Pregnant Woman v. Food

Ok, hopefully this will be a recurring segment--unless I make myself ungodly sick or gain too much weight.  However, before I dive into my first food challenge I need to explain a few things.

First, the name is a play on the Travel Channel’s show “Man v. Food” with Adam Richman.  Now, for more than a half dozen years I was a Samantha Brown loyalist.  She was my gal and we were tight (although she didn’t know it). No matter where I traveled, Samantha was there with me.  Whether on the TV in my hotel room in Dubai, my stateroom in the Mediterranean or on my flight to Thailand (in flight entertainment), Samantha was there by my side.  My husband and I would even sit on our couch and veg out to Samantha Brown on weekends and dream about where we’d go next.  [Insert screeching tire noise here] But…now we have an 18 month old so our travels have been limited recently to Pennsylvania, Colorado, and the Jersey Shore (no, not anywhere near THAT jersey shore town)...basically to where the grandparents live.

Since my wings have been clipped, Samantha and I have grown apart and I’ve had to find new friends…enter Adam Richman.  Adam, is the host of “Man v. Food” and currently my new bff on the Travel Channel.  Adam travels around the country and takes on all sorts of outrageous food challenges; some of my favorites include a donut the diameter of a basketball, a 12lb cheeseburger, and a giant stuffed pizza.    

Second thing you should know is that I’m Italian and as such food is very important to my family. For example: when my mother goes to a party and I ask her how it was, she doesn’t tell me about funny conversations or what people were wearing, no no, she tells me the menu in painstaking detail and then how everything tasted.  My mother is awesome, but the way she eats certain foods (like wings and donuts) is, well, creepy, a wee bit orgasmic even.

The menu at my wedding was completely based on appeasing the voracious appetite of my relatives.  So in addition to the main dinner, there was a large cocktail hour spread with copious amounts of cheese and things wrapped in bacon, as well as a massive dessert room. At one point, I returned to the ballroom from the bathroom and found the room ¾ empty because just about everyone had smashed themselves into the dessert room down the hall. And, rather then returning to the ballroom to eat dessert, most guests ate outside the dessert room, put their empty plate on the sidebar and went back in for seconds, thirds, etc.

So my genetic/cultural predisposition to food combined with the fact that I am pregnant and craving just about everything, gave me the Pregnant Woman v. Food idea.  Since this is my last pregnancy, I plan on succumbing to my cravings and eating myself simple—all the while providing my readers (hahaha..readers=me) with the best local places to satisfy their cravings.*

Check back in a few days for my first pw v. food post

Challenge #1: Cupcakes

* However, if you have what is called a pica craving, you’re sol, because I have no desire to taste test sand, clay, dirt or ice.  Should those things become irresistible to you…call your doctor!!