain otherwise.

[Dana]

Must be BBQ potato chips - KC Masterpiece is available, but, almost any brand will do in a pinch.

Sweets are absolutly out. Only saltly foods.

[coastcat]

Ironically I just mentioned one PMS necessity on another thread... homemade chocolate chip cookies with a 1/2" (well, sometimes more) layer of whipped cream on top. Otherwise, I don't crave sweets at That Time, instead turning to salty and/or starchy foods. BBQ Fritos and Utz Kettle Classic potato chips are my preferred weapons. But...

This is just between us ladies, right?

And you won't judge culinary skills or tastes by anything we post in this one particular thread, in the understanding that our hormones sometimes make us do unspeakable things?

Okay, confession time. What I really, really crave - and eat - is something that combines saltiness and starchiness in a dish that I'd never let others see me eat, let alone taste for themselves.

Saute cooked macaroni (plus one sliced-up hot dog - this is optional) in a ridiculous amount of butter (three or four tablespoons) until the macaroni is a tiny bit crispy. Squirt in enough ketchup to give the macaroni a soft orangey-red glow. Add a generous amount of black pepper and way, way more salt than my doctor would want me to consume in a week. Turn off the heat, put macaroni into bowl, and swirl in a final squirt of ketchup (for a little temperature contrast). Yum...

[indiagirl]

definitely chocolate. any cholcoate. lousy, bad, too sweet low quality candy bars need not refrain from applying.

defintiely high calorie, vending machine cholcoate - think snickers bars for the three o'clock post lunch pre 5 o'clock i just got home from work snack. i do not touch candy bars during the "other" weeks

frito lays. plain. no ruffles.

hunks of cheese.

chilli abnd mango pickles.

lots of bread and butter. with the butter almost as thick as the bread. sick. sometimes i put honey on top. for variety.

i also crave long loud screechy vent sessions.

these being calorie free, as murphy's law would suggest, i am rarely able to indulge in them.

the vending machine, on the other hand is a few minutes walk from my desk at work.

bring on the quarters.

[indiagirl]

while i empathize with the twice-cooked macaroni situation, i totally cannot imagine consuming it ...

:P

no matter, coastcat, the sisterhood will maintain it's secrets.

[JAZ]

Salt.  Meat.  BACON.  BACON.  BACON.  Carbs.  Eggs.

Snowy: Yup. Come to my house on day twenty four! Carb, fat , egg, pork freakout.

Oh yes. Bacon. Grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches.

[torakris]

Wow, am I the only one without PMS?

I have never noticed cravings of any sort, but then I don't get mood swings, cramps, etc.

Maybe I should pay more attention, let you know in a bout 2 1/2 weeks.

Now if this were a thread about cravings during pregnancy..............................

[Anna N]

Chocolate - bars and bars and bars of it. Outside of "that time" could care less about chocolate. That was then - the cravings, and "that time" are gone - thank goodness!

[hjshorter]

Funny you brought this up...

I have been working my way through a large chunk of Ghiradelli milk chocolate purchased at Trader Joe's the other day. Also, red meat, lots and lots of red meat. Cheeseburgers, steak, meatloaf, etc. And water.

PMS cravings are weird but they got nothin on my pregnancy cravings. Those were strange and extremely specific.

[A Scottish Chef]

Wow, am I the only one without PMS?

No, I don't get it either, but somehow or other I manage to suffer from it a great deal

Is it true it's referred to as PMS only because BSE (more famously known as Mad Cow Disease) was already taken?

Maggie: No boyz eh? You think we don't require certain, particlar sustenance when PMS comes calling? I have survived in a house of four women who all turned mental at some point in the month. I learned of PMS, Pre PMS, Post PMS, Actual MS, Pre AMS, Post post AMS and so on.

During these testing times I learned valuable lessons;

1. Do as told.

2. Do as told.

Naturally, during these outbreaks of crazed, I turned to beer.

[CathyL]

Okay, boys allowed only if they're as funny as ASC.

[indiagirl]

or as obedient

;)

[Simon Majumdar]

I have found that there are only two words to placate a Girlfriend at this time

Ben & Jerry´s

S

[stellabella]

yoga and psychopharmacology have delivered me from many of the physical woes of the child-bearing years.

i used to like hot chocolate with whipped cream. now my cravings have shifted and i find i simply want protein--in any form, really, but preferably with a little fat and crispy skin, say roasted duck.

i get sleepy, too, so i might crave more caffeine. i am trying to temper that by drinking lots of water and simply--hell, it's so obvious--taking a nap.

here's a tip for women who really suffer: if you can commit yourself to really strengthening AND stretching your psoaz muscles, you will notice a huge improvement in discomfort. sit-ups alone won't do it--you have to stretch and lengthen those musclles, too.

here's a good one: lie on your back with your knees bent so that your lower back is off the floor and your pelvis is tilted forward. now, arms to the side and relaxed, lift your legs together to the "chair" position, knees still bent. now, keeping your knees pressed firmly together, roll your pelvis from side to side. imagine that your pelvis is a basin filled with water, and that you are tilting it side to side to pour a little out. each time you come back to center, you are refilling that basin from an imaginary fountain. the idea is that the movement originates from the pelvis, and when you start to focus you'll notice that you're really working those deep abdominal muscles. it is tremendously relieving of menstrual discomfort. i used to have to take about 2000mgs of ibuprofin to kill my pain. i have almost no pain now.

after working your psoaz, your reward is a chocolate truffle and a glass of wine. breathe deeply. you're beautiful, mamacita.

[Simon Majumdar]

here's a tip for women who really suffer:  if you can commit yourself to really strengthening AND stretching your psoaz muscles, you will notice a huge improvement in discomfort.  sit-ups alone won't do it--you have to stretch and lengthen those musclles, too. 

here's a good one: lie on your back with your knees bent so that your lower back is off the floor and your pelvis is tilted forward.  now, arms to the side and relaxed, lift your legs together to the "chair" position, knees still bent.  now, keeping your knees pressed firmly together, roll your pelvis from side to side.  imagine that your pelvis is a basin filled with water, and that you are tilting it side to side to pour a little out. each time you come back to center, you are refilling that basin from an imaginary fountain.  the idea is that the movement originates from the pelvis, and when you start to focus you'll notice that you're really working those deep abdominal muscles.  it is tremendously relieving of menstrual discomfort.  i used to have to take about 2000mgs of ibuprofin to kill my pain.  i have almost no pain now.

Toooooo Much information

S

[CathyL]

I have found that there are only two words to placate a Girlfriend at this time

Ben & Jerry´s

S

Especially Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

Stella, tell Simon about exercises to strengthen the Kegel muscle - I bet that would interest him.

[Rosie]

I have every craving that has been listed here everyday of my life!

Try Black Cohosh.