And I need to eat THIS and only THIS!
Such a cliché, isn't it? A pregnant woman and her cravings? Well, yes, I've certainly had my share, and I guess it is time to 'fess up.
Before going into the nasty details, though, I have to make just one thing crystal clear: by and large, my cravings have been satisfied with a single dose. Well, the unhealthiest cravings, at least. And my most constant cravings have been healthful. (Ok, so there were two things I apparently needed to make crystal clear.)
Pickles and ice cream? No. Well, not together, anyway, but one afternoon during the first trimester I did have a sudden, inexplicable craving for bread and butter pickles. And as for ice cream... I've had terrible heartburn, and that got me started. Maria told me popsicles worked for her, so I ran out to the grocery store to buy some. Hm, those frozen yogurt bars look good, too. Oh, Fudgsicles! I haven't had those in years! I went to the checkout with my pile of ice creamy goodies, rushed home, ate one, and was happy.
The next day, I was back to my dominant craving: fresh fruit and raw veggies. So off to another grocery store I went, and filled my cart exclusively with fruit and veggies. "Wow, what a healthy order," the cashier commented. Yeah, good thing she hadn't seen me the day before...
In my first trimester, I craved oranges. I simply couldn't get enough oranges. You could have plunked me into the middle of an orange grove somewhere in Florida; I would have gorged myself, burped, and then asked for even more. More than once, lunch has consisted of raw veggies with lemon dill dip, usually followed with a chaser of fresh fruit. Watermelon has been a life-long favourite, and has seemed especially tasty these last few months, and both canteloupe and honeydew have had their turns in the melon-craving rotation. Fruit salad keeps me going some days. (I gorged myself on one while at Boston's Quincy Market.) Tabouleh, hummous, Caprese salad, tossed salad... all make me very very happy.
I've craved chocolate cake on occasion (satisfied with a trip - or two - to Cupcakes new location on West Broadway), and chocolate pudding while we were in Boston. One stubborn craving that just wouldn't go away with a single dose (or three, or five) was for Nanaimo bars. In the end, I made a batch, froze half the sheet, and allowed myself to nibble on the rest over several days. That seemed to have worked, as I've only retrieved one from the freezer so far.
And then there's protein. Cheese, steak, bacon, whatever. I just need it. Sometimes I need it more than I need oxygen.
I've bought a couple of chocolate bars, but haven't eaten them. Granted, I rarely eat plain old chocolate bars; I've long preferred a small piece of very high quality dark chocolate to a lump of American-style sugary, sickly-sweet milk chocolate. But, then, apparently whether or not I actually like something seems to be of little consequence. My list of astonishment and/or shame:
But it is.
Oh, the shame!!
Before going into the nasty details, though, I have to make just one thing crystal clear: by and large, my cravings have been satisfied with a single dose. Well, the unhealthiest cravings, at least. And my most constant cravings have been healthful. (Ok, so there were two things I apparently needed to make crystal clear.)
Pickles and ice cream? No. Well, not together, anyway, but one afternoon during the first trimester I did have a sudden, inexplicable craving for bread and butter pickles. And as for ice cream... I've had terrible heartburn, and that got me started. Maria told me popsicles worked for her, so I ran out to the grocery store to buy some. Hm, those frozen yogurt bars look good, too. Oh, Fudgsicles! I haven't had those in years! I went to the checkout with my pile of ice creamy goodies, rushed home, ate one, and was happy.
The next day, I was back to my dominant craving: fresh fruit and raw veggies. So off to another grocery store I went, and filled my cart exclusively with fruit and veggies. "Wow, what a healthy order," the cashier commented. Yeah, good thing she hadn't seen me the day before...
In my first trimester, I craved oranges. I simply couldn't get enough oranges. You could have plunked me into the middle of an orange grove somewhere in Florida; I would have gorged myself, burped, and then asked for even more. More than once, lunch has consisted of raw veggies with lemon dill dip, usually followed with a chaser of fresh fruit. Watermelon has been a life-long favourite, and has seemed especially tasty these last few months, and both canteloupe and honeydew have had their turns in the melon-craving rotation. Fruit salad keeps me going some days. (I gorged myself on one while at Boston's Quincy Market.) Tabouleh, hummous, Caprese salad, tossed salad... all make me very very happy.
I've craved chocolate cake on occasion (satisfied with a trip - or two - to Cupcakes new location on West Broadway), and chocolate pudding while we were in Boston. One stubborn craving that just wouldn't go away with a single dose (or three, or five) was for Nanaimo bars. In the end, I made a batch, froze half the sheet, and allowed myself to nibble on the rest over several days. That seemed to have worked, as I've only retrieved one from the freezer so far.
And then there's protein. Cheese, steak, bacon, whatever. I just need it. Sometimes I need it more than I need oxygen.
I've bought a couple of chocolate bars, but haven't eaten them. Granted, I rarely eat plain old chocolate bars; I've long preferred a small piece of very high quality dark chocolate to a lump of American-style sugary, sickly-sweet milk chocolate. But, then, apparently whether or not I actually like something seems to be of little consequence. My list of astonishment and/or shame:
- Relish. I don't actually even like relish, but just now I cannot fathom a burger or hot dog without a slathering of Bick's green relish. Ew!
- McDonald's. I've been there three times. So far. Once, just for fries, once for a Big Mac, fries, and a pop, and once for an Egg McMuffin and hashbrowns.
- Kool-Aid. Read all about it.
- Clotted cream. Ok, something I like anyway, but honestly I've never craved it before. (I must make scones. They'll be great with the cream and some strawberry lemon marmalade.)
- McCain's cakes. I actually bought a chocolate Triple Chill cake a few days ago. Wow, did it taste good! (Yes, I had only one reasonably-sized slice. I haven't lost all control.) I was torn between the Triple Chill and the Deep 'n Delicious chocolate cake, but whatever little rational bit of me that is still somehow alive managed to wrest control long enough that I bought only one. (I retain the right, however, to buy the chocolate cake even yet.)
- Marshmallow Peeps. You know, those marshmallow birds coated in coloured sugar crystals? They come out in time for Easter? (What sugary marshmallow birds have to do with Crucifixion is beyond me...) Yes, I do like them, but this year I craved them, very very badly. And now I have three sets of 3-box packages (each with 5 Peeps) in my pantry.
But it is.
Oh, the shame!!
posted by Melanie A at 6:56 p.m.
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