Vegetarian and Just Ate BBQ for Dinner

[SouthernBette]

Hey ladies!

I've been vegetarian for the better half of my life. Since being pregnant, I've had severe morning sickness. This past week--my 11th week--I've thrown up everything from Subway veggie sandwiches to Jello-O cups to mac and cheese. I generally eat very healthy, but since being pregnant, I've oddly been revolted by many veggies and my former favorite, tofu. Long story short, I got the most random craving today for an Arby's roast beef sandwich this afternoon. (I even went online to gawk at the sandwich on the website!) I called my husband, and he tripped out, as I haven't eaten beef since I was like nine. I also wanted some BBQ--really, I just wanted a plain protein-stacked sandwich on a plain bun--and since that is what we are known for here in the South, we went for it. Let me tell you that 1. I, surprisingly, don't feel guilty 2. I now have TONS of energy and no vomiting for the first time since week 5. I'm just thrilled. I feel like I'll be veggie again post-pregnancy, but I just don't think that I should feel bad about something that has obviously made my baby and me feel a whole lot better. I must have been anemic/iron-deficient. I sometimes would even puke up my prenatal vitamins, even after taking them at night, so this has been worrying me.

Any thoughts? Any other veggies crave meat during pregnancy? What should I eat next? If you wish to bash me, please don't. I don't need any guilt trips. These last few weeks have been horrible for me. Most days, I couldn't even get off of the couch.

The funny part is that I don't know a thing about meat, really, so I had to go back and study what was safe to eat during pregnancy. I know cold deli meats are off-limits, as are raw or undercooked meats. Oh, and I should mention that I am only craving red meat--no chicken, fish, etc. Bizarre!

[blizzard_babe]

I'm not a vegetarian, but am normally a very veggie-centric eater. I could pretty much live on stir-fry and probably wouldn't ever cook meat if DH didn't like it so much (doesn't gross me out or anything... it's just a lot of hassle for something I don't care about that much ). This pregnancy, though, I can barely stomach the THOUGHT of a nice ginger-lime stir fry! Blech. Red meat is where it's at for me this time around.

I've also found that solid meat-based meals seem to ease my nausea. It makes sense, I guess... B vitamins are thought to help with pregnancy nausea, as is protein. My taste preferences returned to closer-to-normal after the first trimester last time around (some things just sounded oddly good or bad, but not as many and not as strongly), so maybe that'll happen again.

[holothuroidea]

That is great for you! It's always good to listen to what your body is telling you. If you are a vegetarian for ethical reasons you can find a local farm that produce only pasture-fed happy cows at eatwild.com.

I once thought about buying organic grass-fed beef from the grocery store until I read the label. It came from URUGUAY. I'm sorry but there's nothing organic about meat shipped all the way from Uruguay!

Anyway, enjoy your new diet!

Before I got pregnant, I was a whole-foods eater. Nothing but meat, eggs and milk straight from the animal, unprocessed grains and local fruits and veggies. Now all I want is mac-and-cheese and lunchables and fast food. It's gross, really. At least you have healthy cravings!

[countrygirl28]

I can so relate! I've been a vegetarian for awhile now, and have never given meat a 2nd thought. But since I've been pregnant, I have craved meat like crazy! It started with an absolute need to have a Frisco burger from Hardee's. I had 2 in one day! I hadn't had one in over 10 years! I've been craving red meat, too. I've had beef ribs, burgers, and philly cheesesteaks, not exactly the healthiest diet. I'm 11 weeks now and I've been eating meat since I was 7 weeks. I felt a little strange at first, but I really do try to listen to my body. I figure this baby has been developing so much these past few weeks and he or she needed the protein. My nausea has started to subside, and I want to try to eat healthier, since I think my poor eating habits are now contributing to the way I feel at this point. I'll eat meat as long as I'm craving it, since I figure my body is trying to tell me something. I told DH we have to start incorporating chicken, though because I have had entirely too much red meat this month!

[Choaners]

I'm having the same vegetable rejection. My husband is vegetarian, so we are veggie at home (i eat meat occasionally when we go out). Anyway, we always have a big fresh salad with dinner. Since week 6 the salad is a no go. Raw veggies make me so ill, just to think about them. It's really sad.
The compost is happy, i guess. Carbs, comfort foods and very cold oranges, that's the current diet.

