Wacky Cravings recipes
We all know that when you're pregnant, you can crave some weird and wonderful things - banana pizza anyone? (I have to admit that, when I was expecting my daughter I was rather partial to this particular combination!)
Why do women crave certain types of food during pregnancy?
Cravings are particularly common in early pregnancy - you may find that you want to eat things you previously couldn't stand the sight of; jellied eels might all of a sudden seem particularly appetising!
There is no absolute scientific explanation as to why you might crave a particular food when you're expecting, but nutritionists and other health practitioners believe that the food you crave during your pregnancy actually tells a story about what your body needs. So, if you are hankering after extra milk, it could be that your body is telling you that it needs a bigger dose of calcium than it is already receiving. Having said this, if your craving is for copious amounts of chocolate cake, this might not necessarily be the case!
Alongside your cravings, you may also develop an aversion to certain foods that you previously loved - whereas before you fell pregnant you couldn't live without bacon and eggs and a nice Sunday roast, the very idea of eating these foods may now make your stomach curdle!Similarly, if you find that you've gone right off other types of food or substances like alcohol, caffeine or cigarettes, it could be nature's way of telling you that these things will do neither you nor your baby any good whatsoever.
Some common cravings include things like: pickled onions, gherkins, olives (this points to a sodium craving), apples (full of goodies like magnesium, phosphorus and calcium), cheese and milk (indicates calcium which can also be found in dark green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli or sodium depending on the type of cheese), while other cravings are not advisable in pregnancy even though they appear perfectly harmless. For example, eating blue-veined cheese is definitely out, but is one of those tastes that you may salivate over. (See Foods to avoid in pregnancy).
Findings of a recent cravings poll for gurgle.com:
In a recent survey, over 2000 mums confessed their pregnancy cravings to gurgle.com. The survey acted as a comparison between modern mums and mums from the past; 75% of the women interviewed had given birth within the last five years and 25% of mums had given birth 46-50 years ago.
The survey revealed some fascinating findings. The results showed that women's cravings differed depending on whether they were having a boy or girl. Also, a third of the mums interviewed admitted that they craved non-food items during their pregnancy; the most popular of these strange cravings was for ice, closely followed by coal and then toothpaste!
72 per cent of the mums interviewed admitted to experiencing pregnancy cravings. The top ten normal cravings (broken down as percentages of the number of mums who experienced cravings) are listed below:
Chocolate - 20%
Ice cream - 15%
Sweets - 11%
Spicy food/chilli - 11%
Pickled onions - 9%
Tropical fruit - 7%
Curry - 5%
Doughnuts - 5%
Marmite - 4%
Peanut butter - 3%
Other - 10%
The survey also revealed some interesting regional differences. Apparently, Welsh women crave the most - 83% of mums-to-be in Wales experienced pregnancy cravings, compared to 79 per cent in the North West, 77 per cent in the West Midlands and 71% of London mums! In terms of unusual cravings, Welsh mums were most likely to experience unusual cravings, closely followed by London mums. The majority of women interviewed commented that their cravings had begun during their second trimester. Interestingly, however, most London mums reported that they experienced cravings in the first three months of their pregnancy!
According to the survey, odd combinations of food were popular, such as pickles and peanut butter, fried eggs with mint sauce and ice cream and crisps. If you've found that you've been craving some bizarre food during your pregnancy, don't worry; here we've provided some wacky recipes to satisfy your every craving - several of which were noted as popular in the survey:
Marmite and ice-cream sundae with pickles:
Ingredients:
2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream
Four tbsp of whipped cream
2 pickles
1 tbsp marmite
Method:
1) Put one scoop of plain vanilla ice-cream in a bowl or sundae glass.
2) Put a generous layer of whipped cream on top.
3) Slice some pickles finely and place them on top of the layer of cream.
4) Add a dollop of marmite and enjoy!
Tuna and banana split:
Ingredients:
One large banana
2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream
A handful of strawberries
2 tbsp of chocolate sauce
Four tbsp of whipped cream
1/2 tin of tuna
Method:
1) Halve the banana
2) Put the ice-cream on top of the banana.
3) Add the strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
4) Sprinkle the tuna on top of the banana split. Enjoy!
Cupcakes with ketchup icing:
This recipe will make about 12 Easter cupcakes and takes about half an our to prepare and 18-20 minutes to cook.
Ingredients:
2 large eggs
125g/4oz Caster sugar
125g/40z Soft Margarine
125g/40z Self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
You will also need:
Cupcake paper cake cases
Method:
- Heat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas mark 4
- Beat the sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add in each egg separately and whisk until light and fluffy.
- Sieve in the flour and add the tsp of vanilla essence and whisk again until the mixture is smooth.
- Divide equally between your cake cases and place in the oven.
- Cook for 18-20 minutes, until the cakes have risen and are golden. If you touch them they should spring back easily.
- Allow them to cool before decorating.
Recipe for ketchup icing:
Ingredients:
5oz butter
8oz icing sugar
2 tsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp ketchup
Method:
1) Beat the butter and sugar together, either using a hand-held or electrical whisk.
2) When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla, water and 1tbsp ketchup.
Recipe for brown bread icecream: (my personal favourite - trust me, this is reall good; even if you're not pregnant!) This recipe will serve 4-6 people or one very hungry mum-to-be!
Ingredients:
100g wholemeal bread, crusts removed
450 ml double cream
100g icing sugar, sifted
2.5ml vanilla essence
50g granulated sugar
50ml water
Method:
1) Place the sliced bread in the oven at 140 degrees or Gas Mark 1 for one hour.
2) Blend in a liquidiser until crumbs are fine.
3) Whisk the cream and stir in the icing sugar and vanilla essence.
4) Put the mixture into an ice tray and freeze for one hour.
5) Meanwhile, put the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 2 mins, but don't stir. Remove from the heat, stir in the breadcrumbs and let it get cold.
6) When the ice-cream is beginning to freeze, take it from the freezer and put it into a bowl. Beat the ice-cream until it's smooth and creamy, stir in the breadcrumbs and put it back in the container. Cover the container, seal it and put it back in the freezer.
7) Before you want to eat the ice-cream, let it thaw at room temperature for ten mins. Serve it with chocolate sauce or, if you want, something a bit more unusual..!
Hot tip:
If you don't fancy any of the above recipes, there are other ways of satisfying your cravings. For example, if you crave something a bit tangy, you can have a handful of sour sweets. When at the cinema, if you can't decide between sweet or salted popcorn, why not get half and half?
If you crave two very different flavours but can't face them combined - for example if you feel like eating pizza and strawberries but don't find the prospect of a strawberry-topped margherita very appetising, just eat them separately - pizza, then strawberries as you would were you not pregnant.
For more information on cravings, watch our video on Cravings. You can also talk to other mums about the food you can't live without on the Guide to Pregnancy area of our chat forum.
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Last Modified: 30/04/2008