I got robbed with both pregnancies of mine.  I didn’t really have any specific cravings.  I desperately wanted to be one of those women who sat up in bed in the middle of the night and was like, “HELP!  I need some chocolate ice cream with purple sprinkles like RIGHT.  THIS.  MOMENT!”  Naturally, John would have gone to the 24 hour CVS to hunt down some purple sprinkles because he’s awesome like that.  Then he would have found me passed out on the couch snuggling my Snoogle.

While I had food aversions in the first trimester (basically everything except for saltines), the closest I got to cravings was frozen yogurt and sweet and sour chicken from our favorite Chinese restaurant.  Not together…but I had a particular interest in having these two things more frequently.

The thing about Chinese food though — good Chinese food is hard to come by.  Cooking Chinese food is also pretty intimidating because many of the food items are deep fried (no thanks) or requires other special equipment like a wok (nope).  This meal is also perfect because you can regulate how much sugar goes into it.  This sweet and sour sauce is not your typical bright red, corn syrupy stuff (which I do happen to love, by the way), but you wouldn’t believe how much sugar and ketchup this restaurant-style sauce has in it. The sauce in this dish produces just enough to coat your chicken and vegetables and is so flavorful thanks to a combination of vinegars, soy sauce, and sugar.  The vegetables are cooked just enough until they’re good and soft so you have some crunch, and the breading on the chicken doesn’t get soggy and sad.  Finally, the pineapple seals the deal on the sweetness.

And as a total side note, I realized that soy sauce is, indeed, not gluten free.  I feel so dumb that I didn’t know that.

Yes, this is considered a “cheat meal” for John and outside the realm of what our meals typically look like, but it’s way better than take-out.  That’s my excuse.

I should also take this opportunity to publicly apologize to my husband for ferociously snacking on grapes when I’d wake up starving in the middle of the night during both pregnancies.  Grapes aren’t the quietest thing to eat, especially when you shove 6 in your mouth at once, but I was large and in charge.

Now go make yourself some sweet and sour chicken and Netflix and chill!

Yields: 4 servings

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut to 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cornstarch

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (use GF soy sauce if you want/need)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Stir-fry

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped pineapple or pineapple tidbits