Before we even start trying to get pregnant, it’s always wise to meet with our OB/GYN to see how we can conceive the healthy way and how we can create a healthy pregnancy diet menu.
By doing simple things such as taking prenatal vitamins three months beforehand to making sure we reduce the stress in our lives and even get enough sleep each night, there is so much to plan and prepare for.
Though getting pregnant may be a simple thing to do for some, we must play a healthy role in our life and our baby’s.
Pregnancy Diet Menu
Scheduling an appointment to begin prenatal care with our OB/GYN is essential and is one of the most important things an expecting mother can do.
Not only can an OB/GYN give us guidance for along the way, but they can also help our developing baby grow as healthy as possible.
Now, if we’re looking for guidance when it comes to creating a pregnancy diet menu, here are some tips for getting us started:
Foods to avoid eating
When creating our pregnancy diet menu, it’s important to discuss with our OB/GYN which foods we should avoid eating completely.
It is said that avoiding foods such as seafood and even deli meats is very important if we’d like to avoid dangerous bacteria and even high levels of certain chemicals.
By writing these foods down and avoiding them, we can get a great start to creating our pregnancy diet menu.
Ingredients to avoid eating
Though we may eat our favorite foods or snacks without thinking much about them, it’s important to take a good look at the ingredient list. We often don’t take time to look at what we’re eating.
Now, for anyone to eat as healthy as possible, it’s important to eat whole foods such as produce items, meats, and foods with the fewest ingredients possible.
The more ingredients in the ingredient list, the greater the chance it’s processed and has very little nutritional value.
Some of the ingredients we may want to avoid adding to our pregnancy diet menu are hydrogenated oils, high fructose syrup, artificial colors and flavors, and even preservatives.
These ingredients have no nutritional value, are artificial, or are known to cause problems when eaten in large amounts.
Anything that may cause risk to our health or our baby is something that should be completely avoided when creating a pregnancy diet menu.
Fruits and vegetables
Though it may seem hard to get all our fruits and vegetables each day, there are so many easy ways to slip them into the foods we love.
For example, by creating a pregnancy diet menu that includes having a banana with our cereal in the morning and throwing some lettuce and spinach into our ham and cheese sandwich are both great ways to eat more produce.
Expecting mothers are supposed to eat 7-10 servings of both fruits and vegetables.
It is usually 3-4 servings of fruits to 4-6 servings of vegetables. Since fruits are higher in calories and sugar, it’s best to stick to more vegetables than fruit.
Whole grains
When it comes to whole grains, they can be eaten with the help of cereal in the morning and just by buying healthy whole grain bread.
Though a lot of loaves tend to say they’re “healthy”, it’s important to look at that ingredient list again and try to find bread that includes the first ingredient as whole grain oats.
It’s also best to find a bread with lots of fiber and as few ingredients as possible. By eating grains such as amaranth, rye, wheat, and flaxseed, we can help regulate our blood sugar levels easier.
Eating 6-9 servings of whole grains each day is important to add to our pregnancy diet menu. From bread to noodles and tortilla wraps, there are all sorts of different things that are made with whole grains.
Proteins
As mentioned above, it’s important to limit our fish intake and to avoid certain seafood items completely. To add protein to our pregnancy diet menu, it’s helpful to get at least 2-3 servings each day.
From a slice of turkey to eating a lean chicken breast for dinner, we can get the protein we need to keep our muscles strong. Now, it’s also important to limit the amount of red meat we have on our pregnancy diet menu.
By eating poultry, eggs, and even legumes, we can add more protein to our diet as well and do it the healthy way.
Dairy products
When it comes to dairy products, there are all sorts of different health benefits. From increasing the amounts of calcium we’re consuming to adding more Vitamin D and even some B Vitamins, we’re able to stay healthier even easier.
Now, when it comes to dairy products on our pregnancy diet menu, it’s important to get at least 4 servings each day.
By drinking fat-free milk, eating a piece of reduced-fat cheese, and even plain yogurt, we can reach our daily intake very easily when it comes to dairy.
Supplements
To make sure we’re getting the vitamins we need, we must always take a prenatal vitamin each day.
Whether we take it first thing when we wake up or we take it before we go to bed at night, it’s so important that we’re taking our vitamin.
These vitamins include nutrients like folic acid and iron to make sure our pregnancy diet menu is as complete as possible.
Water
For our pregnancy diet menu to be as healthy as possible, it’s so important that we add water to do. Since our body is made up of about 70% water, we must stay hydrated. Drinking 8 glasses of water can keep our body healthy and avoid dehydration.
Pregnancy Diet Menu – The Conclusion
As one can see, it’s so important to create a good pregnancy diet menu and to stick to it.
Though it may seem hard to do at first, all we need to think about is the health of our baby and then we’re willing to do just about anything.
When we do create a pregnancy diet menu, we have an outline as to how we should be eating, which just makes everything a little easier.
