OS meals for pregnancy

nicola1982_2

There seem to be so many dos and don't for eating when pregnant, plus the nausea putting me off food and worrying about giving my baby all the nutrients, I'm scared my food bill will rocket.

Does anyone have any good recipes or meal ideas they ate when pregnant? I'm a meat eater so all ideas welcome

finlaybaby

Congratulations! I too struggled with nausea early on in my pregnancy and could only manage 1 slice of toast first thing - I worried that I wasn't getting enough nutrients at this crucial time. Towards the end of my pregnancy heartburn caused similar problems.

Having always struggled to keep weight on (It's in the genes!) I had to consume an enormous amount of calories whilst pregnant and then had to continue to eat like a horse whilst breastfeeding. I snacked on things like bananas and had extra sandwiches mid-afternoon.

The meal planning threads on this board are excellent and provide a good guide for making well balanced, nutritious meals from scratch.

fizzel81

i tried to eat as normally as possible, i suffered with hg when pregnant all 3 times so eating and keeping anything down was an utter nightmare.

many of the recipies and meals that are planned on here are perfectly ok and have more than enough nutrients, maybe batch cooking and then re-heating will make it easier to deal with the nausea.

when i wasnt suffering too badly badly mash potato and sweetcorn was something that i could manage easily

HopeElizzy

I understand that the eating for two thing is a myth and the amount extra you need isn't alot. In fact, something like a cheese salad sandwich would be good (as long as it's not soft cheese;) )
Early on in your pregnancy the main thing you need is folic acid which is something you can buy as a vitamin tablet supplement at the chemist. It can also be found in alot of cereals now so eating a bowl of cornflakes would be good.
Something I was curious about, and have asked others, is whether what you eat while pregnant affects what your little one likes/dislikes when they start eating food. I ate alot more sweet stuff with my 2nd and he seems to have a sweet tooth. Also, my craving for both of them was hot cross buns and they both love raisins and sultanas!
I had bad sickness with mine as well, throughout the pregnancy, so shopped on line so I didn't have to go heaving around a supermarket!

npsmama

I'm expecting too (secind baby).
The only thing I could manage early on was white toast (homemade sourdough).

Now, beans on wholemeal bread are great.

Wholewheat pasta, brown rice, porridge, muesli.

Eggs if you can manage them (well cooked).

I couldn't even look at a veg without feeling sick at first but things are better now.

I think that's the thing to remember with pregnancy - things change as the days go by.

Good luck!

julybride

I totally agree batch cooking during... and after pregnancy really helped me have a (reasonable) diet.

Try mince into...

Shepards pie and spag bol

ALso a great life saver to me was milk, bananas and brazil nuts also other dried fruit. I purchased whatever was reasonable at a place like Holland and Barratts. It lasts a while... £6 or £7 sounds like a lot for a big bag but it would last me 2 or 3 weeks and as I could barely stomach normal food in the first few months my food bill dropped.

I say eat what you fancy and just be aware of the general principles of good food i.e. 5 fruit and veg a day. But if all you fancy is a chip butty... it is all energy! and the baby will find what it needs from your stores.

liney

IIRC you only need an additional 200 calories a day whilst pregnant. You just need to eat real food, lots of veggies/wholewheat foods, and not eat for the sake of eating (cakes!) or you will regret it once sprog is born )

If you arent eating the correct foods, it is you who will suffer not baby. Baby will draw what he needs from you, hence you need to make sure you eat plenty of calcium, or you will be using the free dental treatment quick sharp.

Congratulations.

npsmama

I think there is a lot of guilt piled on to pregnant women nowdays...don't eat this or that, don't eat more than usual, etc...
I'm a firm believer in listening to your body and using common sense.

Eat what your body tells you: it knows best.

For what it's worth, I am immersed in 3 different cultures and they all have their own version of what one should eat/avoid during pregnancy! There are scientific facts (eg raw or undercooked eggs could carry salmonella so aren't advisable) and then there are the 'maybes' (eg maybe eating peanuts causes a peanut allergy...but maybe not).

Oh, and if (like most of us) you do gain weight that stays on afterwards...having kids is totally worth it!

overlykeensaver

I was quite nauseous during the first few months and the only things I could or wanted to eat was cheese and tomato sandwiches, raw carrots, lots of almonds and cashew nuts (unsalted). I could barely eat my evening meal - just a few mouthfuls and then I was full up.

Just eat what you usually do - try to home cook most things, try to get some veg and fruit, meat and fish but sometimes it is hard if you feel sick so be kind to yourself too.

You are bombarded with advice on what to eat but some days I was lucky to eat much at all - just do the best you can. Try not to eat too many cakes and chocs if you can help it but if you fancy them then don't deny yourself either!

LilMissEmmylou

i had fads of what i wanted/needed to eat during my pg. beans on toast, spaghetti on toast, chocolate (yummy) and of course the morning i sent OH out to buy me korma sauce to make korma at 8am lol. I say eat what you really want, but try to make sure you get your 5 a day as well as enough dairy. Im also another vote for dont "eat for 2" as it isnt true and you will tell yourself off for it after.

Dont worry too much though about the do's and donts. Until 13 weeks i was so ill i kept nothing down (ended up on a drip) and my baby is a perfectly healthy 5 month old now Your body will look after your baba so enjoy it!!

poodlehorse

I could only eat fruit and cheese at one point - "morning" sickness is the pits. It is putting me off getting pregnant again actually as I had it until week 17 and my friend had it until the birth. I used to go around with tupperware boxes of cubed cheese and apple. and had to nibble on it constantly to stay upright. I found drinking Ame and Aqua Libra helped a bit too but after a while I got sick of them and I still can't look at ginger flavoured things as I got soooo fed up of them.

Anyway as other people say just eat normally but healthily. Your appetite might increase so fine eat more but make sure it is healthy. GEt your omega oils into you if you can and loads of fruit and veg. I went right off meat intitially and my midwife was most concerned about getting enough protein but I just ate loads of vegetable protein to compensate as much as possible. 200 calories extra isn't that much really and your body will naturally make youj want to eat more, nibble on oatcakes and hummus or carrot sticks. I know you are supposed to avoid nuts now especially if there is any history of allergies in the family but I found raw cashews helped me feel less nauseous so I am afraid I ignored that piece of advice. But we had no history so I wasn't too worried. Be careful of having too much tuna/swordfish/ marlin etc due to the mercury. Personally I would avoid transfats as much as possible which are everywhere but I didn't really know about them at the time and had a craving for maltesers and horlicks which are both full of them. As are stockcubes unless you buy Kallo. I would definitely think about making up stuff to freeze for when you don't feel up to cooking and for after the birth.

Congratulations.