Don't mention the S word!

Maybe I'll be brave and mention it...we'll see.

What is it with tastebuds in pregnancy? Seriously! What happens to them?

I mean, I was expecting cravings. I was hoping to be sending my other half off to the supermarket at 4am for hot wings and chocolate sauce just for kicks, but I wasn't expecting the huge list of things that I used to love but wouldn't be able to stomach. Or the things I've always hated and now miraculously can't get enough of!

My most exciting craving to date has involved eating a packet of cheese and onion crisps with a plate full of garlic olives - not very weird and wonderful. I'm a little bit disappointed in myself for it to be honest.

Food aversions are something I have experienced. With one in particular which has meant everyone in the house has to avoid a certain food. I daren't even mention it...Sausages! There, I've said it and now I won't mention it again. Honestly, at the high point of my sickness, someone just mentioning the word would send me off to the toilet gagging all the way. What's that all about? I had to turn the channel over if an advert for them came on and couldn't even be in the house if they were being cooked. As the sickness eased a bit (the drugs I've now been given have made life so much easier) I could handle being in the same house but needed all doors between the kitchen and me closed and all windows open for me.

I must sound like a drama queen right? Well, let me tell you about the bacon sandwich...

The bacon sandwich I'd dreamt about all night, the bacon sandwich that had my mouth watering at the thought of it. THE bacon sandwich.

We'd cooked bakey bread (the part baked rolls - nom!) and my mum went into the kitchen to cook the meat, she wanted the dreaded tubes of meat so I went and hid upstairs. Ten minutes later I was brought up (yep, knock on the door and everything - not a drama Queen at all...)a steaming hot, butter dripping bacon roll. I was so happy! I tucked straight in and then....NO! Ran to the toilet and spent 5 minutes hurling :( No, I haven't suddenly gone off of bacon (the horror!!) - all the meat was cooked in the same pan :( I was so upset that I cried. I cried because I couldn't eat my bacon roll that I'd been dreaming about. I felt so hard done by! Bloody hormones!

Now the dreaded meaty things are not even in the house, it's so strange because I loved them before!

I wonder if I'll be able to stomach them when the baby arrives?

I'll probably be too terrified to try them!

I actually feel a little bit sick after writing this. Bleugh.

What about you other mums? Did you experience any food aversions? Did they go away when baby arrived?

Comfort Food

How often, when you crave comfort food, do you toddle off down the road and buy yourself some? Or pick up the phone to order it? Or order it online (damn you Just Eat for making it possible to pay for a Chinese online with my debit card!)?

Really? Just me?

Don't believe you for a second!

Anyway, as times is hard (far too hard) buying comfort food isn't exactly an option, so I've been coming up with cunning ways of eating comfort food without the excessive price tag (and if I can make it healthier but still as comforting - even better!).

My latest creation is one which I think will be made again and again. Yesterday, during film night, my lovely other half and I tucked into a home made pizza! Not just any old pizza...this one had a sweet potato pizza base that I also made all by myself :)

I hunted all over the internet for the pizza base recipe as I was sure I'd seen it somewhere, but I couldn't find what I wanted - there are so many different versions. Some used baking powder, some didn't. Some used eggs, some didn't. Some used wholegrain flour, some used a flour I've never heard of and couldn't pronounce if I wanted to! So I decided to wing it a little and make the base in pretty much the same way I make potato scones...it worked!

Would you like the recipe? Then keep reading chikadees! And erm...the male version of that if you happen to be a male ;)

1. Boil up your sweet potato and mash with butter and some seasoning - allow to cool
2. Mix with self raising flour. My potato was about 450g and I used about 200g of flour - I kept adding until the mixture was no longer sticky and could be rolled into a ball like this:



3. Mix in a dessert spoonful of olive oil.
4. Spread out onto a baking tray (greasing first if you need to) into whatever shape takes your fancy (who says pizza's have to be round?!)
5. Bake on 180 (fan assisted - adjust accordingly for your oven!) for about 15 minutes or until it looks like this:



And that's your base! How yummy does that look? Now for the topping! Again, times is hard, so we didn't have any pizza sauce in the cupboard. Instead, I blended up a tin of chopped tomatoes, added salt, pepper, garlic and a pinch of mixed herbs and bobs your uncle! Pizza Sauce! The left over that I didn't use on the pizza went into a jar to be used as pasta sauce for tonight's dinner!

Here is the finished article before it went into the oven:



And ten minutes later:



Nom nom nom....twenty minutes later it was gone.

Not bad for comfort food don't you think?

What do you think of my little recipe? Would you like more of them?