Pregnancy Cravings: Ice Cream Sandwiches and Other Things That Got Me Through

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.

In the first trimester, all I wanted was sleep and chicken sandwiches, with the occasional seeded crackers and avocado toast on sourdough (but only the kind from the French bakery at the Gardens GreenMarket) making an appearance. I was the couch nap queen. 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.

I typically adore seafood, but I had a seafood aversion during pregnancy. All I wanted was tomato toast on sourdough, avocado toast on sourdough, seeded crackers and chicken sandwiches of any kind.

By week 17 or 18, I regained my energy and my appetite ramped up. I now required a second lunch, such as a 3pm chicken salad sandwich, to supplement my actual lunch at 11:30am. It’s worth mentioning that as an, ahem, older mom-to-be, I had cut out coffee, and so that was also taking a toll on my energy levels.

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. Today, my daughter doesn't love sweets, but she absolutely LOVES fruit.

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, plenty of fruit - strawberries, blueberries and cherries were 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.