Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Peppers

Jessica over at Life As Mom recently had a baby and she is hosting a recipe swap for Post-Baby Indulgences and wants to know:

"Do you have a recipe that you love but which might be off limits during pregnancy? A favorite dish that you have to forgo for safety or dietary reasons for the gestational period? Share it with us!"

I have to say that I was not made aware of all the taboo foods by my doctor. And, in the reading I did, I don't remember seeing it. I knew that I should limit tuna fish and other types of fish due to the risk of mercury overdose, but I had never heard about the hot dogs, lunch meat, soft cheeses, etc. that everyone refers to. With my son, I craved hoagies - piled high with bologna, salami and ham. I had trouble finding a good cold cut hoagie and probably haven't had one since. I had one friend, who when pregnant, would cook her lunch meat so she could continue to indulge, since her doctor had told her about lunch meat being taboo. She would either simply microwave it or put it under the broiler.

To me the "taboo" foods that I missed enjoying were those that caused me the greatest distress. During my first pregnancy, it was bacon. I had the flu when I was first pregnant and the last meal I had before the flu included bacon. Needless to say, after that uprising, I couldn't stomach the smell of bacon, let alone eat it during the balance of my pregnancy. With my second pregnancy, it was an indigestion/nausea issue. Anything tomato based didn't sit well with me. That meant joining my family for Mexican or Italian treats was off limits. Then, when I was done being pregnant and decided to nurse, I quickly learned there were a lot of foods that caused my baby GI distress: peppers and cucumbers to name a few. I eventually figured out that if I pumped after eating those foods, I could split that milk between several bottles and it didn't upset them. So, eventually, that is what I did.

So, here is a recipe that would have been hard to stomach during pregnancy and hard on the baby during nursing:

Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Peppers

1 bag Tortellini
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 package Sun-Dried Tomatoes, soak in hot water and slice
Shredded Parmesan
olive oil

Prepare the tortellini according to the package, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, saute your peppers with a touch of olive oil. You don't want to brown them, just warm them. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. Add the tortellini and toss with some additional olive oil. Cook until the tortellini is slightly browned. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

It really is a very simple, yet delicious dish. It has such a fresh flavor. I sometimes leave out the green peppers since they aren't as sweet as the other colors. I also have been known to add some onion to give it a little more depth.

For other ideas, check out the post at Life As Mom.

Update 9/8: You can also check out Mmm Monday over at Mommies with Cents for some other great recipes. They posted a recipe for Snickers Cookies. Sounds like a tasty treat for Snickers lovers.