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Cook the Book: 'The Food You Crave'

ctb-thefoodyoucrave.jpgLike just about everyone else, the folks at Serious Eats world headquarters invariably end up eating way too much during the holidays. So like lemmings we all end up in the same place in the new year, watching our weight and wanting to take off a few pounds (or more).

That's why we were thrilled when we received a copy of The Food You Crave, by the Food Network's Ellie Krieger, in the mail. Unlike many other healthy, light cookbooks, Krieger's book actually has lots of dishes that sound great and normal. You don't find too many healthy cookbooks with recipes for a meatball and pepper hero. So we figured a great way to start the new year's Cook the Book columns is with The Food You Crave.

We have five copies of the timely book to give away. Just comment on this post telling us what healthy food you crave. You have until next Monday, January 7, at 3 p.m. ET to enter. Standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.

Comments are closed: 708 Comments:

Healthy food? That's a bit of a trick question since just about any food is healthy in moderation. However I'd say that I frequently crave a hearty dish of brown rice and lentils.

good tomatoes, when they're right off the vine and warm from the sun

if i'm craving something healthy, it is usually a salad. though, i'm starting to substitute ground turkey in place of ground beef in a lot of dishes lately. thinking that the little things help (hopefully).

sweet potatoes are good for you, right?

I am really big on vegetables now and my favorites are onions, okra, zucchini and yams.

Oranges and low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks - two of each at a time!

I start craving simple chicken broth soups and steamed veggies with lemon juice.

Freshly baked homemade 100 percent whole-wheat bread.

Cannellini beans sauteed with broccoli rabe.

Salad. I'm with Feep on that. If I'm craving something healthy, it's a big bowl of lettuces -- of course when you slather it in dressing, it cuts the health factor way down.

Tomatoes and onions

I've recently rediscovered asparagus and brussel sprouts. Yum! And I always crave mushrooms, onions and peppers.

Minestrone with lots of cabbage.

Baked sweet potatoes.

tomatoes are great. i don't know if this counts but I also love kashi cereal

Hummus, either plain or with roasted red peppers. And sometimes I crave tofu, but I only eat it really at Thai or Indian restaurants, so maybe I'm just craving curry and spicy food...

Salad with ginger-soy dressing....actually I'm not craving it anymore as I just went and bought one.

I'll take healthy to mean low fat and that means lots of raw vegetables. If I've eaten too many heavy foods too many days in a row, I just want raw carrots, raw fennel, anything crunchy and refreshing.

Grilled chicken and steamed veggies.

Raw cherry tomatoes with a dash of salt and/or balsamic vinegar

I'm really feeling a hankering for pancakes.

Anything with chickpeas!


Apples baked in a little cider, lemon juice and vanilla, topped with cinnamon.

fresh watermelon

Buckeye cookies (chocolate covered peanut butter)

A mound of perfectly steamed broccoli, drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice and sprinkled with hot chili pepper flakes.

steamed broccoli

valencia oranges so juicy that their sweet liquid runs down your hands and chin when eating them.

i love oranges and cucumbers. but not together.

honey crisp apples. Too bad they're so freaking expensive.

pomegranates, raspberries, ripe peaches, and ripe apricots.

roasted cauliflower

Soba noodles, quinoa or short grain brown rice tossed with garlicky sauteed kale and spicy red pepper miso. Avocados. Eating grapefruit like a peeled orange out of hand.

I was thinking cauliflower soup until I read hrobb's kale dish. Mmm.

plain nonfat yogurt with cinnamon and nutmeg

perfectly ripe tomatoes, and cannelini beans...yum!

Fava beans in the summer!

And when I am sick, like now, I make a soup with veggie broth, orzo, spinach, red pepper, diced tomato, onions, garlic, and a lot of fresh lemon juice.

Raw snap peas... so sweet and tasty!

I love love love air-popped popcorn. I don't think I've gone more than a few days without eating popcorn since I was a kid!

butternut squashed, cubed, and sauted with fresh rosemary

Does sushi count? I also love tofu and edamame (boiled, with some nice salt sprinkled on top) and I second that air-popped popcorn above.

mushrooms also bell peppers

cucumbers daily - radishes sporadically

Butternut squash soup and fresh carrot juice.

juicy oranges

Gazpacho, any time of year. I also love brown rice, especially brown basmati.

asparagus, carrots, and blueberries.

I love fresh vegetable soup.

grilled chicken with fresh tomato salsa in a spinach wrap.

I tend to crave homemade soups. As some of you know, I'm a bit obsessed with soup. But I especially love the ones that have every vegetable in the crisper thrown in. And bean soups. MMMmmmmm...

Otherwise, sushi is one of the rare *true* cravings I get that is also healthful (as opposed to mac'n'cheese, french fries or cheeseburgers, which are the only other real cravings I can't seem to avoid indulging, and which definitely don't qualify as particularly healthful!).

Roasted cauliflower. MMmmmmm.

