My Pregnancy Diet

Eating in pregnancy is a lot like eating as often as you breathe. If I'm away from food too long I feel a bit like Pippin in Lord of the Rings. I have to have my second breakfast!

I've been trying to be a lot more conscious of how I eat this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Evelyn, I basically ate whatever I wanted and it was a really hard habit to kick after she was born and I was trying to lose the pregnancy weight. Plus, I'm hoping the right food is going to help me have more energy, and not feel quite as many of the pregnancy aches and pains.

The goal was to not eat sugar, or rather to cut down on the desserts I eat. That hasn't been going wonderfully. There are these frosted, sprinkle covered animal crackers that I crave on a daily basis. Granted, it's a few cookies a day but I should still probably be more moderated about it. The good news is, that's really the only sugar I've been eating. So I'm on the right track. Ish.

As far as getting my fruits and vegetables, smoothies have been my best friend. I love mango, banana, peach smoothie and I'll throw in some veggie protein powder to keep me more full. I don't love how the powder tastes in the smoothies but it's not half bad in a glass of apple juice. Sure it turns the juice green and looks nasty but it doesn't taste too bad.

Which brings me to my other method of getting fruits and veggies: juicing. I really don't do it very often and when I do, it's nothing crazy. I'm just making apple juice with celery or zucchini in it. I don't have to worry about all the added sugar in apple juice from concentrate and I can even add some extra veggie benefits. 

As far as meals go, I'm eating like 6 a day. They aren't huge meals but big enough to fill me up each time. If I'm hungry in between that, I'll snack on trail mix that I made by mixing nuts and dried fruit. Mine has papaya, prunes, apricots, pretzels, peanuts, almonds and cashews. 

It might seem like a lot of food but I'm trying to exercise everyday (I take a barre fitness class 3 days a week and do at least 30 min of cardio at the gym 3 days a week..in a perfect world) and if I don't make up for that with extra food, I get to feeling pretty nauseous. Plus I'm like insatiably hungry all the time. It's ridiculous!

When deciding what to eat, I try to get these nutrients in my diet everyday:

4-8oz servings of milk/dairy::2 servings of eggs::6-7gram servings of protein::2 servings of dark green veggies::5 servings of grains::2 servings of vitamin C::3 servings of healthy fats/oils::1 serving of vitamin A:: 8 glasses of water :: prenatal vitamin

This is a chart I got when taking my birthing class, Birth Boot Camp, with Evelyn. It's an awesome resource and I highly recommend the class to any mommies striving for a natural birth!

A typical day goes like this:

Breakfast: Zucchini and spinach omelet with toast.

Second Breakfast: Smoothie with protein powder.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with tomato and avacado and some popcorn chips.

Second Lunch: Cottage cheese on toast with tomato and a sprinkle of seasoned salt (Better than it sounds)

Dinner: I usually make some sort of casserole with chicken/beef and veggies or pasta with a side of veggies and garlic bread.

Second Dinner: I warm up leftovers or make another sandwich. 

And a popsicle for dessert!

And as for my daily dose of H2O, I've learned that for whatever reason I will only drink bottled water. So my fridge is always stocked and I don't get dehydrated!

**Note** I am in no way suggesting that you as a pregnant person should eat this way. I am not a dietician and you should consult with your doctor or midwife before starting any diet.