Pregnancy hormones are bringing out the worst in me! Euhhh, let’s just stick to food here! While I thought junk food is something I had by now fully defeated and my body has fully detoxified itself from all the residues of my juvenile consumption, much to my surprise I discover that my unrefined kidlike sweet tooth is making a comeback right at the most sensitive time when I should be feeding myself and my infant some real food! I can’t believe that the other day I was walking down the street with a bag of sour jelly strings while strolling my daughter, and discretely munching on these rainbow colored gelatins hoping that no other passing mama sees me and gives me the look! I hoped it would stop there, but it didn’t! A couple of days later, while I was running after my daughter in the park, I saw a cotton candy vendor passing and again my hormones sprung into a “ding ding” musical! The worst part this time is that I couldn’t hide that from my daughter, whose eyes bulged out at the sight of the bright pink candy!

While I found that repressing my cravings is not the solution but is more often counter effective, I decided to accomodate my body’s wishes. So when a bad craving strikes, if a healthier option wouldn’t satiate, I decided to go ahead and enjoy the food I craved but in a small amount. For example, according to my rule, one bite of that cotton candy would have been more than satisfactory. Now practice and scheme can differ a bit but it’s important to have a plan!

Here are some healthier snacks when you feel like something

• Crunchy: rice cakes; toasted whole-wheat pita bread; unsalted nuts or sunflower seeds; low-fat popcorn; whole-grain crackers; unsalted whole-grain pretzels; trail mix and raw crunchy veggies like celery.
• Creamy: low-fat ice cream; low-fat vanilla coffee; low-fat flavored yogurt; and yogurt and fruit smoothie
• Chocolaty: dark chocolate bite; dark chocolate-dipped strawberries, banana or dried fruits; low-fat versions of: chocolate pudding, frozen fudge bar, hot chocolate milk and banana frappe
• Sweet: fruit jam with no added sugar; honey; frozen pops with 100% juice; sorbet; dried fruits or fruits like grapes; and melon

Don’t forget to keep the portion small!