Grilled tomatoes, Edamame (unsalted) and raw carrots to munch on ^_^

roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash

roasted squash drizzled with olive oil and dusted with grated parmesan

An egg white omelette, fresh rye toast with small pats of real butter.

Natural, healthy, balanced - and darn tasty, too!

Raw apples and roasted chestnuts.

I crave PINK grapefruit -- oh so juicy!

I love chili beans, regular beans, fresh salsa, making smoothies out of fruit and kefir. I love almonds and cashews.

Homemade Hot and Sour Soup. I more or less use The Moosewood Cookbook's recipe.

Carrot sticks!

Right now I'm craving a baked sweet potato!

I love healthy nutty chocolatey cookies full of the antioxidants!

Dark Chocolate - it's the answer!

This past month, I've tried several firm tofu recipes and I'm looking forward to making them again, but would be happier with some new ideas.

On second thought - Never mind - Dark Chocolate is the answer!

baby carrots!

mmm...steamed broccoli, with a dash of salt and pepper (or even a tiny sprinkle of parmesan cheese... extra calcium ;) )

any type of roasted squash and vanilla yogurt with granola and cinnamon...but not together

When I lived in Kenya all I craved was the healthy foods I took for granted here in the U.S. Things like cauliflower, grapes, and celery... Of course my first meal back at home (Oregon) consisted of spinach salad and Pinot Noir from LaVelle Vineyards.

beans and shallots! and kale!

wedges of juicy, sweet watermelon

The Holy Trinity: Green Peppers, Onions, Celery

Fresh vegetables from my garden.

Salad. Especially after Christmas with the relatives.

Lots of great ideas, here. I have to go with salad. Raw veggies are great, too--esp. bell peppers, cucumbers, celery. I just love the fresh watery taste they release when you bite into them.

spinach sauteed with a little butter and nutmeg. I guess watching all the popeye really did have an influence on me. on bad days there is nothing like curling up on the sofa and eating an entire package of warm spinach. mmm.

broccoli, for some odd reason - and sweet potatoes

FRUIT!

Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Cantelope.......

fresh berries, low-fat cheese & whole grain crackers

fresh Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of walnuts

thick steel-cut oatmeal with fresh buttermilk poured over it

veggies in general. a nice assortment from a garden during the summer!

raw vegies, yellow peppers, pea pods, radishes. So crunchy

Healthy pastrami from Katz Deli

Roasted butternut squash.

Cherries! On a daily basis, I crave fresh cherries by the pound. And while pregnant, I spent an entire summer eating a minimum of one pound of cherries every day. And pity the fool who got in the way...

A loaf of freshly baked mixed-grain bread, butter, and huckleberry jam.

Fresh vegetables and fruits, preferably home or locally grown, especially my husband's tomatoes.

Shrimp creole without the shrimp on brown rice.

In the summer, fresh home-grown tomatoes.
In the winter, baked sweet potatoes

Hummus, nuts, apples, grapefruits, oranges.

I have been craving mangos.

Eaton Mess-low cal style - choped fresh strawberries, fat free Cool Whip and crushed meringue cookies all smooched up together and served in a small bowl.

Cabbage, always cabbage... slow-braised Southern style, or raw in a great slaw. I love cabbage!

After a hard workout in the summer, nothing beats a blueberry/strawberry/raspberry smoothie

Sweet potatoes, garden ripe tomatoes, any dark greens and black eyed peas.

Halifax cantaloupes!

Roasted sweet potatoes!

I'm getting hungry...

I crave grilled vegetables (any and all!) and also citrus fruit! Please enter me!

Steamed broccoli. YUM!

Healthy?? I just love food.

crunchy raw veggies

Apples, blueberries and granola with a dallop of yogurt

Fruits & berries.

I crave red apples..yummy

Fresh vegetables

I crave avocados, chicken spring rolls, berry cups, and broccoli

dark chocolate

I crave fresh fruits a lot. Mostly grapes and oranges. Yummm!

I have three.....
Oranges, Celery, or a big plump Tomato with a teaspoon of fat free Italian dressing!

cheese .... pure wisconsin cheese
Is that healthy?

Banana Peppers

string bean salad

Local fruits and vegetables IN SEASON - like peaches, tomatoes, corn on the cob, asparagus, melons, strawberries. Anything out of my own garden, and herbs I just cut. Nothing in the grocery stores throughout the rest of the year can quite compare.

veggies love them

Citrus fruit always fresh and juicy!

i love to eat raw beets straight from the can as an after-work snack. call me crazy, but they're tasty.

I love Tofu.

I crave fresh snow peas from my garden vines. I'm never had a single one make it into the house -- I just stand out there and graze contentedly.

Depending on my mood and the season...
Fresh Raspberries
Fresh Mozzerella Cheese
Seltzer Water
Red Pepper

Right now I could go for some string cheese.

Love, love, love zucchini!

I often get cravings for cantaloupe and grapes, or just fruit salad in general. It has to be fresh fruit cut up though, not a fruit salad/cocktail out of a can. I also get cravings for green and red peppers.

Nancy's vanilla yogurt

baby carrots

Sugar snap peas

really fresh sauteed broccoli rabe

I crave sushi and kimchi

Asparagus and strawberries....probably because they're not in season!

