Life
To me, cravings are the weirdest pregnancy symptom by far. I desired — and actually ate — so many odd food, drink, and flavor combinations that I know I would never eat at any other moment in my life. For example, I craved sweet and salty things when I was growing a human inside my body. Together. That might not seem all that weird to you, but that flavor combination was foreign to me. Still, when I was pregnant and able to eat something salty and something sweet at the exact same time, I was in pregnant girl heaven.
Because I had hyperemesis gravidarum, my doctor told me to literally eat anything that sounded good and that I could keep down. So I let my cravings lead the way, and they led to me in some interesting directions. I ate things like salt and vinegar potato chips with Coke, handfuls of trail mix made with cheese crackers, dry-roasted peanuts, raisins and peanut butter M&Ms, pretzels and chocolate milk, Stilton cheese and dried apricots, and curly fries dipped in vanilla ice cream. At the time, I thought my cravings were pretty weird, but when I asked other formerly pregnant people what their go-to sweet and salty treats were during pregnancy, I realized that, well, I'm not that abnormal at all. And you guys, I once put salt on a caramel roll. (It was this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and it was incredible, in case you were wondering.)
If you are pregnant and need some ideas to indulge your sweet and salty pregnancy cravings, read on for tips, recipes, and food combinations that only a pregnant woman could love. Growing a human is hard, so I say go ahead and indulge every once in a while.
Olivia
"Triscuits with creamy peanut butter and orange slices on top. I ate it every single day of my pregnancy."
Aspen
"Chili cheese Doritos and vanilla ice cream."
Sarah
"So far it's been apples and nuts for me. I feel very unoriginal. But the tang of the apples keeps the metal-flavored spit away."
Melissa
"I eat all the things together. I frequently get cheese sticks and a pickle and wrap them in lunch meat, then eat with chocolate milk."
Jennifer
"Lemon sorbet, Pirate booty, Trader Joe’s Thai spicy cashews, and pretzels dipped in salted caramel sauce."
Hannah
"That pretzel strawberry cream cheese jello salad great-aunts make for funerals and family picnics."
Maria
"With my first pregnancy, the one unusual food craving I had was spinach dip and peanut M&M's. I would take a spoonful of dip and put a few M&M's on each bite."
Rebeka
"Mangos with Tajín. Carrots with lime and Tajín."
Writer's Note: According to their website, Tajín is a combination of lime, chilies, and salt, and is going on my shopping list.
Colleen
"Arby’s curly fries and chocolate iced donuts. Maybe a clue as to why I gained almost 60 pounds."
Birdie
"Garrett Chicago Mix popcorn. All. The. Time. And yes, I paid the heinous shipping costs to get it sent to me faster than my parents could."
Jessica
"Take two original Pringles (or two salt and vinegar Pringles, if the salt game is strong) place a thick wedge of seedless watermelon between two Pringles, and eat as sandwich. Best. Food. Ever."
Meg
"Salt and vinegar chips, eaten with sweet pickles, was my go-to."
Melissa
"Chocolate and popcorn. Russell Stover makes these “itty bitty” bunnies/Santas/hearts for holidays, and they were the best thing ever when mixed with popcorn."
Meredith
"With my second, every Target trip would end with an ICEE and a box of bread sticks from the Pizza Hut inside."
Writer's Note: The ICEE website can actually tell pregnant people everywhere the location of the closest Target that sells ICEES.
Elaine
"My craving with my first pregnancy was smooth peanut butter spread onto pre-cut Gouda slices."
Sara
"Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge syrup, and Lay's potato chips! Best combination ever, and I ate it almost every night."
Kim
"With my second I had gestational diabetes, so my old faithful, hot chips and plain mashed potato, were out. Edamame and strawberries were my salty and sweet favorites."
Elizabeth
"Jalapeño poppers followed by Twizzlers."
Katelyn
"Bacon. I hated bacon pre-pregnancy. Now, seven months postpartum, I am still obsessed. I love it with pears."
Crystal
"Watermelon with squeezed lime and a mountain of salt. Daily."
Lynne
"My pregnancy was powered by Kind bars. They have several varieties of the nuts and chocolate bars that covered both sweet and salty! Also, chicken nuggets dipped in honey."
Amber
"This recipe for 'Christmas crack' — basically saltine crackers with caramel and chocolate. It's so easy to make."
Olivia
"Literally all the fruits and veggies with salt — watermelon, oranges grapes, cucumbers, broccoli, apples, tomatoes, and cantaloupe. Basically anything fresh that I can pour salt onto."
Jaime
"Chocolate chip cookie dough dip (made with cream cheese, and no raw eggs) eaten with mini pretzels."
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