Any vegetarians REALLY craving meat during pregnancy?

[Tigerlily08]

Thus is driving me insane - I havent eaten meat for over 10 years. During my first pregnancy I craved KFC in the last trimester. I had a little girl last time.

This time round, I literally just want to devour meat and I'm only 15 weeks. I want KFC, Steak, Chorizo, hog roast with crackling and ribs. WTF is going on! Do you reckon it's a boy this time?

Have any of you caved? I won't judge, it's driving me insane 😂 if you did cave, did it make you sick? Did you go back to being veggie after?

If you’re a vegetarian for animal welfare reasons then could you buy some organic meat? That has the highest welfare standards (I believe) so could be a compromise?

Might not hit the KFC or Maccie D cravings though!

And make sure you’re taking prenatal supplements with folic acid, iron, vitamin b, vitamin d and any other essentials. I took pregnacare and found it good (I’m not veggie though).

There was a whole episode of friends about this when Phoebe ate meat.

Why's that annoying though? There are still loads of bean burgers, vegetable lasagnes etc that aren't err...meat copies?? I don't know how to describe them 😂 These are just additional products for people who do miss/like meat.

I personally can’t eat most of those.

Just bizarre to me that vegetarian food is made to suit the tastes of meat eaters. As if they don’t already dominate 99% of restaurant menus!

When I was a pregnant veggie 15 years ago, I had an overwhelming urge for a Big Mac! The urge just wouldn't go so poor DH got sent at 11pm one night for not 1, but 2! I scoffed the lot and felt so much better 😬 Definitely a deficiency in something in my case. Carried on through the pregnancy I'm ashamed to say too although I rarely eat it these days!

True - I’m not squeamish in the least (veggie not vegan) but am a bit about the vegan foods like ‘burgers’ which look like a lump of roadkill, or ‘bacon’ what looks like, well bacon.

I guess this is for people who are veggie for part of the time or those who are eating less/no animal products for ‘green’ reasons (rather than animal welfare).

I'm vegan and in the first few weeks I craved eggs (I didn't eat any and it's gone now at 15 weeks). After reading into the literature there is no known connection between deficiencies and cravings. It's more likely you feel like crap and want comfort food (which junk food like KFC is for many!) I've been vegan for 16 years but a veggie breakfast with eggs was a hangover staple of mine when I was at uni

But if it were linked to a deficiency I'd say it was more likely protein you needed. Usually if I am really hungry it's because I need more protein. I currently can't handle fake meat products so I've been having extra protein smoothies and extra seitan (vital wheat gluten if you haven't heard of it).

@KittenKong

True - I’m not squeamish in the least (veggie not vegan) but am a bit about the vegan foods like ‘burgers’ which look like a lump of roadkill, or ‘bacon’ what looks like, well bacon.

I guess this is for people who are veggie for part of the time or those who are eating less/no animal products for ‘green’ reasons (rather than animal welfare).

Maybe but as a meat eater I’m not keen on the substitutes either. They don’t taste the same as meat and are just a disappointment if that’s what you want. When I’m eating vegetarian / vegan food then I’d rather it was ‘honest’ than pretending to be something it isn’t.

I had the opposite. Was a transitioned veggie who occassionally had meat or fish if I was eating at someone's home and being polite (not wanting to starve). Upon being pregnant the mere sight of meat and fish (but not seafood for some reason) made me want to heave, throughout the entire pregnancy. As soon as she was born I was fine to eat fish again!

Does this help, one way or another?

With the foods you've listed as craving it could be salt you are actually craving - try a packet of salty crisps and see if that helps

I’m vegan and have craved champagne and cakes, same as my non-pregnancy cravings…never craved meat though.

Maybe look at protein and fat intake and see if you need more? I eat lots of nuts, tofu, beans etc. but if I’m having a day where I don’t get as much protein in my diet I add a protein shake to top up.

Thank you all for your suggestions! I went veggie purely for ethical reasons, I absolutely loved the taste of meat. Because of this I do eat a lot of the meat like alternatives but as many have said, a lot of them just aren't the same. That being said, I've found the products replicating chicken to be pretty good. I'll give the Linda McCartney chicken bucket a go!

I'll also have a look at my diet - I'm Type 1 Diabetic so have access to a dietician through the diabetes team who may be able to help, especially if I'm lacking in something key! X