Food: So Tasty! So Horrible!

Still the enemy? We'll have to find out.

Q: Hey Charlotte, have you been eating anything weird lately?

A: Yes! How did you know?

Q: Just a wild guess, based on every stereotypical media depiction of pregnancy ever. Care to give some examples? Maybe as a list?

A: No problem. In recent weeks I have developed a sudden culinary fascination with these items, among others:
- Avocadoes
- Lipton Onion Dip
- San Pellegrino Limonata Soda
- Tahini
- Sour Patch Kids (just the sour coating)
- Feta Cheese
- Thai Coconut-Lime Soup
- Strawberries

Q: Once you get your hands on these foods, what happens?

A: I eat them with gusto for about 20 minutes and then they make me feel horribly sick, so I have to abandon them for a period of days or even weeks.

Q: How does your husband feel about this?

A: He has been extraordinarily patient about finding himself the recipient of three ripe avocadoes for dinner and a wife who has suddenly decided she can't be in the same room as an avocado. Luckily, he likes guacamole.

Q: Have you ever craved pickles and/or ice cream?

A: Ice cream, no. Sweet things are staggeringly uninteresting to me right now, which is entirely out of character. But as far as pickles go, even though I don't much like them in my normal life, the other day I decided that I really, really wanted cornichons. You know, the little baby French pickles that they serve with pâté and fondue.

Q: Do you think that "I didn't have a craving for pickles, just cornichons" is the most bourgeois thing you've ever said?

A: Probably. But the time I complained about not being able to find orange blossom water in the grocery store was also pretty memorable.

Q: What's the craziest thing you've done to satisfy a craving?

A: That would probably be the time that I drove 40 miles (one-way) to a particular grocery store so that I could buy a bag of their cheese popcorn. It's not brand-name or anything, it's just cheese popcorn that they make in the store. I planned my entire weekend around this trip since I knew it was all I would have the energy to do, and oh, it was so glorious to eat that popcorn.

Q: How'd you feel once you finished half the bag?

A: I don't want to talk about it.

Q: What about things that you used to love and now hate?

A: That would be most foods, actually. My only real food aversion when I'm not pregnant is cilantro - like a certain subset of the population, it just tastes really bad to me. I've always prided myself on not being a picky eater, so that's really the only thing I truly refuse to eat. But now, easily 80-85% of items sold in our grocery store look terrible.

Q: Since every day has apparently turned into topsy-turvy day, have you thought about trying cilantro to see if you still hate it?

A: Huh. Interesting query. I may have to give that a try, just for funsies. I mean, it can't be worse than anything else, right?