When I first told my GP I was pregnant she gave me a list of foods I shouldn't eat.
- Liver and organ meats - no sweat, if I ever needed an excuse beyond my usual gag reflex, this was perfect.
- Soft, mold-ripened cheese - that one kind of bit, since I had a fridge stuffed with dee-licious bries and camemberts and similar cheeses that we'd just bought on our holiday in France (not to mention the cases of wine and hard cider...)
- Swordfish - tasty, but not a big part of my regular diet
- Peanut butter - hunhh??
Yeah, whatver. When I first moved to the UK, I couldn't really find any peanut butter worth eating. In London, it's a little easier. You can occasionally even find American brands (like Jiff). But I sort of got out of the habit of eating peanut butter. But as soon as I was told I couldn't have it, I wanted it.
I read up on the subject. Apparently, the peanut butter threat is only valid in Britain.
The March of Dimes (a US birth defect site) says:
But the British advice is anyone who's ever suffered hay fever should steer clear of the brown stuff. And I did, pretty much. Sure I ate cocktail peanuts and Thai food with peanut sauce, but that was just a little bit.
Although there is not yet an extensive amount of research on fetal sensitization, there have been suggestions that a fetus may be exposed to peanut allergens if a woman consumes peanut products while pregnant, so that an infant with predisposition to allergy may develop a peanut allergy.
Parents with severe food allergies in general and/or family histories of nut allergies should probably try to avoid early infant exposure to formulas or foods made with nut products, and these same mothers may want to avoid peanut consumption while breastfeeding.
Then I thought
1. This baby is American, it needs peanut butter.
2. What do the Brits know about peanut butter anyway?
And I was craving protein and peanut butter is one of the cheapest, easiest ways to get it. So, I bought myself some peanut butter and I did enjoy it. I like peanut butter and honey and peanut butter and banana sandwiches on whole wheat bread - Anglofille's gone whole hog in Paris and had PB and honey and banana (I guess living in Paris does lead to decadence) And here's another American expat going on about peanut butter and banana - this time in a muffin recipe.
8 comments:
I think I might try peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches next -- you know, combine American and French cuisine. Plus, I'm always looking for ways to include more Nutella in my diet.
Well, you try it...and then let us know.
I ate a TON of peanut butter during my first pregnancy and my baby was fine- Peanut butter is now one of her favorite foods. I'm eating it this pregnancy, too.
It is well known that the Brits are biased against peanut butter.
Elvis too, probably.
For the record, I have hay fever, and have always eaten pb. Have two healthy kids who love it too.
Why are Brits biased against peanut butter? Personally, I don't care for it, but I know people who do. Granted its not as popular here, but is there a bias? I don't think so but perhaps kathyf would care to enlighten me.
I suspect she's being facetious (but maybe not). It's just that we love it so much that we reckon any dislike must be down to bias rather than personal preference.
Plus there probably is a bit of a bias - for a long time peanuts weren't seen as acceptible foodstuff for humans - after all they came from Africa originally (??!!). We got over that - but here in Britain, y'all still call them Monkey Nuts in their in-shell roasted form. Why is that?
I have no idea why they're called monkey nuts. I presume it's because it was supposed that monkeys ate them. I'm sure it's not due to any anatomical resemblance (..or maybe..no!) I've always thought of monkey nuts as unroasted and in a shell, and as peanuts when not in a shell. Curious where names come from. I think peanuts originated in South America and were then cultivated in other countries later. Perhaps S. American monkeys are partial to peanuts. What is the main difference between US and GB peanut butter as you see it? I'm sorry to post anonymously, I do have an account but for some reason I can never post comments with it.
For what it's worth, I really dislike peanuts and certainly didn't eat any while pregnant, yet I have a son with a severe peanut allergy.
Of course, my daughter was addicted to peanut butter sandwhiches for lunch back when the boy was a baby. So he was in close proximity and was exposed to the residue from the stuff. That's probably how he developed the allergy.
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