Eating While Pregnant Can Be Challenging
Eating while pregnant can be very tricky and stressful for a first time mom. There are lists of foods that should be avoided for baby's health and safety, and almost every month the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalls or sends out warnings about foods from fresh produce to packaged goods.
To further complicate things, when it comes to food, your pregnant body can have an unpredictable change in attitude towards taste and smell. You may find certain smells or flavours revolting, and may need to avoid certain foods. On-the-other-hand, you may be having cravings for some of your favourite pre-pregnancy foods, or foods you haven't had in years!
When I was pregnant with my son, I couldn't survive without salad with Rene's balsamic vinegrette, I had it every day for lunch. I also loved fruit, tart fruits like strawberries (it was winter), citrus, Macintosh apples, I couldn't get enough! Then I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to limit my fruit intake. I was starving! It took me a while to realized that there were other foods out there that I could still eat, and that my restricted carb diet wasn't a punishment.
The foods I craved tasted amazing, actually that is an understatement. They satisfied me deep down to my soul! But there were food that I couldn't even be in the same room as. Raw Chicken. I could eat cooked chicken but I couldn't handle the smell or look of raw chicken. It repulsed and nauseated me.
Me handling raw chicken at 33 weeks pregnant,
we were also renovating!
My daughter was completely different. Before I knew I was pregnant, I was snacking on sugar snap peas, green beans, and snow peas from our garden. My son and I used to walk through the garden and graze on these delicious treats! But one day they tasted bitter, really bitter. All three of them tasted bitter. I was convinced something was wrong with our soil! I pulled all the plants up from the roots and composted them. I discovered a week later that I was 6 weeks pregnant with my daughter!
With my daughter food gave me the hebejebes! Throughout my pregnancy food was a challenge. Green veggies remained bitter, and I craved the strangest junky foods (pizza pops), things that hadn't been in my diet for over a decade!
Back to the point I wanted this blog post to be about: when hearing or reading about food recalls, make sure the content is legit and Canadian (if you're in Canada).
Recently, I had a news article pop-up in my newsfeed on facebook about a Listeria outbreak in vegetables. After a quick investigation the article proved to be American, and possibly "fake news" because there was no date in the article for the recall notice. Remember that Canada and the US have different regulations and standards when it comes to food imports and food manufacturing. Canadian food safely standards are different than American standards. Always read your labels. and stay current on Canadian Food recalls and notices.
If you are ever worried about something you read (or eat), take a quick look at the Canadian Food Inspection Agencies website to see current Canadian food recall information. And if you have ingested recalled food, contact your Doctor, Midwife, or OB to see what you need to do next.
I hope you have a healthy pregnancy with food cravings that are achievable and not at 2:00am!