Pregnancy Cravings

Every pregnancy is different but this time around I have a MAJOR sweet AND salty tooth! Last pregnancy I craved donuts. I would allow myself to have 4 donuts a week until the last few when a donut a day kept the pregnant lady at bay! This time around I crave home made chocolate chip cookies, fudge brownies and Chick fil a french fries. Clearly ALL healthy things! But I would like to not be a ginormous pregnant lady so I really try to limit my sweet and salty intake. We eat pretty healthy at the house due to Peter's dietary restrictions and because I am feeding a toddler and want her to only eat healthy whole foods. But this pregnant lady needs some sweets now and again! So I have found 2 recipes that are GREAT to fulfill both of my cravings but not have me chowing down thousands of calories. 

The first is a single serve chocolate chip cookie recipe. It actually makes 2 large cookies so I have one for the next day! Here is the recipe. 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 firmly packed tablespoons of dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
• Pinch of kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk – discard or set aside egg white for a different use
• ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
• ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
• 3 heaping tablespoons of semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter just until it starts to melt and is softened. Blend softened butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla together by hand.
3. Add egg yolk and stir again.
4. Add baking soda and flour and stir until combined.
5. Then stir in chocolate chips.
6. Form cookie dough into two balls and place on baking sheet.
7. The cookies will spread during baking, so make sure they are several inches apart.
8. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
9. Remove baking sheet from oven and give the baking sheet a firm, but careful bang on the counter top. This will deflate the cookie and give it a perfect wrinkly appearance.

The second is a homemade french fry recipe. 

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• sea salt
• pepper
• garlic powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray
2. Wash potatoes well 
3. Peel if you would like. I like to keep the peel because it's better for you
4. Cut the potatoes into wedges
5. Let the potatoes soak for 20 min in ice cold water. This helps remove some starch
6. Dry the potatoes as well as you can
7. In a bowl or large plastic bag mix all ingredients together. Garlic powder is optional 
8. Bake at 450 for 30-45 min depending on how thick you cut them and how crispy you want them

Now if you are craving sweet and salty I would recommend sweet potato fries! Same as above but I add a teaspoon of brown sugar to the mix. 

Bon Appetit!