All I want is Tuna

allisonmunson94

Hi! I have hated tuna all my life and for two weeks now, it's all I can think about. I asked my doctor today if I'm allowed to have it and she said two completely conflicting statements about it. At first she said "there's no harm in eating tuna" and then she said "you can have it 2-3 times a month, no more than once a week". I have had four tuna sandwiches in the past two weeks and I really didn't think this was a bad thing considering my calorie intake is pretty limited due to my morning sickness. What should I do?

gamommyx3

You can't go back and un-eat the sandwiches  Just stick to her guidelines from now on.

araecasey

My midwife said no more than 1-2 a week... the issue is tuna is a high mercury fish, especially albacore. I'd just slow it down a little bit and call it good!

Sharra13

I HATE seafood, with the one exception of tuna salad (or maybe tuna mac) on rare occasions.  I have been wanting it more since I got pregnant and finally caved on Monday and grabbed some tuna salad with crackers to go.  I was really nervous about my reaction to it (wanting it and liking it are two different things these days!) but everything went pretty well and I enjoyed it.  Then I bit into one of the cherry tomatoes that came with it and OMG I cannot describe the horror.  I almost puked all over my car.  That one bite of tomato tasted like I licked the inside of a dirty fish tank in the seafood department.  Barf.  I don't know if those tomatoes were just around the tuna too long or if it just enhanced the flavor of the tuna afterwards or what (I LOVE tomatoes and it's been my big craving food all pregnancy) but it sure cured me of my need for tuna....I'm sick just thinking about it.

saraleigh2

You might give canned salmon a try - get the fancy stuff and be sure to look for a can that says no skin/bones. It's pretty good prepared similarly to tuna salad or w/ some Greek yogurt, mayo and dill w/ cucumber as a wonderful tea sandwich.

I agree w/ @Knottie25455542 just stick to the guidelines now

Pascal86

I've always been fine with fish, but I have been SO into it this pregnancy! Not tuna in particular, but eaten sooo many fish tacos. And like @saraleigh2 said, maybe find other fish that is lower in mercury to snack on, and see if that takes care of your tuna cravings.

doozer1345

I've heard when you have cravings for something specific it's not necessarily the food you are craving. It's the vitamins or nutrition you get it from. Maybe look up what benefits tuna has and see if you can find a substitute to tie you over until it's your day to eat tuna.

buffythevampireslayer

I have also craved tuna fish subs from like a legit sub place on big white bread. I have not held myself back and do not plan to start! I don't think I'm eating close to enough to get mercury poisoning and my willpower is being reserved for the million other things I am not allowed to have right now.

Kurrant

This whole thing makes me just really want a tuna salad sandwich. 

I used to eat tuna sandwiches for lunch 3-5 times a week but stopped after my BFP. I avoided it all together thinking that if I had one then I would want more. . .like some sort of sick addiction.

Today is the day I cave and eat all the tuna!!

allisonmunson94

Knottie25455542 said:

You can't go back and un-eat the sandwiches  Just stick to her guidelines from now on.

hahahahaha! You make a valid point. When I said "what should I do" I mean how often should I eat it

gamommyx3

allisonmunson94 said:

You can't go back and un-eat the sandwiches  Just stick to her guidelines from now on.

hahahahaha! You make a valid point. When I said "what should I do" I mean how often should I eat it

LOL sorry:)

mmemartinez

Fish is the one animal protein I can tolerate pretty well, as in, want to eat! In moderation tuna is fine. Just as other posters have said.

AdorkablePixie

Now I want a tuna sandwich. I've read it's fine as long as it's not four ounces or more and you're not eating it more than once a day. I haven't heard of limiting intake to 1-2 times a week, but that makes a lot of sense.

araecasey

Going to go buy some dang tuna in a few. The food posts are brutal for my cravings! Must have tuna salad for lunch. Have you gals ever done tuna salad with mashed avocado instead of mayo? I highly recommend it, loaded with nutrients and delicious.

laurenmdrn16

saraleigh2 said:

You might give canned salmon a try - get the fancy stuff and be sure to look for a can that says no skin/bones. It's pretty good prepared similarly to tuna salad or w/ some Greek yogurt, mayo and dill w/ cucumber as a wonderful tea sandwich. I agree w/ @Knottie25455542 just stick to the guidelines now

This a million times!

I used to love tuna salad snadwiches because I never liked cold cuts and can't have peanut butter at work. I do make chicken salad from time to time,but it isn't the same. I recently started getting nice canned salmon or even cooking up an extra fillet at dinner and flaking it and putting it in the fridge for a sandwich the next day. I mix it with Greek yogurt, dill, chopped cucumbers, and chopped kalamata olives for an incredible salad, either on bread as a sandwich or plopped on top of salad greens with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. SOOOOOO GOOOD!!! And it totally scratches that "I need tuna!" itch.

wsgjmw1

Dang now I want a tuna sammy. Probably will getting one tomorrow for lunch.

Also on the topic of tuna, I am craving SUSHI so bad! I miss sushi and wine

MrsYoung9311

Three things...

1. You can have the thing you're craving in moderation, so I say moderately go for it.  I think 4 sammies in 2 weeks is reasonable.

2. All I want is eggs benedict, which is totally off the prego menu. That makes me really sad.

3. Totally having a tuna melt for dinner tonight.  OH YEAH!

Lusitano8

Your doctor is correct that tuna is not bad for you, it's the high levels of mercury that are found in oily fish that can be concerning. Everywhere I've read says 2 servings a week are fine (that could be one big sandwich depending on what you're eating).

Also I've read previously that some tuna is better than others" On average, chunk-light tuna has one-third as much mercury (0.12 parts per million) as solid-white albacore (0.35 parts per million), so it is typically considered safer. so you might want to stick to chunk-light! 

nerdymama15

I've read that the albacore tuna is the one with the higher mercury levels and regular tuna is relatively low compared to it and other types of fish.  When my doctor was telling me about eating fish.  I was like I only like shrimp, oysters, and tuna and she was like okay no problem then. (I also like scallops, calamari, and stuffed crab, and lobster, but I eat those like two or three times a year if that, so didn't mention those).  I was told no more than 6 to 8oz per week though.  I hardly eat fish.  Every now and then I get a hankering for some cocktail shrimp, or tuna salad, or oyster stew.  I don't even count the two or three shrimp they put on a texas quesidilla at the Mexican restaurant lol.   Have you ever tried those single serving packs of Star Kist that come in the different flavors?  They are snack size.  Maybe they would cut down on the cravings and leave you within the healthy range?

saraleigh2

Ideas for some of the other cravings mentioned:

Cooked sushi rolls are pretty good.
Buy pasteurized eggs and make your own eggs Benedict (then you don't have to worry about the under cooked yokes) this also works great for making virgin eggnog

kmcchs

I'm allowing myself one tuna salad sandwich a week!