Let’s get this straight: ice cream sandwiches were a pretty big pregnancy craving for me, and even more so during those postpartum months when my body was basically aching for sugar and energy. However, there are quite a few food groups and menu items I give credit to for keeping me happy, healthy and full during pregnancy.
First, I had been primarily pescatarian for about seven years before pregnancy. From pretty much the moment I became pregnant with my daughter, all I wanted was sleep and chicken sandwiches. Funny enough, I quickly developed an aversion to seafood.
Other foods I loved in that first trimester were fruit such as berries and cherries, seeded crackers and tomato or avocado toast on sourdough — but only the fresh-baked sourdough from the French bakery at the Gardens GreenMarket in Palm Beach Gardens.
I became the queen of couch naps. I’ve worked full-time for decades and never have I ever needed, and I mean needed, a midday catnap. Building bones and organs from scratch is wild work. Plus, I had cut out coffee from the beginning, and so that also took a toll on my energy levels.
I started waking up hungry in the middle of the night and walking to the kitchen in with our new puppy right behind me to have a bowl of cornflakes with milk — so delish — or a few bites of whole milk Greek yogurt to keep me happy til morning.
By week 17 or 18, I regained my energy and my appetite ramped up. I now required a 3pm lunch instead a 3pm snack, such as a chicken salad sandwich, to supplement my first lunch at 11:30am.
So to recap, I was having a breakfast around 7am, a mid-morning snack around 10am, a lunch at 11:30am, a second lunch around 3pm and a dinner at home around 6pm. Sometime around this time, I became hooked on fruit from the GreenMarket, and my favorite were the Michigan cherries. I was devastated when cherry season ended.
My second trimester is also approximately when my husband starting taking over the responsibility of feeding me dinner. This is something that continues to this day, and for that, I am eternally grateful. At this point, I was eating a lot of what I’d enjoyed before pregnancy: avocado toast, scrambled eggs, soups, sandwiches and salads finally made their return.
Plenty of fruit - strawberries, blueberries and cherries were still in season and I was HERE for it - and water with a lot of ice. And in between the ice water and fruit were ice cream sandwiches and Graeter’s ice cream straight from the pint.
Something else to note, I had been working with Georgia from The Dietologist throughout my pregnancy, so please know that I was being monitored and was getting all the necessary nutrients from my diet and supplements.
During my second or maybe third trimester, I started eating vegetables again, as well as lots of previous favorites. I had such a happy pregnancy. By this time, I was eating well, my daughter was growing well, and she was undoubtedly tasting all of the foods I loved. Pregnancy was such a beautiful experience for me, and living it through a culinary lens made it all the more special for me.
