Do your eyes water more than usual when you chop an onion? Does shaping hamburger into a burger patty make your stomach curl up into a little ball? Do you dread meal time, even when you’re not eating it? Is your family tired of eating cereal because you can’t handle the aromas (or stench) of dinner on the stove? Morning sickness isn’t just triggered by tastes; smells can have you turning green as well. Even if you’re not eating the items on your “make-me-sick” list, you may find cooking them for your family is unbearable. To cope, stop feeling guilty and try some of these tips:
1. Give yourself permission to order takeout or delivery. For most women, morning sickness and strong aversions to certain odors and tastes fades after the first trimester or early in the second trimester. Cut back on other expenses, if you must, and let someone else do the cooking once or twice a week. Your family won’t mind!
2. Buy semi-prepared meals in the refrigerated/freezer section to avoid stomach churning tasks such as tenderizing or browning meat, chopping onions, etc.
3. Prepare cold meals, such as sub sandwiches to cut down or eliminate strong kitchen smells. Just don’t make egg or tuna salad sandwiches! (Unless those smells don’t bother you, of course.) Salad wraps are another healthy option: roll up spinach leaves and other tasty veggies with sauce and microwaved chicken strips. (Skip the chicken if it’s a trigger.)
4. Enlist help in the kitchen. Explain to your kids or your spouse that you will be needing extra assistance for a while until the baby decides that strong smells aren’t so bad after all. Making meatloaf? Let your husband mix the meat and press it into the pan. Give kids age appropriate tasks, too.
5. Burn an odor neutralizing candle in the kitchen to help prevent and remove nausea-inducing smells from the kitchen area.
6. Keep a lemon wedge nearby. If waves of nausea begin to build, quickly place the wedge under your nose and inhale deeply. Lemon helps reduce nausea and definitely blocks stinky cooking smells.