I've gone off food... what might tempt me?

[Smokering]

This isn't a nausea thing. I've just developed reasons for not eating EVERYTHING.

I've developed aversions to protein in most forms. Meat tastes "dead" to me, and chewing it seems like hard work. I can't stomach a whole chicken breast or steak, and even cut-up or minced meat isn't doing it for me. I LOVE eggs and bacon, but... not right now! I've also gone off leafy greens, which before my pregnancy I was just starting to embrace.

I like carbs, but I feel gross after I eat them and I suspect they're not helping with my fatigue and dizziness.

Dairy is making me feel really cloggy and phlegmy at the moment, so I'm trying to avoid that too.

I don't even feel like sweet stuff!

So... what can I eat? I know I need to eat, but even when I go to the supermarket and tell myself "Right, get whatever you want, no matter how expensive", I still look at everything and go "meh". The things I currently like are olives and yum cha, and I can't live off those (especially since the latter requires going to a restaurant!). Everything else I just... tolerate, at best, or avoid at worst.

Can anyone give me some yummy ideas, or a magic supplement that will make food appetising again? :) I've had pregnancy aversions before, but not to entire food groups! I made a veggie stir fry last night without meat or rice, but I could barely choke it down. This sucks! I'm a good cook and usually love food!

[HollyBearsMom]

no magic pill here but what helped me was giving myself permission to eat things *I* wouldn't usually have eaten. ie: popcorn cooked on oil  and then smothered in butter and parmesan cheese.  Potato chips dipped in spicy ketchup.

Do you have any childhood memory foods: mine of cinnamon swirl french toast, french onion soup and perking duck. Sometimes the smell of these foods would bring my appetite back, especially if I wasn't the cooking them and instead could just smell it wafting up the stairs.

good luck!

[SoonToBe]

You sound like me.  I'm getting slightly better, but NOTHING has sounded good at all.  I finally got my appetite back (not lost from nausea) and I don't want to actually eat anything.  Everything sounds gross.  I normally love meat, but hate it now.  I own chickens and can't even chew the egg, let alone swallow it.  You get the point.  So like you, I am not having food issues due to nausea, but it's an issue nonetheless.  The only thing that I consistently like is soup.  Does that sound good to you at all?  I try to add protein to it to get some in me.  I hope you feel better soon.

Bree

[kriket]

I have been living on "comfort carbs" Kraft dinner, beans and rice (which aren't all that bad for you ;)) fried rice etc.

I have the same ideas on food you do, everything feels like chewing a sock, even when I give myself carte blanc at the grocery I MAYBE come out with one thing I feel apathetic about.  Most of the time it's gummy bears.

The idea PP had about childhood foods is a good one! I will have to think about some things mom used to make for dinner.

[Baby_Cakes]

The only thing that helps me is not breathing through my nose AT ALL when cooking or preparing what I'm going to eat.  Also, don't think about it too much before hand.  Just get it down -- even if it's right out of the bag/bowl/container.

And yeah -- usually I leave the store with a bag of sour patch kids and some juice.  It's awful.  Right there with you all.

[geekgolightly]

Macadamia nuts or other nuts.

Fruits. I buy them pre cut to encourage eating.

Fresh cut pinapple with cottage cheese

Macadamia nuts sound awesome to me right now!

[geekgolightly]

If you're really craving the sweet sort of carby type foods, Emerald makes awesome Pecan Pie glazed pecans. They contains fats and protein and are delicious!

[kriket]

any other healthy not-sugar snack ideas? I have drank my body weight in diet caff free coke I'm trying not to gain a million pounds, but it's a strange catch22. Like this morning I was so proud I measured my multigrain cheerios, and sliced up my banana, ate it all, then up it came. sigh.

I have never been a nut fan. Sunflower seeds on a banana sound good, but when nuts get bigger than a pinky nail, they are creepy ;) Fruit has been pretty good to me!

[HollyBearsMom]

sunflower seed butter and peanut butter rollup!  

[tracymom1]

  I am having the EXACT same problem.  I have not been able to sit down and eat a 'regular' meal in almost 2 months because of my overwhelming aversions.  My food strategy has been a little different - what I do is if something even remotely sounds appealing, I will IMMEDIATELY do what it takes to get it!!  My 'cravings' (really just breaks in the aversions) happen so infrequently, but they are usually pretty predictable so I try to keep things on hand that have popped into my head in the past.

Things that have worked for me:

Popsicles

plain pita chips

pizza without red sauce (like a margherita)

handfuls of nuts or sometimes a granola bar

I really desire a nice, big, flavorful meal  - but there is always something preventing me from eating.  Tonight at dinner I made spaghetti with 'meatballs' (tofu), fresh bread, spinach and cabbage salad and some plain steamed veggies.  I ate a piece of bread.  The smells and textures of everything just turned me off.  Sometime, though, if I can just get through the first bite or two of something I KNOW I like, then I begin to develop a taste for it.  

Ugh!!  It just sucks not being able to enjoy favorite foods!!!

[Smokering]

Sadly, all my favourite childhood foods are refined carbs with dairy - mac and cheese, that kind of thing. I have been eating more fish and chips than usual, though... I figure the fish, at least, is semi-healthy!

During the last few days I've had some "success" with apple slices coated in peanut butter (much to the disgust of DH). And I'm going out for yum cha today. :)

I've also found I like eggs better when they're not fried - I must have just been overloaded on fried eggs. Soft boiled is more appealing - well, less unappealing - so I'm going with that at the moment.

[poppiesinjuly]

Do you have a smoothie place nearby?  I spent 26 weeks throwing up multiple times a day, and smoothies saved me.  They make several that are fruit and juice with no dairy.

I also loved lemon flavored things.  So, juice bars, sorbet, even that lemon cake loaf thing from Starbucks...

Also, and I kind of hate to admit it, but drinking Coke seemed to help.  We got the Mexican, real sugar version from Costco, and sometimes it was the only thing I wanted.  My grandma suggested it, and I finally gave in out of desperation.

Also, the colder, the better for most things.  I'm still drinking what basically amounts to huge glasses of ice with a splash of water and lemon.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by poppiesinjuly 

Do you have a smoothie place nearby?  I spent 26 weeks throwing up multiple times a day, and smoothies saved me.  They make several that are fruit and juice with no dairy.

Oh! And there it is. The thing that I am going to have to have every day for at least a week.

Now to find a smoothie place that isn't on base.