Pregnancy cravings and food aversions are no joke (seasoned mamas, back me up here). Unlike regular cravings, or even the strong pull to all forms of chocolate this Mama feels during shark week, there is simply no escape and no ignoring the foods that call to you (or send you running) while you have a baby on board.
For some unlucky preggos, the first trimester becomes a simple strategy of eating whatever doesn’t make them want to throw up. For other mama-to-be’s, it can open up a world of wacky food combinations they’d never normally brave to taste.
It’s a spectrum of sorts, and you’re not going to know where you sit until you experience it for yourself. To give you an idea of what it might look like, we asked mums to tell us their weird pregnancy cravings and aversions, and they ranged from relatable to WTAF:
I baked hundreds and hundreds of Anzac biscuits. – Zoe
1st trimester I craved sour lollies. – Emma
English muffins, ate them for a month and nothing else. – Kelsey
I ate nothing but chicken schnitzels for the first three months. The thought of eating anything else made me want to spew. – Paula
Pitted prunes, pineapple, baby spinach. – Anita
Garlic bread and coke (not soaked but drink and eat in the same sitting). – Megan
Sardines on Lebanese bread. – Tameesha
Fruit loops! I was minding my 8 and 6 year old nephews overnight and while we were watching a movie I had the overwhelming craving for fruit loops. We packed up and headed to the shops in our PJs at about 9pm. The kids got ice creams and my craving was satisfied. – Nicky
Pre-made supermarket pizzas (from the freezer). – Michelle
Smelling everything. Not a craving, but I have to smell everything. Washing powder, soaps, fruit I’m buying…everything. – Sam
Random foods from my American childhood, like cheese bagels my dad made, Ruffles potato chips and onion dip. I couldn’t find these things to eat them, but I thought about it! – Caitlin
Smiths BBQ Chips and ate Cornflakes every day for about 5 months!!! – Liz
Hot and spicy 2 min noodles – never had it before pregnancy. – Jackie
Foods with cinnamon, like doughnuts, raisin toast and apple pie. – Jade
Never usually crave alcohol – only when I’m pregnant! First pregnancy I was crazy about fresh apricots and lychees. Second pregnancy was Greek pastitsio and Bubble O Bills. – Niki
Artificial berry flavoured things (eg. Strawberry Freddo frogs and berry flavoured yoghurt). – Becky
Perhaps not too weird, but I craved fresh tomatoes on toast with butter salt & pepper. I ate it just about every day and haven’t had it since having my baby. – Deanne
Lime cordial, anything lime flavoured actually – Tammy
Not a craving but couldn’t eat cooked carrots. – Annie
I do not like pork, especially crackling. Second pregnancy my body was craving pork crackling. I hated it. When eating it I felt like gagging but the second it was swallowed, my body was telling me I must eat more. That was the most bizarre feeling ever. – Leesa
Strawberry milk and cheese and tomato toastie. Neither of which I would ever eat before or after. – Celine
I couldn’t stomach any fruit or veggies, which made eating healthy very hard!. – Jen
Pickled turnips. – Katrina
Prawns, always wanted prawns with everything! – Natasha
I loved ice cubes and crunching on them especially towards the end. – Vicki
Octopus stew. – Marie
Anything that previously would have smelled delicious – cooked meals, and meats made me want to be sick, I had to leave the room while my partner cooked his dinner. – Liv
Noodles with just soy sauce. – Nyarai
Green mango with salt sugar and shrimp paste. Sardines. Smelling the ripe mango peel. – Susan
Sparkling water and plums. – Irena
Green mangoes with shrimp paste. – Charlotte
Just ice and salty foods. – Nicole
Sour cream on everything. – Teresa
Anything dairy and cold oranges. – Laura
Nutella and cheese toasted sandwiches; apple slices with cheese crackers. – Ally
I went through a milk phase where I’d have at least 1L per day, and then that switched to drinking so much orange juice that it would hurt my tongue, but I’d still drink it! – Elisa
As you can see, literally anything goes when it comes to pregnancy cravings, so don’t fight it, embrace it, and get wild with those weird foods.
Have you experienced any weird pregnancy cravings? Let us know in the comments!
