In this article, we’re going to cover how you can implement the different facets of the ideal pregnancy diet plan. We all know which foods are best to eat while pregnant, but how can you put them all together to make healthy and delicious meals?
Following are four suggestions, 3 meals and a snack, that incorporate the different facets of an optimal eating plan for pregnancy. Feel free to change it to suit your needs, this is just an example for a typical day.
These meals adhere to three core principles. First, they include a serving of protein, which keeps your blood sugar level and helps you to feel satiated. Second, they all contain a vegetable serving and a serving of a healthy fat. Veggies contain fiber, as well as essential vitamins and minerals your baby needs to grow.
Healthy fats also contribute to feelings of satiety and aid in cognitive and neural development in your baby. Thirdly, these meals include healthy grains, such as millet, brown rice, and quinoa, which are good for you and less allergenic than wheat products.
Meal #1: Breakfast with Organic Eggs
If you are a caffeine addict, you probably will opt to have your caffeinated beverage, be it coffee or tea, at this meal. Be sure to sweeten it with stevia, raw honey, xylitol, or agave syrup rather than sugar or an artificial sweetener. For your meal, make an omelet with organic eggs, spinach, and tomato.
If you need something besides protein, add a small serving of cooked quinoa or millet as your grains. This perfect meal gives you protein as well as a serving of veggies. Cook it in coconut oil or organic butter and you have your healthy fat too.
Meal #2: Lunch with Lean Beef
For lunch, make a salad out of some dark green leafy veggies.
They will provide you with calcium and Omega-3s. Sautee some lean, organic beef in olive oil and allow it to cool slightly before adding it to your salad.
Sprinkle on some olive or flaxseed oil for your healthy fat and add a squeeze of lemon for a dressing. This meal has everything you need: your healthy fats, veggies, and a serving of protein—and it’s healthy and delicious.
Throughout the day, be sure you are drinking your water. Incude a glass or two with every meal. You should be drinking at least half your body weight in water daily.
Meal #3: Snack with Raw Nuts
You should eat two snacks a day, whenever you feel your blood sugar beginning to drop. For most women, that’s mid-morning and mid-afternoon, though you may also want a snack at bedtime, too.
For your snack, scrub and string a few stalks of celery. Cut them into two-inch long logs, and fill with nut butter. Almond butter is particularly delicious.
This quick and easy snack is filling and delicious. It’s also easy to take on the go. It gives you your serving of protein, healthy fat, and veggies all in one bite.
Meal #4: Dinner with Chicken and Broccoli
For dinner, you should try a serving of lean, all-natural grilled chicken. The protein it contains—and indeed, the protein you ingest at every meal—contains important amino acids that help your baby’s neural and cognitive development. Serve it over a bed of brown rice, which contains fiber and is better for you than its overly-processed kin, white rice.
Rice is also better for you because it doesn’t provoke the kinds of reactions in your body that wheat and gluten can, such as water retention and swelling. Sautee some broccoli on the side in the healthy fat of your choice: olive oil, organic butter, or coconut oil.