How to eat Healthy when you are Expecting a Baby?

So, when do you think is a great time to eat healthy? Everyday right?! Well, Pregnancy or preconception period is an absolutely essential time to start eating healthy. Let’s look at how to eat Healthy when you are expecting a baby.

In India, pregnancy is considered a time to pamper and satisfy all your food cravings. But it is essential to follow a balanced and healthy eating habit for a normal weight gain and a healthy pregnancy.

Let’s look into a series of super foods that require no or very less preparation to replace junk foods and also help satisfy your pregnancy cravings.

Are you a coffee or a tea addict? It’s ideal to skip caffeinated drinks all together during pregnancy. If that’s going to be difficult, it is a good idea to at least limit the number of cups on a daily basis. The super food to replace coffee/tea is our traditional butter milk which is super healthy and super simple to make.

Butter Milk

Ingredients:

1. Curd – 3 tablespoons
2. Water – 200ml
3. Ginger – 1 small piece
4. Cumin Seeds – 1 pinch
5. Curry Leaves – 5-6
6. Salt to taste

Recipe:

Add all the ingredients into a mixer until they blend well. Strain the butter milk into a glass tumbler and relish it! Please avoid ginger if you have acidity/heartburn during your pregnancy.

Super Cool Fact:

The curd in the buttermilk is a great source of probiotics. The spices can not only add a zing to the taste but also give you some valuable antioxidants.

Well, are you someone who likes fizzy drinks? Pregnancy is an ideal time to skip that altogether. Why? Because it has loads of sugar, acids and other harmful additives with no nutritional value. The super food to replace soft drinks and other packaged drinks is fresh homemade seasonal fruit juices.

Fruits & Fruit Juices

Fruits and fruit juices are just great for satisfying your sweet cravings and hunger pangs during pregnancy. Fruit juices are good but having a whole fruit is even better.

Why Fresh? Because you don’t want to lose the nutrients.

Why Homemade? Because it is more hygienic.

Why whole fruits is better than juice? Because you get the fiber along with the nourishment.

Why Local & Seasonal fruits? Because that is a sustainable and eco-friendly choice.

Are you someone who opens a packet of chips, starts eating and realizes it got over in no time? Yeah, we have all been there! But, it is ideal to skip deep fried foods (especially store bought ones) all together during pregnancy and a great idea to at least limit consumption on a daily basis. The super food(s) to replace chips and other crunchy junk is mixed nuts and dry fruits. The bonus here is these nuts require no cooking or preparation.

Nuts & Dry Fruits

Grab a couple of cashews, peanuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, figs, raisins or dates in a snack box. Have them readily available especially when you travel/or wait for a long time during doctor visits.

Why raw nuts ? Because the mix of fats is healthier in raw nuts.

Why unsalted? Because limiting your salt intake helps reduce load for your kidneys during pregnancy.

Why dates and raisins? Because dates are naturally sweet and contain good amount of iron and fiber. They also aid in iron absorption.

Do you crave for store bought pizza every time you see an Ad? No worries! The mix of fats, additives, salt and sugar make a store bought pizza a definite no-no when you are expecting. A healthy alternative is available that is equally yummy but healthy too. The super food to replace pizza loaded with refined flour, salt and sugar is Mixed Vegetable Millet Dosa which is not only super healthy but also requires only little preparation.

Mized Vegetable Millet Dosa

Ingredients:

1. Mixed Millet Flour
2. Mixed Veggies sauted with spices of your choice
3. Cheese – to sprinkle
4. Oil – to cook the dosa

Recipe:

Mix a cup of millets flour with water and 2 teaspoons of curd to make a dosa batter. Allow it to ferment for half a day. Make a dosa on the tava and then, load the dosa with veggies. Finally, sprinkle some cheese. Cook on low flame until cooked and serve hot.

Tip 1:

You could try this with normal dosa batter too, but millets are a better choice as they are loaded with micronutrients and fiber.

Tip 2:

Make sure you drink enough water when you try this recipe.

Super Cool Fact:

The advantages of eating home cooked alternatives of store bought food are the following:

1. Your know the set of ingredients that have gone into the making of the dish.
2. Home made food is more hygienic.
3. There are no artificial additives or preservatives.

Do you crave something sweet and end up eating sweets, candies and the like? But, may be when you know what goes into the colorful candies and sweets, you might completely avoid it.

Most sweets that are colorful have the following:

1. Artificial coloring agents which are added to make the food more appealing (?!)
2. Preservatives to make the food have a longer shelf life.
3. Artificial flavoring agents which are added to mimic a natural flavor or substance. An orange candy that looks orange in color, smells like orange but does not have any real orange at all. The same goes for colored flavored drinks, sweets and pastries.

The super foods to replace colored sweet are vegetable and fruit salads which is healthy and requires very less preparation time.

Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

1. Carrot – 2 grated (blanched if you do not know the source)
2. Cucumber – 2 finely chopped
3. Tomatoes – 1 finely chopped
4. Capsicum – 1 finely chopped
5. Pepper – 1 pinch
6. Salt – 1 pinch
7. Juice from half a lemon

Recipe:

Mix all ingredients and a yummy and healthy salad is ready.

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1. Apple – 1 pealed and chopped
2. Pomegranate – 1 cup
3. Muskmelon – 1 cup chopped
4. Banana – 1 chopped
5. Honey – 1 tbsp
6. Juice from half a lemon

Recipe:

Mix lemon and honey in a cup. Mix all the fruits in a bowl and pour the lemon-honey mixture over the fruits salad. Yummy fruit salad is ready!

Tip 1:

Eating rainbow colored fresh fruits and vegetables have lots of health benefits because of their rich antioxidant content.

Tip 2:

Any fresh fruit or dry fruit can be added to the fruit salad based on your liking and availability.

Tip 3:

Any vegetable or sprouts can be added to the vegetable salad based on your liking and availability.

These recipes and tips are just a guide to make the right choices. Please use it with caution taking into consideration your specific health conditions and doctor’s advice. For example, nuts can be a great option as long as you do not have any allergies. Also, lemon juice can be a good option as long as you do not suffer from acidity. Also, milk can be a good source of protein, fat and micronutrients if you are not lactose intolerant.

Wishing you a happy and healthy eating during pregnancy and in all the years to come from Little Sudhams Team.

More blog posts related to Pregnancy:

How to care for your feet when you are expecting?

Things nobody tells a new expectant mother – Part 2