Pop quiz! What's the first thing you think of when you hear “pregnancy craving”? For me, it's pickles and ice cream. Not because I had a hankering for them when I was pregnant (or ever), but because it seems to be the go-to reference made in TV and movies when they want to talk about the uniqueness and acuity of pregnant cravings. And as awesome as it is to find myself thinking about pickles, the reality is that it doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of real-life weird pregnancy cravings.
My own craving experience was fairly boring compared to many. My biggest needs were things that fit the category of creamy and spicy, so like, nacho cheese, spicy sausage pasta, and this jalapeño-cheddar soup from a gastropub near my house. Later on, I had a big thing for donuts. Like, I felt the way about donuts that many women feel about Ryan Gosling. Like, I couldn’t get them out of my mind and I kept having super vivid daydreams about them giving me bedroom eyes and gentle snuggles.
In an effort to shed some light on the realities of pregnancy cravings, we’ve collected some highlights and presented them here for your viewing pleasure. Though, fair warning: If you’re in your first trimester, you may want to skip this one. Your gag reflex will thank you.
"[In my first trimester, I was only] able to stomach Taco Bell (wtf?). Once that passed, I became maniacal about oranges, except they had to be cold, so I kept bags of them in the fridge at all times. HORMONES." – Alana
ALL THE COLD MILK. Also, chili dogs while chugging milk. Ugh. I've never been high, but I imagine that eating while pregnant is like food when you're high. Everything tasted amazing. EVERYTHING. I remember going on for like ten minutes about how good a grilled cheese tasted and it was just a Kraft single sandwiched between generic white bread. But dear god.
– Samantha
"Candy corn. In March." – Liza
"Beer. I HATED beer before I got pregnant. Loathed. Before I knew I was knocked up, I bought a six pack and had a beer a night for 5 days, at which point other symptoms prompted me to pee on a stick. Def wasn't expecting a positive. The last bottle stayed in my fridge until I delivered." – Jamie
"The weirdest thing I did the first time around was slice and cook an entire onion in fajita seasoning and eat just that. Not fajitas. Just fajita onion. Then a couple days ago I ate an entire pack of prosciutto at my desk." – Katie
"So far it’s french toast next to hot wings…but I refuse to consider that weird since Chicken & Waffles are a widely accepted delicacy." – Nikki
"POG juice and mac & cheese with ketchup." – Anna
"Currently preggo, and I'm a sucker for artificial cheese flavored foods — Cheetos (especially), Goldfish crackers, Ritz Toasted Chips in cheese flavor, etc. Not actual cheese, per se, but the fake stuff." – Lauren
Double Stuf Oreos, Orange Fanta, and Lucky Charms.
– Hillary
"Cheese-Its with cream cheese. Pepperoni pizza with sour cream. Sour cream! This was with my first. Banana cream pie blizzards and banana cream pies with my second. Snickers with my third." – Taleaha
I craved mozzarella sticks for 3 months straight: breakfast lunch and dinner!
– Janine
"Salt and vinegar chips!! And ranch dressing! Not together." – Megan
"Cantaloupe (I normally hated it but ate 4 whole cantaloupes myself the summer I was pregnant), milk, clam chowder, and Thai food." – Jamee
"I wanted deep fried oysters at 3 a.m. with my first pregnancy." – Kaycee
"Wanted queso and salsa, English muffin with peanut butter." – Katie
Pickles, pickle juice (yes, I'm nasty, I drank pickle juice), salt and vinegar chips, and red meat (steak and hamburgers...I couldn't get enough and I was a vegetarian before I became pregnant).
– Robyn
"Lots of citrus fruits." – Christy
