Giving in to cravings is one of the most fun aspects of pregnancy. Revel in the joy of fulfilling your every culinary whim and desire while you can.

But if you find high-fat, empty-calorie foods are causing your weight to creep up faster than the recommended rate, look for healthier alternatives that will still satisfy your cravings.

I notice that my cravings are usually directly related to the lack of certain vitamins and nutrients in my system?most notably calcium, vitamin C and lycopene. For the first three months of my pregnancy, I wanted nothing but pizza and milkshakes. After keeping the local pizza shop and ice cream parlor in business for several months, I came up with some easy-to-prepare, at-home alternatives.

Old-Fashioned Egg Cream

If I?m craving dairy products, first I take two Tums calcium supplements and wait a half hour. If the craving persists, it?s time to break out the pint glasses and whip myself up an egg cream.

Pour eight ounces of non-fat milk into a 16 oz. glass. Add about a tablespoon of Hershey?s chocolate syrup (or vanilla or strawberry, if you prefer). Stir well. Top with club soda or seltzer for a tasty, calcium-rich treat with less calories than a milkshake. The bubbles in the soda also help eliminate gas pains, if you have one of those annoying burps that won?t come out.

Quick & Healthy Pizza

For a low-cost, healthy alternative to pizza (especially frozen pizza), make your own with this recipe.

Take 2 one ounce whole wheat pitas or a whole wheat / whole grain English muffin (split). Do not split the pita bread?keep it whole. Read labels carefully to make sure that whole, unbleached wheat flour is the first ingredient, and that the bread is not made with high-fructose corn syrup.

Cover the top with pasta sauce. I like Ragu Fresh & Simple Vegetable Sauce in a pouch.

Add spices to taste: oregano and basil, pizza seasoning or minced garlic tastes great!

Add about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons low-fat or nonfat shredded mozzarella cheese.

You can also get creative and add diced peppers, baby spinach, olives or other veggies.

Bake on baking sheet on middle rack at 450 degrees for about five minutes.

Broil an additional minute or two, until cheese melts completely. (Watch carefully so it doesn?t burn!)

Orange Juice

Orange juice, packed with Vitamin C, is a common pregnancy craving. (Or maybe it?s just memories of that scene in Baby Talk where Kirstie Alley pours gallons of the orange stuff down her throat.) Instead of drinking calorie-laden, sugar-filled store bought juice, squeeze your own. Leave lots of pulp for extra fiber. Just be sure to drink it immediately. Fresh-squeezed juice isn?t pasteurized or loaded with preservatives that will allow it to keep for weeks in your fridge.

Oatmeal Cookies

If you?re craving something sweet, these oatmeal cookies made with whole wheat flour and brown sugar are packed with 6 grams of fiber, making them a healthy indulgence.

Or try these 5-grain cereal cookies, which include loads of cranberries and raisins for a fruit-filled treat.

It?s more than okay to indulge your cravings with the real thing every so often. But nightly milkshakes and giant slices of New York pizza can empty your wallet and expand your waistline quicker than you can say ?baby fat.? Try these tasty treats for a change once in a while.

Pregnancy legends say whatever you eat in your first trimester will be your baby’s favorite foods later in life. As my husband and I both sat here devouring the sweetest Florida oranges you could ever want to taste, I cringed thinking about my future food bills – specifically, the price of fresh fruit!

Pre-pregnancy, I loved vegetables. Fresh green beans, canned peas, broccoli, cauliflower, even brussel sprouts and lima beans. You name it, I’d eat it; raw, steamed or saut’ed with garlic and butter. I ate a relatively balanced diet, but never shied away from my greens.

I realized around week 5, when I finished my steak and brown rice and left my salad sitting in its bowl, that I had lost my taste for vegetables. “Since when do I leave my salad for last?” I moaned to my husband. “Our future child won’t like vegetables, and it’s your fault!” My husband likes only a handful of vegetables, all raw, and corn in any form except creamed.

Concerned about not eating enough healthy foods during pregnancy, I ransacked the produce section of Stop n’ Shop. “If the kid doesn’t like vegetables, he’s going to eat fruit!” I came home with oranges, apples, grapefruits, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and kiwi fruit.

