Preggo eats

I was going to include this picture of a cheese plate I had last year at The Yarra Valley Dairy in my Spring Eats roundup, but then I thought it would just look too weird to everyone because who has a cheese plate with just one type of cheese on it? Well, you do when you're knocked up because you can't eat any 'soft cheeses', or any other delicious mouldy type cheeses. When we ordered this we had to explain that I was pregnant and could have hard cheeses only. I loooooove cheese, so this felt pretty odd. And I wasn't 'showing' at all at this stage, so I felt like people would think I was making a fuss, which was silly of me because most people are really understanding once you explain that you can't eat specific things because you're pregnant. I have had one older lady tell me that she drank and smoked through all her pregnancies and her kids all turned out fine! Things are mighty different these days.

Here are some other things that are off the menu if you find yourself knocked up. There's actually a lot more than just this, it's quite the minefield. And I thought it was just alcohol!

• poached eggs, or any eggs that are runny or not completely cooked. This has been the toughest one for me because I love my poached eggs! Homemade aioli and hollandaise are also out. I usually make tiramisu for Christmas, but not this year as it has raw egg whites in it. Had trifle instead, yum.
• any cold meat, including paté, and smoked salmon - meat has to be cooked and hot! We had beautiful seared tuna at a restaurant a while ago which had to be sent back. I was too embarrassed to ask for it to be well cooked so Mr Meet-Cute had to do it for me. I'm such a wuss!
• sushi. I really had to rethink my lunch options after learning I had to steer clear of sushi.

I guess I think about food and my stomach A LOT so this took a bit of adjusting. It's only for nine months though, and then I shall eat all the poached eggs and hollandaise I can get my hands on!