Dining Features Article |
Craving Something Different
An athlete creates culinary options for moms-to-be.
By Erin Byers Murray
- Photo by Kathleen Dooher.
The hardest part about Kate Markgraf’s pregnancy wasn’t labor. Or back pain. Or choosing a name. It was lunch. “I couldn’t eat deli meat!” says the Beacon Hill resident, who, like most pregnant women, spent nine months avoiding nitrates, unprocessed cheeses, and fish with high mercury levels, such as mackerel and swordfish. A soccer star who’s played for the U.S. women’s team in two Olympics and two World Cups, Markgraf had to stay healthy for her baby and herself: The team expected her back in training a month after giving birth.
Six months into her term, while dining at the Langham Hotel’s Café Fleuri, Markgraf took a stand. “I decided pregnant women should be able to look at a menu and pick anything on it,” she says. She brought up her idea with chef Mark Sapienza, and Fleuri’s pregnancy menu was (forgive us) born.
Considering the dietary restrictions and pesky cravings she dealt with—chips and pizza in her first two trimesters, M&Ms in her last—Markgraf suggested dividing the menu into sweet and salty dishes, all of which would satisfy pregnancy nutrition requirements. The menu, available at lunch and dinner, debuts this month.
On the salty side, there’s a mustard-glazed salmon served with baked beans, which provides folic acid, omega-3 fats, and low-fat proteins. The aptly named Preggy Pizza, layered with tomato, mozzarella, asparagus, and grilled chicken, is packed with calcium—and flavor. For sweets there’s a granola and yogurt parfait and a chocolate sundae with vanilla bean yogurt “sorbet.” Soft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, raw fish, smoked salmon, and radishes are banned. Oh, and the kitchen will add pickles to any dish at no charge.
“We can’t guess what every woman will want at any given time,” says Markgraf, now the proud mother of four-month-old son Keegan. Still, as she has proved, a little diner activism goes a long way toward satisfying the craving for a healthy meal.
Six months into her term, while dining at the Langham Hotel’s Café Fleuri, Markgraf took a stand. “I decided pregnant women should be able to look at a menu and pick anything on it,” she says. She brought up her idea with chef Mark Sapienza, and Fleuri’s pregnancy menu was (forgive us) born.
Considering the dietary restrictions and pesky cravings she dealt with—chips and pizza in her first two trimesters, M&Ms in her last—Markgraf suggested dividing the menu into sweet and salty dishes, all of which would satisfy pregnancy nutrition requirements. The menu, available at lunch and dinner, debuts this month.
On the salty side, there’s a mustard-glazed salmon served with baked beans, which provides folic acid, omega-3 fats, and low-fat proteins. The aptly named Preggy Pizza, layered with tomato, mozzarella, asparagus, and grilled chicken, is packed with calcium—and flavor. For sweets there’s a granola and yogurt parfait and a chocolate sundae with vanilla bean yogurt “sorbet.” Soft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert, raw fish, smoked salmon, and radishes are banned. Oh, and the kitchen will add pickles to any dish at no charge.
“We can’t guess what every woman will want at any given time,” says Markgraf, now the proud mother of four-month-old son Keegan. Still, as she has proved, a little diner activism goes a long way toward satisfying the craving for a healthy meal.
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