[2xy]

Just crashing to say that I could NEVER take a multi-vitamin (pre-natal or otherwise) at night. I have to have something in my stomach with the vitamins or I will get sooooo nauseous.

[countrygirl28]

Originally Posted by Choaners

very cold oranges.

This is sooooooo me! I never really ate oranges before I was pregnant, but lately I have been downing cold oranges like crazy!

[rparker]

Short answer without posting my entire dietary history: "yes!" for both pregnancies. (I was a very strict vegetarian going into pregnancy #1 and I was no longer a veg--ate fish/seafood--prior to this one.)

The amount of meat/animal products I eat the less severe my nausea is. I researched this and it may be the higher B vitamin content in animal products (B6 specifically). I craved and ate a TON of eggs during weeks 4-6 this time and my ms hit later (and with less severity) than it did with pregnancy #1 which I went into basically vegan.

I have a friend who is vegan and she's had very severe morning sickness (lost 25+ pounds) and it's worse this pregnancy than with her first (when she hadn't been veg as long).

One of the reasons (among several) that I began taking Zofran is because I missed eating vegetables and because it disturbs me to crave/eat meat. That said, even with the Zofran, I ate half a chicken sandwich a few days ago and it was far from the first time that I've eaten meat this pregnancy

For what it's worth, when I'm not pregnant I honestly don't LIKE meat and never crave it. Even my sea creature eating isn't motivated by a craving for flesh. I only mention this because there are some vegetarians for whom not eating meat is more of a sacrifice.

[Viola]

I've known several vegetarians who craved meat with their pregnancies, although they did go back to being vegetarian after the pregnancy was done. I had taste aversions to greens and chicken in my first pregnancy, just to greens in my second one. I found that after a few months I was avoiding them out of habit and could add them back in, so check back in the next trimester.

[esteg0]

I was a fish-eating (rarely) vegetarian. When I got pregnant with my son I craved red meat so ate it too! I see no harm in it, you're listening to your body! I was still eating red meat every once in a while when I got pregnant this time because I was breastfeeding and still craving it. Now however, blech! I'm all about the veggies and fruits this time around. The thought of meat makes me nauseous!

[FtMPapa]

I'm a former veggie, and I don't eat much meat, but since about 4 weeks, I have to have meat with most supper and lunches, and vegetarian meals do not work for me at all.

I can't handle tofu, and it's beef that I crave. I had a steak the other day, it was delicious. I may get another one tomorrow. .. a nice thick local ribeye....mmmmmm.

I have really low grade all-day nausea if I don't eat, but it goes away completely if I eat meat. My theory is also about the protein and the B vitamins, less about the iron. I say go with it.

[huggingmama]

Nice to hear this. I'm a vegetarian who has also been craving meat--mostly turkey and the occasional tuna. Since the nausea started, my diet has been a little meat and tons of carbs like potatoes... this is so not what I usually eat (veggies, beans, fruits)! I'm just trying to listen to my body.

I know I will go back to being a vegetarian either after the pregnancy or maybe even (ideally) after the first trimester is done, but for now, I'm trying not to freak out about these bizarre cravings.

[hyz]

This is funny to read. I'm vegan/vegetarian (vegan really, except we have pet chickens and I do eat their eggs, but I don't eat any other eggs, or other non-vegan things)--have been for nearly 18 years now, since I was 12, always because I love animals and can't justify eating their flesh or having them suffer on my account. I am frequently asked whether I'll eat meat during pregnancy, or whether I have meat cravings when I'm pregnant--the answer to both is NO!, and I always wonder where people come up with this question. But I guess it's not as unusual as I thought! While I will admit meat sometimes smells good to me, the thought of eating it generally makes me feel a bit sick, so I was surprised people thought that I'd want to eat it more when I was already feeling nauseous. In fact, although I usually looove our hens' eggs, they have seemed kind of blech to me ever since I got pregnant this time, just so heavy and fatty. What I crave is stuff like spaghetti, a good salad, bagels, fruit, etc. But if eating meat during pregnancy takes you from feeling sick and horrible to healthy and able, then I certainly wouldn't criticize you for it. I do believe that our bodies tell us what we need, and not everyone needs the same thing all the time. I try to avoid harming animals wherever possible, but if it comes down to choosing between my health and theirs (whether it's taking needed medicine that was tested on animals, or not swerving into oncoming traffic to avoid an animal in the road, or whatever), I will be selfish and pick myself pretty much every time.

