Food Advice??

[babygirl02201]

What are some must eat healthy foods and what are those to avoid?
I need some healthy meals,and snacks. I really never ate a certain diet before but I'd like to become healthier for my baby girl. Any suggestions for health recipes/meals and snacks?

 

[Indi84]

I love avocado on brown toast!
A nice salad with loads of things, smoked salmon, olives, mixed leaves etc.
Depends on what you like to eat really?
Home made fish and chips slimming world style are lovely, spag bol with homemade sauce and low fat mice. Fruit as a snack, lasagna made with spinach and ricotta cheese.

 

[CandiceSj]

I'm also trying to have better habits to keep my diet well-rounded, though I admit that I allow myself 1 no-good dessert/treat per day - brings up the morale lol

I had a lot of room for improvement in my morning eating habits. I always eat a quick breakfast before I leave and a 2nd breakfast/morning snack around 10am at work. Usually both were carbs and often sweet. Like 1 bowl of kids cereal and then 1 peanut butter and honey toast... I changed to healthier cereal (I do like that I get milk from this meal) and ditched the toast for a fruit (orange, apple, bunch of grapes, plum, etc).

I also eat a snack in the afternoon and the go-to snack now is a portion of almonds, or a mix of dried fruits+nuts+seeds, that type of thing. For seeds and nuts, 1 portion is about 1oz/30grams (small handful), it's important not to over-do it, sometimes it feels like we could eat 3x that amount but really, 1 portion does the job of keeping the hunger at bay until supper and giving the extra boost.

General rule I try to follow for supper is less than 1/3 of the plate is meat, half the rest is carbs (bread, potatoe, pasta) and the other half of the rest is veggies (a salad, steamed veggies, pureed veggies, sauted veggies in some rice or pasta etc). With 1 meal vegetarian and 1 meal fish per week as much as possible.

1 meal idea for you. I only did this twice but I really liked it and it's what I'm making tomorrow lol. First time it was a bit of a miss for me, 2nd time was a hit. I'm not a good cook and can't seem to find the will to follow a recipe.

It's spaghetti squash! It's an oval-shaped yellow squash... There are instuctions online on how to get it cooked.. Once you do, you scrape it out with a fork and it looks like spaghetti! I cut up a bunch of veggies like tomatoes, celery, onion, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms, grated carrot, whatever you think might be good. I season it to be sauce-like even if it's not a sauce per se. I have about the same quantity of this mix as I do of the spaghetti squash. Cook the mix, add the squash... I added a bit of basil pesto and VERY IMPORTANT is parmasan cheese! Completely meatless, full of veggies, pasta-style healthy meal.

 

[babygirl02201]

Thank you very much. I am such a vague greasy quick food eater! I want better for my baby girl though. I need some ideas.

 

[Marumi]

I started eating Paleo due to health issues I had in the past (see signature) and did stick with it. This is my first healthy pregnancy, not needing medication and I feel surprisingly well compared to the pregnancy with my son.
Grains and empty calories like potato, rice, corn I rarely eat. Instead I eat more nutrient dense as in meat, eggs, veggies and fruits. I eat a lot of good fats (also butter) as it gives me tons of energy. I also don't get nauseated if I eat fat and protein with my carbs (which is a way to control blood sugar).
I am eating lots of quality meat these days and also more fish for the omega 3. My Vitamin B stores and Iron are great this pregnancy.

I think these sites have some good info, even if you should not want to adapt a Paleo Diet.

https://paleoleap.com/paleo-guide-to-pregnancy/

https://chriskresser.com/nourishing-a-growing-baby/

https://chriskresser.com/the-healthy-skeptic-podcast-episode-7/

https://healthybabycode.com/signup

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/5-primal-superfoods-for-fertility-and-pregnancy/

I supplement with magnesium citrate but don't take any prenatals otherwise.

 

[Eleonora]

fresh mozzarella with avocado, cherry tomatoes, a little olive oil, salt, and balsamic vinegar

a small can of tuna with chopped up pickles, or capers, or tomatoes, & mayo, on whole wheat toast

boiled egg with toast & butter

plain yogurt & blueberries or other fruit (2% greek yogurt is good but I like the full fat kind)

instant oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, or honey or maple syrup made with milk

half a pear topped with gorgonzola and walnuts baked in the oven

easy pasta sauces:
1) start chopped garlic and red chili pepper sizzling with a little olive oil, add chopped cherry tomatoes and cook while your pasta is boiling, add an optional dash of cream or butter at the end
2) melt gorgonzola with a little cream, butter, and milk, add nutmeg
3) sauté mushrooms with butter, add parsley and/or onion, optional cream & white wine, add parmesan at the end
4) add broccoli to to boil along with the pasta, separately sauté bread crumbs, anchovies or anchovy paste in plenty of olive oil with red pepper and lots of garlic
5) sauté garlic and chopped tomatoes and capers, add oregano and mozzarella along with cooked pasta to melt everything together.

If you have a hard time keeping lots of fresh options available, some things are perfectly good when frozen - like peas and shrimp for example. I made this during the week and it came out well:
chopped onion, frozen peas, ginger, frozen shrimp, sauteed and then added a box of coconut milk and a spoonful of Thai curry paste
served over basmati rice.

You should consider what you have and make the most of it: do you have a cast iron grill? a blender? a wood-burning fireplace? a food processor? muffin tins? a bread maker?