Sudden meat craving

[snowblight]

Has anyone else experience a sudden meat craving, almost where you wake up and think 'meat, must have meat'? I was like that today and really found myself staring at a bacon roll in Pret. I resisted though.

You're not pregnant are you? This happened to my vegan friend and she had a terrible time fighting off the meat cravings for 9 months!

The vast majority of cravings are psychological, some sort of nostalgia pulling you back. I haven’t eaten meat in about 5 years but still crave KFC constantly, it’s because it was always my go-to for sad/stressed/treat days so it’s where my brain goes. Just ignore it

Yes, I wanted a sausage and egg McMuffin this morning. I resisted.

I have met quite a few vegetarians and vegans who woke up one day with an overwhelming urge for meat (usually bacon) and given in to it and that was that. DH was one. It happens out of the blue after years of being veggie. Very weird.

You're not pregnant are you?

No. The surprising thing is that I eat plenty of meat substitutes as I'm a bit fussy with vegetables so it's not as if I'm not eating things that aren't 'meaty'. I've bought myself some Linda McCartney sausages to make myself a nice roll later which hopefully should help. Strange that it just came from nowhere. It's not like I've been missing it or thinking about it at all to be honest.

I haven’t eaten meat in about 5 years but still crave KFC constantly

At least they've got their vegan burger now which isn't too bad.

Add salt to your foods I find if I crave bacon I can eat salty crisps and it goes

Iron and protein deficiency I think.

Are you eating enough protein?

Is the food you eat dense enough?

Cravings are mostly psychological, but can also be because of deficiencies. Have you had your b12 and iron checked recently? If not, either get a supplement or up the intake of marmite, nutritional yeast, fortified milks, tofu and green leafy veg.

I haven't analysed it hugely in terms of nutrients so far. There's obviously a lot of new stuff to take in. I eat a lot of pasta, rice, noodles. Mainly wholegrain. Wholemeal bread and cereal in the morning. Fruits like apples, bananas and berries for snacking. Have been using plenty of tofu and meat substitutes in cooking. Drink a fair bit of soy milk and fruit juices. Probably need to add in some nuts, which everyone seems to recommend, for snacking.

I second the suggestion of iron and/or protein deficiency.

I just had onion gravy and mash ! That's comforty but still vegan

OP, I would try to aim for more veg and fewer carbs.
Green leafy veg are good for minerals and keep you full for a while.
Lentils are good because they are carb and protein and filling, and satisfying.
Pasta even when wholewheat doesn't fill you up for long and doesn't contain much in the way of nutrients. Brown rice is better as it has more nutrients.
Keep an eye of how many grams of protein you are getting and make sure you get your minerals and vitamins.

I had this last week. What helped was a meatless meatball marinara from subway 😂

I think I may have been a bit protein deficient so have tried to up-protein meals with things like chickpeas, soy yoghurt for breakfast and lots of beans.

Totally on board with those kfc cravings though @BuffaloCauliflower. There is a branch very near where I live and I have to drive past and breathe in those smells pretty much every day.