By Keiko Zoll, Disney Baby
When I was pregnant with Judah, my cravings and aversions were all
over the place: I couldn't get enough of apples, steak, cheddar cheese
or LIFE cereal and yet, I couldn't even be near once favorite foods of
mine like bananas, chicken and even melted butter! While I had some
pretty wicked morning sickness the first half of my pregnancy, right
around week 20, my appetite came back with a vengeance.
Here are some of my favorite snacks while I was pregnant, many of
which I still turn to when I need something yummy to munch on... and I can
even share some of them with my little one now, too!
Being a pregnant foodie, I was always careful about what I could and
couldn't eat while pregnant, but that didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy
myself! Later, when I developed gestational diabetes, I had to shift the
way I thought about my snacks, not only what I ate but when I was
eating it, too. That said, I ate quite well when I was pregnant with Judah, maintaining a balance between healthy and yummy - and of course, trying to satiate the craving of the moment!
I've always been a fan of sweet and salty but when I
was pregnant, it was like a constant craving for one followed by the
other: if I was craving sweet, salty had to follow, and vice versa. I
loved to make a quick plate of grapes and olives, a
Mediterranean-inspired treat. The bright sweetness of the grapes paired
so well with the velvety, meaty texture and flavor of the olives. I
couldn't get enough of those big green castelvetrano olives!
We had a running joke that when I was pregnant, all Judah really wanted
was "cow" - I couldn't get enough beef, steak, chili, cheese, yogurt and
milk. One of my favorite quick dairy snacks to make was to throw in a
few different things into a cup of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, like pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries or fresh blueberries, and then drizzle some organic honey on top to sweeten it.
Before I got pregnant, I often laughed at the idea of eating pickles and
ice cream. Then, once I was pregnant, I couldn't get enough of sour
things. While I never actually craved pickles and ice cream at the same
time, I often found myself munching on some cornichons like in the photo above in the afternoon and then having a few bites of ice cream before bedtime.
Probably one of my favorite snacks while pregnant was to make myself a full tapas spread: crusty bread with fig jam and dipping oils, cornichons, more olives and grapes, plus apples and peanut butter,
aged hard cheeses (pasteurized, of course), and other tasty morsels I
could graze on throughout the day. Since I had to put the wine and brie
on hold, topping it all off with a glass of sparking cider or grape juice still made the whole snack feel special and elegant!
What were some of your favorite snacks when you were
pregnant, or, if you've got a little one on the way, what can't YOU get
enough of right now?