18/10/2026
What’s your pregnancy craving? 🍜 Sweet, salty, frozen or flaming hot? Plates of pleasure prior to pregnancy suddenly become banished in your first trimester. Some women even notice a strange sour or metallic taste in their mouths - dysgeusia, or a change in your sense of taste, is extremely common and often caused by pregnancy hormones. But what do our pregnancy cravings mean? We decode the dishes…
🥦 Broccoli: Broccoli is a great source of calcium and folate (vitamin B12) so if you crave it you could be lacking in these. Broccoli is also rich in vitamins A, C, K, B6, calcium & fibre.
🥒 Pickles: May reflect low sodium levels, but be careful to not consume too much salt. Snack on pickled cucumbers or olives or even eating roasted vegetables seasoned with salt and herbs.
🥜 Peanut Butter: My #1 craving! Nut butter craving could signal a need for vitamin B or protein. Slather on apple slices for a quick and tasty snack
🥑 Avocado: If one of your cravings is avocados in the third trimester, your body may need potassium. This mineral known to ease leg cramps, which are common in the later stages of pregnancy
🥩 Red meat: A common craving, red meat has high levels of protein and iron. During pregnancy, blood volume increases by almost 50%, so it’s even more essential to increase iron stores to ensure oxygen is transported efficiently around the body
🍨 Ice cream / Yoghurt: Gone off milk? Cheese giving you the ick? Need to top up your calcium? You may find yourself reaching for tubs of ice cream or yogurt, especially in your second trimester when your appetite for sweeter foods emerge
🍝 Pasta / Noodles: Spaghetti or soba noodles - a common first trimester craving and a source which releases serotonin — a feel-good chemical that the nervous system. Craving carbohydrate-rich foods may be because your blood sugar is low
🍚 Rice: Rice is an energy-rich carbohydrate and a source vitamin B6, which helps the body use and store energy from food. Try opting for brown rice - low in GI it can help regulate blood sugar levels to help you maintain steady energy levels
Which foods did you crave in pregnancy?
| 📷 Anya Tilden - Family Photographer
