Pregnant & Starving...but don't know what to eat!

[kathleen]

Help! I'm pregnant and have gone off all of the food I usually love. The food's not making me feel sick, but I just don't want it and am completely baffled about what to cook for my dinner! My husband is away for work for a couple of months, so it's just me and the cats for a while. Any wonderful healthy inspiration?? Advice is appreciated

Kathleen

[Russian Doll]

well if youve gone of all usual food you could try the cats food lol

[lsm1066]

I went off all sorts of stuff when I was pregnant with my two. In the end, I just had to pay attention to what my body was telling me to eat and hang the consequences. It didn't last throughout. Mostly I went back to the things I used to have, although tea and anything containing artificial sweetners remain anathema to this day (and my youngest is 9). Still, on the plus side, I now like avocados, so the world isn't all bad.

Seriously though, how many weeks are you? That could have a bearing on this. But first things first. Get yourself to the health shop and get yourself a good quality pregnancy vitamin supplement. Your baby is fine. They'll be taking everything they need from you. You, on the other hand, have a problem, so a supplement will help you there.

Next, think about what you don't want. Now, is your body telling you what it does want? You might be surprised that something you haven't eaten for ages is just the thing you need. And so you know, sometimes long term vegetarians have to eat meat during their pregnancy because it's what their body is telling them in needs. So if you're vegetarian, don't be worried by it. Just get on with it and sort it out afterwards. Like I said, it usually doesn't last forever.

Hope that helps
Lynne

[citizentwiglet]

Oh Kathleen, I completely sympathise! I'm 28 weeks now and, although starving, looking through my cupboards fills me with despair!
Totally agree with what LSM says - your body is really clever, and will tell you what it wants. A couple of months back, having been 'off' Marmite for weeks, I woke up with an insatiable craving for the stuff and proceeded to eat marmite sandwiches like they were going out of fashion! At my next haemo appointment, my previous set of results had come back as me having a Vitamin B12 deficiency......and guess what's in Marmite?!

My other big craving this time round are Fab ice-lollies (you know the ones with all the sprinkles on top?), I can't go past the shop without getting one...mind you, I don't think there's any nutritional value in those, somehow! But they are sooooo lovely and cold...

Just go with what you fancy, and as LSM says, get yourself a good supplement as a 'top up'.

[mrsflibble]

if your body is screaming for KFC at 10:30pm then annoy your other half.
actually, maybe not eh?!

in the first trimester I couldn't eat much that didn't contain chicken in some form or another. I still can't eat shreddies.

[KellyB]

I don't know what to suggest I went through that with Saffie and ate mashed potato bread and jam you know really unhealthy stuff til I got through it but I can't be recommending that

[lsm1066]

A couple of months back, having been 'off' Marmite for weeks, I woke up with an insatiable craving for the stuff and proceeded to eat marmite sandwiches like they were going out of fashion! At my next haemo appointment, my previous set of results had come back as me having a Vitamin B12 deficiency......and guess what's in Marmite?!

Don't mention Marmite! When I was expecting my eldest, I developed an entirely irrational urge to buy Marmite. Not eat it necessarily, just buy it. I tried every way I could to stop myself, including writing shopping lists with NO MARMITE on them. Sadly all that did was make me panic about the lack of Marmite in the cupboards and buy more. By the time CJ was born, I had 10 kilos of the stuff and it took us 8 years to get through it all!

Apparently my mum was the same with toothpaste.

Lynne

[citizentwiglet]

Dammit, if I'd known you then I'd have taken a couple of kilos off your hands!

So, Kathleen, what have you had today? And when is baby due?

[kathleen]

You guys are wonderful!! Makes me feel far less crazy . Cheese & tomato toasted sandwiches seem to be working for me today, & when I was at the greengrocer before I felt compelled to buy a pineapple, which I've gobbled up big hunks of, and made a sweet & sour sauce with the rest - I think that's the first thing that's tasted good in a while! I'm attracted to acidic fruits, kiwifruit & tamarillos as well as the pineapple, so at least they're giving me lots of vitamin C! I'm taking a good pre natal vitamin & juice lots of things from my garden every morning (amazing how a couple of oranges & apples can mask the taste of silverbeet & spinach in a glass of juice!), so hopefully I'm getting all the good stuff I need... Cheese & tomato toasted sandwich with salad might be today's food of choice... I'm 10 weeks, so have months more of craziness to look forward to! Luckily my morning sickness has started to ease off, it was never really really bad, but not fun.

[kathleen]

Funny about the mashed potatoes too - I've just spent a couple of weeks eating them for just about every meal!!! It's winter here, and there's something so appealing about warm soft potatoes...

[lsm1066]

Sounds like good stuff to me Ease up on the fresh pineapple if you can though, as it has an enzyme in it which is often used to induce labour. Tinned or bought juice is fine as the heat treating kills the enzyme.

Have fun, and welcome to the wonderful world of the pregnancy crazies! You're in a not very select but ultimately happy group. We all survived it anyway

Lynne
xxx

[chadspad]

I went mad on Fab lollies too!! And peanut butter sandwiches. My Nan craved coal with one of hers and brussel sprouts with another

[circlecross]

had a desire for sushi with ds2, and it is quite easy to make. It isn't raw fish necy, you can use smoked fish, veggies/avocado, and even other meats (pastrami is quite good with the horseradish!) It was the seaweed I was after i think, but its all good stuff. Not in the quantities I would pack away though. Haribo sweets were an unhealthy obsession (possibly the gelatine craving? ugh) ds2 called harry in honour. No Im kidding. DS1 produced cravings for T***o trifle in first trimester, and LAMB LAMB LAMB couldn't get enough off. BF brought on the chocolate cravings, which probably explained why I ballooned to the size of a large white. Slimmed down a bit now...
I agree, go with what the bod is telling you - and don't feel guilty, you are hormonal, knackered, brain crazed and your bod is out of control. Aren't I complimentary! And things like dark chocolate have some kind of nutrient in them very important, so you should be eating chocolate!!! And haribo...and jam...and peanut butter...and chips...and a whole roast chicken...

[citizentwiglet]

It was Gregg's Yum-Yums for me when I was pregnant with Ellis, couldn't get enough of the things. I can't bear to look at one now! And marmalade sandwiches, I honestly thought Ellis might be born wearing wellington boots and a blue duffel coat. Neither of them were particularly good for the heartburn, either....

I have a packet of Tunnock's Dark Chocolate Tea Cakes sat on my kitchen table beckoning me just now..... I've not lost the sweet-tooth completely!

[Vammadopper]

Popodums and Orange juice with bits in it ( and it had to have bits in it) and chocolate with DS1
DS2 it was spicy hot food ( I put chilli s in everything) and pink grapefruit

Hated tea when pregnant, and the smell of nutradol air freshner would make me ill - still makes me feel queasy to this day!

As everyone says just eat what you fancy, and go with natures way of telling you what you need.

Congratulations and enjoy everything