Mommy craves…

By some holy miracle, I have been craving healthy-ish things. At the top of my list these days?? Turkey wraps! COLD (gasp! pearl clutch!) turkey wraps! With full fat mayo, because yum, and loads of lettuce, because double yum. I use the prepackaged turkey. The deli at Spangdahlem pre-slices all of their meat every morning and then pulls from those selections when you order and that is just GROSS and seems to me like a breeding ground for bacteria. So pre-packaged meats and cheese…no big deal. I’d buy the meat on the economy, but honestly it’s intimidating to approach a German deli counter in a town where they legit speak no English and try to order meat when you have aversions to EVERYTHING.

And really, they don’t speak English here. I am 45 minutes away from Spangdahlem. There are barely any Americans in the Mosel Valley. “Sprichst du English?” “NEIN!” They mean it. Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch…and I mean it. Anyhoochie.

The next craving? Carrot sticks and ranch dressing. I know, I know…Ranch dressing isn’t “healthy”. Blah blah blah. Everything can be “healthy” in moderation (ok, not everything…but you know what I mean, people). The carrots here on the economy are SO delicious. It’s hard to explain. They aren’t as ginormous as our coo coo bananas American produce (and I’m not super crazy about eating all organic, so don’t get it confused. Although organic veggies and fruits make life easier, as the Germans are teaching me through experience), but they are so sweet and fresh and the crunch is amazing. I love them.

Finally: freshly baked baguette with local honey drizzle, brie cheese, and cold green seedless grapes. Holy mother of God. And before you freak out, the brie is pasteurized apparently. But whatever.

Funny story about pregnancy restrictions for all of the pearl clutchers (although I’m not sure if you made it past the cold turkey revelation): I craved a vanilla milkshake. Sweet, caring husband drove all the way to Spangdahlem to see if they had my beloved Blue Bell French Vanilla at the commissary; they had only plain vanilla but it’s just as good (because BLUE BELL HI) and I was thrilled. We had the tastiest milkshakes that night. The next day Blue Bell issued its recall for Listeria. It was in that moment that I said “fuck it” and decided to eat what I want within reason. If I don’t trust the source, then I won’t eat it. But I could have gotten Listeria from Blue Bell ice cream, and you don’t hear doctors and self-proclaimed pregnancy gurus warning against the dangers of carton ice cream.

Vive la vie le coldcut!