I’ve been making a smoothie in my Magic Bullet once a day with a banana, five to seven strawberries, a handful of blueberries and a cup of non-fat milk. Not only does it calm the nausea and fill me up for a whole two hours, it’s probably one of the healthiest foods I actually have a desire to eat.

I started to get worried this morning about my fruit stock. Last night, I ate the last banana and the last apple and my strawberry supply was running dangerously low.

When my husband came home from work with bananas and oranges, I hugged him as if he had given me diamonds and the keys to a new car. I dug deeper in the grocery bag and found sugar snap peas, one of the few foods on his list of ‘approved vegetables.’ I tossed them aside in hopes of revealing a pint of strawberries.

Two out of three isn’t bad, I guess, but if this is a glimpse into the future, I’m thinking we ought to reconsider our vegetable garden concept with rows of tomato plants and green beans. We’ll just need to buy enough land to grow an orchard.

When I got pregnant with my first baby, it was probably the healthiest I had ever eaten. Truth be told, I ate with gusto; I had a hearty appetite. But I also avoided packaged foods, TV dinners, or anything that had a lot of trans-fat in it. Tip: check your ingredients for the word “partially hydrogenated oil”. If it has that word in the ingredient, it’s got trans-fat even if it’s in small amount.

Why is trans-fat so dangerous? Eating trans fat is associated with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, immune dysfunction, obesity and reproductive problems. Yikes! What others thought as the ultimate fat for enhancing food taste, and extending shelf lives didn’t turn out to be so hot.

The food industry is now looking (or I hope they are) for suitable alternatives to trans fat, because its everywhere. But which foods are the most heavily-laden with trans fat?

From WebMD
1. Spreads. Like Margarine or shortening. You can look for for soft-tub margarine, which is less likely to have trans fat

2. Packaged foods. Cake mixes, Bisquick, and other mixes all have several grams of trans fat per serving. If you want to bake, and avoid trans fat altogether, bake from scratch.

3. Soups. Ramen noodles and soup cups contain very high levels of trans fat. Yes it’s cheap, and for a reason. It’s full of nothing but carbs, sodium and lots of trans fat. Just avoid it altogether, even if you’re trying to save money.

4. Fast Food. Fries, chicken, and other foods are deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oil. Even if the chains use liquid oil, fries are sometimes partially fried in trans fat before they’re shipped to the restaurant. Pancakes and grilled sandwiches also have some trans fat, from margarine slathered on the grill.

I have a fast food once a week habit. I need to make a more concerted effort to avoid them.

5. Frozen Food. Those yummy frozen pies, pot pies, waffles, pizzas, even breaded fish sticks contain trans fat. Even if the label says it’s low-fat, it still has trans fat.

Like I said previously, look for partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredient and avoid it like the plague.

6. Baked Goods. Even worse news — more trans fats are used in commercially baked products than any other foods. Donuts contain shortening in the dough and are cooked in trans fat.

Cookies and cakes (with shortening-based frostings) from supermarket bakeries have plenty of trans fat. Some higher-quality baked goods use butter instead of margarine, so they contain less trans fat, but more saturated fat.

7. Chips and Crackers. Shortening provides crispy texture. Even “reduced fat” brands can still have trans fat. Anything fried (like potato chips and corn chips) or buttery crackers have trans fat.

The alternative: toast, pita bread, pretzels.

8. Breakfast food. Breakfast cereal and energy bars are quick-fix, highly processed products that contain trans fats, even those that claim to be “healthy.”

Alternative? Whole-wheat toast, bagels, and cereals.

9. Cookies and Candy. Look at the labels; some have higher fat content than others. A chocolate bar with nuts — or a cookie — is likely to have more trans fat than gummy bears.

10. Toppings and Dips. Nondairy creamers and flavored coffees, whipped toppings, bean dips, gravy mixes, and salad dressings contain lots of trans fat. Alternative: Use skim milk or powdered nonfat dry milk in coffee. Choose fat-free salad dressings — or opt for old-fashioned oil-and-vinegar dressing. Natural oils such as olive oil and canola oil don’t contain trans fat.

If you’re already stressing over all the food you have to avoid from this list and want to give up before you even tried, calm down. Here are the minimal rules you should live by: limit your fast food to maybe once a month, cook with olive or canola oil (olive is best), stock up on fruits, vegetables, cereals, avoid as much as possible anything that has the words partially hydrogenated oil in the ingredient list.