cravings and aversions

Pregnancy is a funny thing.  I never thought what I would want to, and not want to eat would change so drastically.  Not only has it changed, it changes weekly too!

Weeks 4-6

When I very first found out I was pregnant, my foods didn’t change that much.  I was still eating and enjoying veggies.  Some smells started to bother me in the kitchen, like the smell of crystal light powder, but nothing too bad.  Mainly I was just tired during these weeks, but not sick feeling.

Week 7

This is when it all changed.  The nausea began to kick in, making me just want carbs, carbs and more carbs.  I invested in a gigantic costco sized bag of pretzels (bad idea-I still have over half the bag left), because not only did I want carbs, I wanted salty foods too.  Tuna was also in big time.  I loved it so much (with extra relish!) I had to watch and make sure I didn’t eat too much since I wanted it every day.

So crackers, tuna, pretzels and all breads were in.  That was also the week I had mushroom barley at my moms, which I made not too long ago.  It’s so delicious.

Raw vegetables were getting tricky to eat.  I so wanted to eat salads, they were just extremely tough to stomach.  Since I wasn’t going to make myself gag it down, in fear it would just come back up, I started adding a few green smoothies a week into my routine.

Week 8

The nausea continues strong and pretzels were still my best friend.  Two things that I loved (not together) – chocolate and pickles.  Now, I loved both of these before I was pregnant, so it’s not a strange thing for me to like.  But what I started to love even more was going from sweet to salty, sweet to salt.  So while I wasn’t eating them together, I would eat a pickle, then a little while later want chocolate.

New major craving this week… bagel and cream cheese.  I.could.not.get.enough!  I had to have a bagel every day in the morning.  It helped with my AM nausea and also made me very happy.

I was still anti-veggies, so I tried including smoothies as much as possible.  I could usually handle adding spinach to my eggs, so that was an easy way to sneak them in.  I’d also try to add some spinach and/or tomato to my bagels, but that only lasted a couple times.

Week 9

During this week the veggie train turned around.  I started wanting veggies again!  Cooked that is.  Raw was still iffy, but cooked was super delicious to me.  Bagels were still a big part of my life, and oranges + orange juice were as joining one of my favorites too.  It was like I had this intense thirst a juicy orange could only cure.  I tried not to have OJ first thing in the morning on an empty stomach because it would usually increase my nausea, but anytime after that I was loving it.

Around the end of week 9 I started wanting more sweets, and then eating more sweets.  If I saw cookies around, I had to have them.  Not so much candy bars, but baked goods.  That’s when I started making more 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips added in.  Mmmmm.  And eating more ice cream – we need to NOT have any in the house, because it was turning into an every day thing.  Sweets were in big time.

Week 10 

This is where I’m at right now.  I’ve got my sweet tooth back under control, usually just having a small sweet in the morning.  I morning chocolate chip pb cookie with breakfast… normal right?  I’m over bagels.  I loved them for 2 weeks, now I don’t want them.  Glad I got over that craving before making a ton over the weekend.

I’m into…. veggies!  I’m loving salads with caesar dressing.  I had a caesar salad when we were out over the weekend and just could not get enough.  All I want now is salad with that delicious dressing on it.  Also another veggies I’m loving – cucumbers!  I’m happy this love came back because cukes were always a favorite of mine.  I’m eating them on their own, but also dipping them in hummus.  I do have a huge costco tub to go through (another purchase I picked up with the pretzels), so any way I can eat it I’m trying.

Somehow this pregnancy had changed how I process lactose.  I’m able to eat dairy with no problem.  I was nervous to try regular milk, but I did and was totally fine!  I’ve been loving yogurt a bunch, but now only strawberry.  It’s been changing slowly from plain greek yogurt, to vanilla yogurt, now onto strawberry yogurt.   Stony field was on sale yesterday so I snatched up 2 big tubs of their strawberry yogurt.  Loving it.

Also along with yogurt and milk, I’m all about cereal.  Cereal first thing in the morning helps my stomach when I’m hit with a little nausea.

I was actually really excited to report today that my nausea has been getting better + almost gone, but then I woke up with it this morning.  Random.  It was gone all weekend.

It seems that things are headed back to where they started.  Let’s just hope I keep loving veggies!

Heather