[Carlyle]

Dude. I'm all about eating whatever I can get down. Especially if it STAYS down!

[magentamomma]

I know several veggie moms that went to meat pregnant, and I know a few that didn't. I am not trying to be controversial, and I have not independantly researched this, but one former vegetarian friend had a son with dental caries and she started doing research and found evidence that it was due to a lack of meat in her prenatal diet. Like I said I don't know from first hand research, but I do have several vegetarian friends with kids who have severe dental problems. I need to find the links so I don't sound crazy, but my friend just brought this up to me the other day.

[SunChild]

Hi everyone,

From a spiritual perspective, I have been mostly raw vegan for a long time until I fell pregnant with my first child and I just had to eat meat and dairy, the cravings were very strong! I felt fantastic throughout the entire pregnancy, even though it went against all my thoughts on eating that way. My body took over, but I went back to vegetarian after she was born, only because I preffered it, now I am pregnant again and am eating burgers and craving red meat. I had morning sickness, but the more red meat I ate the better I felt. So as I was saying, from a spiritual perspective, there are definitely elements and minerals that the growing fetus needs from the animal kingdom, especially larger animals like cow and lamb, I think its so important that we eat what we crave, let the wisdom of our bodies tell us and ignore the chatter in our mind. The initial guilt was hard to overcome but the true wisdom comes from nature and how it makes us feel. I am 10 weeks and the thought of raw or lightly cooked vegetables makes me sick, give me a burger.

[LadyBee]

I can totally relate to this, I imagine it is very normal. We have only been veg (a little fish though) for a few months, but from weeks 6-10 or so I thought about eating chicken a lot. I believe it was because my appetite would come and go. When you suddenly feel very very hungry a veggie sandwich or stir fry with tofu didn't seem to cut it for me! I am feeling better now at 11w, and no longer have the cravings. Who knows right now I'm feeling like being a preggo veg (especially when it's only been a few months) is pretty tough!

[huggingmama]

Originally Posted by magentamomma

I know several veggie moms that went to meat pregnant, and I know a few that didn't. I am not trying to be controversial, and I have not independantly researched this, but one former vegetarian friend had a son with dental caries and she started doing research and found evidence that it was due to a lack of meat in her prenatal diet. Like I said I don't know from first hand research, but I do have several vegetarian friends with kids who have severe dental problems. I need to find the links so I don't sound crazy, but my friend just brought this up to me the other day.

Interesting. The veggie moms who went to meat, was it for the whole pregnancy, or just the first trimester? My tuna/chicken cravings feel very much connected to the nausea/hunger issues, so I'm running with it... but hoping I'm more interested in going back to begin veggie later. But once I feel better, I'll be working on the GD (low-carb) diet and that will make things more complicated.

Right now all I crave is Mexican food (beans, salsa, cheese). I had some twice yesterday and once today. WTH? These cravings make me laugh.

[gen24]

Originally Posted by magentamomma

I know several veggie moms that went to meat pregnant, and I know a few that didn't. I am not trying to be controversial, and I have not independantly researched this, but one former vegetarian friend had a son with dental caries and she started doing research and found evidence that it was due to a lack of meat in her prenatal diet. Like I said I don't know from first hand research, but I do have several vegetarian friends with kids who have severe dental problems. I need to find the links so I don't sound crazy, but my friend just brought this up to me the other day.

I think what you are referring to is the Weston Price Foundation website www.westonaprice.org
It is a very informative site, especially during pregnancy

[SouthernBette]

Wow! The response here has just been incredible! I've been busy for a few days, and this is my first time back on the board in nearly a week. I'm so appreciative of everyone that weighed in. One thing I can say is that I am definitely (normally) the type of person that does NOT care for meat. Really, it is just a taste preference, though I have a heart for animals. (The husband and I can't even watch Animal Planet because we get sad during the Animal Cop shows!)

I ate some pork the other night, and then we saw a cute clip of pigs playing, and I felt so much angst! It has been a tough road, but I just keep telling myself that nothing matters more right now than this baby's health. I normally crave vegetables, but I've found that nothing makes me vomit more than roughage right now. It is sad, and I'll be happy to return to eating my yummy veggies.

Then again, someone above mentioned a Frisco burger, and that sounded totally delicious. Haha!

Thank you all for the kind and completely not judgemental words. This is a fantastic community of women.