I haven't eaten meat (I do eat seafood) in 9 years and I'm craving it hard core with this pregnancy. Sitting here fantasizing about a ham and cheese sandwich with mayo (I also don't eat mayo). 
Anyone experience this? What did you do? There's no way I'm going to eat meat but how do I get over the craving?
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I was craving burgers (not a vegetarian) and turns out I'm anemic. Can you have your iron levels checked?
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@Mrs. Pickle: I actually did have a full panel blood test recently and I'm all good on iron.
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I eat meat but I did crave things I don't normally eat. Like my second pregnancy I went through a phase where I really craved chicago style hot dogs (but I don't live in chicago, so I had like 1 option lol). I might eat a hot dog once a year at a bbq or baseball game, if that. I just ate it, so I'm no help.
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soy ham and veganaise?
i'm veggie but never craved meat while pregnant.. I have enjoyed a few good fake bacon sandwiches.
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I would check your Iron for sure. It might be something else you need to (other vitamin, salt, not sure what else) so think about that. When I was veggie and generally I dont eat a lot of processed foods I actually dont always get enough salt when I am sweating a lot and it makes me crave weird things.
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I'm also vegetarian and didn't crave real meat but I did eat the fake stuff a lot while pregnant.
Your situation reminds me of the Friends episode where Phoebe is a pregnant veggie and wants to eat meat so Joey stops eating meat to offset her eating a hamburger.
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@Meowkers: just curious what meat alternatives you eat now, if any? Like seitan, tempeh, etc?
I am not a veg but some things like chicken make me squeamish so I love a lot of the alternatives (seitan and extra super firm tofu are my faves). They really taste/feel very meaty to me.
But if you already eat those then it's not a helpful suggestion.
Agree with @mrs.pickle that often cravings indicate a deficiency. Like they say that craving ice cream can actually mean a calcium deficiency. -
Have you tried those vegetarian meat substitutes? I know they make deli meats and cheese that are vegetarian, but one thing that works for me is marinated tofu. Or maybe splurge on a fancy vegetarian restaurant meal? There used to be a vegan place by my house that made the most amazing BLT (it was like $10 but so amazing).
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@LulaBee: totally know that episode!
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Tofurkey makes a sliced ham-like deli meat substitute that's pretty good. Don't get what's wrong with mayo, it's vegetarian? I've also made a faux tuna salad with chickpeas that's actually fabulous stand in minus the fishy flavor.
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@newlypregnantlady: I'm going to give it a try! Going to Whole Foods during lunch to pick up some soy ham.
@SweetiePie: I don't really eat meat alternatives. I don't normally enjoy the taste of meat. I really enjoy foods that don't need that "meat" component. Sometimes I do have a tofu stir fry but that's it. Oh actually I love various veggie patties (from Trader Joe's).
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@gingerbebe: mayo is just very unhealthy so I stopped eating it a long time ago.
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Ahhh, everyone keeps asking me if I've been craving meat and so far not at all (it actually grosses me out more). I'd just do some sort of meat substitute and see if that nips the craving in the bud!
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@Meowkers: I guess unless you don't eat oil and eggs (which is all mayo is), I don't see what the big deal is? But I'm also all about suspending food rules when I'm pregnant so 🤷♀️
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@gingerbebe: I try to cut out unnecessary calories where I can so I can have room in my calorie budget for foods that make a difference. So instead of having a tablespoon of mayo on a sandwich (100 calories) I can have mustard (3 calories) and have an extra 97 calories to enjoy a piece of chocolate or a small cookie or half a potato. Little things like that just really add up.
I just re-read this and it comes off a bit snooty. Don't mean that at all. I just have to watch what I eat since I don't work out at all. So every calorie makes a difference.
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I'm a veggie and have been my whole life so haven't ever craved meat in life or in either pregnancy because I don't know what it tastes like. I do know people who aren't lifers who when pregnant they craved it hard and they just ate it.
For you, I'd just get the deli meat substitutes and see if that curbs the craving. There are vegan substitutes for mayo that taste quite good mixed with mustard on a sandwich, but they aren't necessarily better for you.
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@Meowkers: I do this too! I'm really short so a meal that's 500 calories vs 700 is a huge difference for me, because I don't need that many calories per day.
My favorite is hummus on a sandwich, or some tzatiki.
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@Meowkers: So particularly in the first trimester I find that things that I am craving sometimes sound better than they are when I bite into them..and the main food I"ve noticed that with is meat. Maybe you take a bite and see if you even really want that? It might sound better in your head than it actually is. It sounds like you're vegetarian because of health reasons (?) I don't think one bite (or honestly one sandwich) is really going to make much difference.
The other thing is as pp suggested those meat alternatives, some of which are pretty good, and also not bad with calories.
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@2littlepumpkins: yeah I know what you mean about the idea being better than reality. I'm veggie because of moral reasons so I really couldn't bring myself to even take one bite. But I'm going to take everyone's advice and try some meat alternative deli slices today.
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@Meowkers: ah I see. Sorry, then my one bite thing isn't helpful, but hopefully the alternatives either hit the spot or remove the temptation. I eat meat but I sometimes eat the alternatives because I actually think many are good. They've come a long way!
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So weird! Pregnancy is very odd sometimes. If I were you I would take this opportunity to eat something else I was craving, like ice cream or a random nicer meal out or something.
