Nutrition Tips For a Healthy Pregnancy
So I got pregnant with no family or friends with kids to give me any tips and never had any close contact with pregnancy or babies.
What should I eat to help my baby develop healthy and strong?
I was clueless and went to an obstetrician with so many questions that I didn’t know where to start… The nurse gave me a list of nutrients I needed to have, other than taking the super vitamins, and I thought: “I have to be eating all day to follow this!” Plus I was nauseous and exhausted. How can you ask a pregnant to eat all that? Insane! And I realized I had to figure out a diet on my own.
Throughout my entire pregnancy, I could not smell chicken, meat, fish, and any greasy stuff for miles. Can you imagine eating it? No way!
I know that in the morning your body is starving for nutrients and that’s when it will absorb them the best, so making sure my first meal was the healthiest possible, seemed like the smart thing to do… It gave me energy for the rest of the day and satisfaction to know I was doing my best to help my baby grow.
I took advantage of the fact that I craved fruits like crazy, to start the day with a super fresh and natural smoothie and I also figured out a way to add protein to my diet. I bought pretty much every different fruit I could find at the store and also protein powder (like EAS 100% Whey Protein with vanilla flavor or any other with a berry flavor) to add to the examples of fresh fruit smoothies below:
– Orange juice /Mellon (good with berry flavor protein)
– Orange juice /papaya/apple (you can add a tbsp of oats)
– Orange juice /papaya/apple/banana (you can add a tbsp of oats)
– Orange juice /pineapple (good with berry flavor protein)
– Milk/strawberries (fresh or frozen)
– Milk/strawberries/banana (you can add a tbsp of oats)
– Milk/banana/oats
– Milk/avocado/sugar or honey
Add 1 or 2 scoops of protein powder and you may also add honey to sweeten them slightly, but most won’t need it as the fruits are sweet enough.
For vegetables, instead of drinking bottled V8 or anything similar, I made the following for every night (before, during, or after dinner):
Orange juice /carrots/tomato/fresh parsley (you can add a couple of broccoli florets and/or celery)
These smoothies not only are good for your health and your baby’s but will help you keep your skin nice and tight, with fewer chances of stretch marks. Your skin and hair will thank you.
Make sure you take your vitamins and snack on granola/yogurt and milk/cereal. Be beautiful and healthy and have the most amazing experience giving birth, as mine was!