OK. I choose Broccoli and Cauliflower in a steaming Shrimp Bisque.

I crave cherry tomatoes and red peppers

brussels sprouts, kale, & broccoli rabe

Crisp apples..Fuji are great. In fact, any fresh fruit in season works for me. And did I mention almonds?

Believe it or not, I often crave brocolli, and I end up eating a lot of it!

I love to sautee zucchini, onions , red peppers & garlic in a little olive oil, then add some balsamic vinegar. Then i add some cooked pasta & cherry tomatoes & sprinkle with grated parmesan. It's really yummy!!

Fresh pineapple and bananas.

I try to eat as much locally grown produce as possible (in WI):
Late Spring: Asparagus
Spring and Summer- Baby Arugula, Baby White Turnips
Fall-Heirloom Apples and Pears
Winter- Winter Squashes, Hardy Greens, Sweet Potatoes

peaches, strawberries, watermelon, sweet potatoes

Clementines

Fresh vegatables from the garden

japanese sweet potatoes

sushi-california rolls-I think those are good for me.
Also almonds-yum and beans

Vine ripened Brandywine tomatoes

I love spinach.

Good bowl of chili on a cold day, and some home grown tomatoes!
Sour green apple slices, and oh yes PEANUT BUTTER!

Fresh vegetables dipped in spinach dip.

Salad with lots of crunchy stuff like veggies and nuts

almost any kind of fresh fruit

Broccoli. Love it and love pineapple too.

Raw Califlower

black bean salsa and steamed broccoli

Avocado mashed with black pepper on 7-grain bread.

Really good Hummus and fresh fruit.

celery is my #1

Fresh black cherries. Mmmmm.

Any fresh veggie of fruit

I love pomegranates

Steamed green beans with a tiny bit of real butter and garlic.

fresh green beans from my garden

Apples & other yummy, juicy fruits.

Pasta, as part of a pre-race carbo-loading ritual.

fresh garden tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt !!!

cucumbers, cantelope, salads, but most of all maw maw's corn

Avacado. Whenever I do, they're hard as rocks.

salmon - thank you!

roasted cauliflower

Salad on top of Rice!

Buffalo meat

Thanks for offering Ellie's book--she's great! Just ask my husband about cravings. He's sick of asking me where I want to eat when we go out, 'cause I so often say, "I don't care as long as I can have lots of vegetables."

Sushi is what I crave!!!

Strawberries and chocolate!

Artichokes over almost any grilled fish!

Raw baby carrots dipped in hummus.

Roasted butternut squash

Crisp, snowy, perfectly raw cauliflower. *nibble nibble*

Fresh mozzarella cheese! Soooooo creamy and satisfying!

Pei Wei's Vietnamese Chicken Salad rolls with peanut sauce, at 240 calories - a great lunch.

I believe that shrimp & grits are healthy because the last time I ate them, I was at my mom's house and the memory my heart happy, therefore, healthy!!

chicken stir fry

Peas !!! I've loved them since I was 6 yrs old !!

Oranges. I love oranges.

A nice ripe papaya would be wonderful right now.

raspberries!

Fresh, uncooked veggies.

Fresh pineapple!

Asparagus, spinach, salmon

Vine ripened tomatoes on toasted whole-grain baguette & fresh, just-picked lettuce in a big green salad.

Strawberries and Pineapple

I love whole grains, barley, rye berries....yum

raw sugar snap peas

Fresh fruit, especially canteloupe.

Cottage cheese.

tomatoes or cheese

lentils, or cannellini beans and kale

fresh green salad

I crave cucumbers, I'll peel & eat a big one in one sitting

Canned tomatoes, with a little parm. cheese on top.

vegetables, salad,

Homemade vegan chili with lots of different beans.

i like a great salad

raspberries and blueberries

fresh vegtables

I love rutabaga cooked with a few carrots, mashed with a little black pepper, its filling and healthy

I was craving sauerkraut but I took care of my craving earlier. I crave fruits and vegies. I also crave tuna and fresh seafood I wished my family would crave it also so I could have what I want more often.

Meatball and pepper hero?!! Count me in. I love them. There's nothing finer to dine on while walking on the boardwalk at the Jersey shore. Who knew it was health food? Call it what you like - fast food, beach food, health food. It's the best. Oh, and don't forget the onions.

I like broccoli.

After traveling and visiting family for 10 days, granola and fruit really hit the spot...

CHEESE PINEAPPLE

Fresh pears! And Lima beans

I'm not a health food nut, but occasionally I do enjoy foods that are considered health food. I do really like tomatoes, onions, and mozzarella in vinaigrette dressing.

Creamy and delicious sheep's milk yogurt

Cold orange slices, roasted asparagus and simple chicken and barley soup. My goal for 2008 is to eat healthier.

lots of fresh fruit (whatevers in season) for breafast and/or lunch. dinner i usually crave a chopped salad with various ingredients, or in the winter time i like to roast an assortment of winter root veggies.