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I've always been borderline anemic, and I craved spinach and beef all through pregnancy - I'm sure it was an iron thing. I know your blood work came back normal, but maybe a big spinach salad?
I ate scrambled eggs with spinach mixed in every morning, and a spinach salad multiple times a week -- if I didn't get enough, then I absolutely HAD to eat a hamburger. I wonder if it would help in reverse: if your body would stop craving meat if you ate lots of spinach.... -
I would start by keeping a log of the total amount of protein you're getting every day. You need at least 71 grams a day. I don't see the meat substitutes as a super great idea; I'd go for protein-rich things you already like - maybe peanut butter, lentils, cottage cheese?
Also - your comment makes it sound like you might still be restricting your calorie intake the same as you were pre-pregnancy. You need a lot more calories now! The meat craving could just be your body telling you to eat more.
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I cooked these two recipes almost every week for my third trimester during my last pregnancy. Tons of protein:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/04/lentil-and-chickpea-salad-with-feta-and-tahini/
https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/02/stuck-pot-rice-with-lentils-and-yogurt/
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I didn't eat much meat before my pregnancies (not vegetarian, but probably close...I may have eaten meat maybe 1-2x per week). I actually ended up completely changing eating habits and started eating meat much more. Probably not at all helpful to you but I guess just don't feel guilty about it because it just can happen. I was borderline anemic so that definitely played a role, but I also ate tons of spinach and took an iron supplement and that didn't really cut it for me.
I guess the one thing I get from your posts is that you are calorie counting and I would probably stop doing that if you are pregnant. You don't need to go crazy but you actually probably do need that extra 100 calories right now, so I'd say go ahead and have that mayo. FWIW, I'm super short and I watched my diet a ton with my pregnancy with LO1 (because I was used to extreme calorie control at the time) and not at all with LO2 and ended up gaining the same amount.
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I would find the veggie version of what I was craving.
Also, I am sure there's a correlation between being deficient in something.
I am vegan, and planned to have a totally vegan pregnancy this time around. At 20 weeks, I was still SO SICK, that I got a bean burrito with cheese on it, because I just needed something to bring me joy, lol. It also made me super sick, so I learned my lesson.
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So I'm vegan, and I haven't craved this exactly but I have been eating WAY more meat substitutes while pregnant. I've been veg for 2 years and literally never wanted/ experimented with substitutes before this, so it was totally weird. I don't particularly have any advice, what's your reason behind being vegetarian? I'm vegan for ethical reasons so I think that might be why I've still had a strong aversion to meat/dairy.
@Synchronicity: I've had people ask me this too! It does get a little annoying lol.
@littlejoy: Oh that sucks you got sick! I miss the convenience of eating dairy!
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My sil went from being vegan to eating bacon cheeseburgers while pregnant lol. I'm a vegetarian too (since I was 4!) and never craved anything while pregnant except Mac and cheese or ice cream and do t think that counts bc I always crave that
but, even as a vegetarian myself, I say do what you need to do. If the veggie substitutes don't cut it (and I don't like them usually either, except tofu and tempeh. Oh and there's a chorizo that Whole Foods sells that's good), then don't beat yourself about having it once or twice.
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I'd probably make a really delicious cheese sandwich with mayo, although my preferred format for that type of sandwich is fancy grilled cheese on crusty bread with a little Dijon inside.
@gingerbebe: I am intrigued by this chickpea "tuna" salad, as I have a lot of chickpeas in my cupboard at the moment! Was it online, by any chance?
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@honeybear: It's basically just tuna salad with chickpeas subbed in. I sorta roughly mash some of the chickpeas and leave the rest whole. Here's a pretty similar recipe to what I make:
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/01/16/lunch-this-week-chickpea-salad-wraps/
@meowkers: I was thinking about you at my Japanese lunch today and wondered if a cucumber avocado cream cheese roll dipped in soy sauce could work. It has the salty/creamy profile and there's a lot of umami in seaweed that could replace the smokiness of the ham. I would also try a nice hearty sandwich with smoked Gouda slices - it basically tastes like ham and cheese together because of the smokiness of the cheese.
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I have a vegan friend who had meat cravings during her pregnancy. I'm not sure of her reasoning for being vegan but nonetheless she ended up eating meat. She figured if she was craving it her body needed it. She went back to vegan after her pregnancy.
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My vegan friend went through this whole pregnant and just ate whatever she wanted. I take cravings As my body trying to tell me it needs something.
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Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions ladies. I ended up getting some vegan deli slices and making the sandwich I wanted. The texture and taste was kind of like balogna, not really like ham but it totally hit the spot. I would probably never buy or eat those normally but it did scratch an itch.
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@LulaBee: haha!! I thought of Friends, too!
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@Meowkers: glad you satisfied that craving!
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@catlady: Yep definitely need the extra 100 calories - here's the WebMD guideline for increasing calories during pregnancy: 1st-2nd trimester about 340 more calories each day than your prepregnancy needs, and 3rd trimester about 450 more than your prepregnancy diet
but, even as a vegetarian myself, I say do what you need to do. If the veggie substitutes don't cut it (and I don't like them usually either, except tofu and tempeh. Oh and there's a chorizo that Whole Foods sells that's good), then don't beat yourself about having it once or twice.
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