Mom NOMs: When the whole world tastes like poo, here's what I do!

On an unpregnant day, you could call me The Girl Who Enjoys Food.  Not binge-by-the-bag food or prepackaged astronaut chow, but rather the kind you have to sit down and show reverence toward.  I *heart* some spaghetti alla carbonara.  I scream for Jamocha Almond Fudge ice cream.  Pad thai just blows my taste buds offstage like Stewart Copeland back in his early days drumming with The Police (don't worry, Mini -- if you don't get that allusion now, you will by the time you can say, "Do do do.... da da da"!  Mommy loves her some Zenyattà Mondatta).
 
After supplying my body with such marvelous fare on a regular basis throughout my adult life, it seems like the ultimate betrayal that during pregnancy -- when I need the comfort of food the most --my Judas Iscariot hormones have made ALL of my favorites taste like a mouthful of spit wads.  As in wet paper.  Literally.

I'd heard about some preggies experiencing a "faint metallic taste" (as many pregnancy resources would so delicately put it) in their mouths, particularly during the first trimester, but somehow that phrase fails to capture the subtle bouquet evoked when your tongue insists that it's not a cheeseburger you're eating, but rather a french-fried hockey puck.

(Sensitivity check:  While I'm poking fun at one of the more unpleasant parts of our particular pregnancy, by no means do I consider myself unfortunate in light of what other, braver women have had to endure in order to bring their own Minis into the world.  Mad respec', ladies.) 

Thank God that, um, God put some nummy alternatives within my grasp to help me cope with the loss of my old fatty standbys.  I reckon that it's His kind way of saying, "Sugar will make your baby see through time.  That's why it tastes like phooey right now.  Try something simple and nourishing instead."

In case any of you are dealing with blargh-mouth right now or in the future, here is my list of Mini-friendly alternatives to the plush menu:

1.  Cocoa-dusted almonds.  With only one gram of sugar per serving, a 100-calorie pack of Blue Diamond cocoa-dusted almonds knocks that chocolate craving right in the head.

2.  Pears canned in their own juice.  Sweet.... but not as sweet as that chick in high school that used to hang out with you when your parents took you to do cool stuff but then talked behind your back when she liked your boyfriend. 

3.  Light popcorn.  It's white.  And fluffy.  Like me!  It also boasts a substantial amount of fiber, which is worth its weight in gold when you're with child.  It's like you're issued a stopper with a positive pregnancy test.  Umph!

4.  Dried veggie snacks.  I'm working my way through a bag of Nature's Harvest Veggie Crunchers as I compose this very sentence!  See how much smarterer I am when I eat my vegetables?

5.  Greek yogurt.  Hooray for soothing dairy and fortifying protein!  A nib of this stuff in the morning, and I'm chargin' hell with a squirt gun (this is a phrase I picked up from my Baptist minister husband, obviously.  Love ya, punkin!).

6.  Almond milk.  The vanilla kind tastes like melted ice cream, minus the wangy overly-sugared aftertaste.  Almonds are nature's little darlings. 

7.  Steel-cut oats.  Add milk (even the aforementioned almond!), peanut butter and a dab of local honey, and you have a cocktail for morning greatness. 

What are your helpful foods when you feel like walking donkeybutter, during pregnancy or otherwise?  Do tell!

And a special question for the Mini-moms out there in blogland: did what you ate during pregnancy seem to affect your child's tastes for certain foods as they grew?  Just wondering, because if so, sweet baby girl Clenney will eschew bananas and be doomed to a lifetime of garlic breath.  Viva Italia, my darling!