Vegetarian pregnancy

[hanrh]

Hello all

I was wondering if anyone else was vegetarian? And if so is there anything extra you are eating/taking to support your pregnancy?

 

[shivangi1210]

Hi Hun!!

I'm too a vegetarian. I actually didn't add anything new to my meal.
I just prefer pulses, green leafy vegetables and fruits.
Also, i'm taking supplements for Calcium and Folic Acid.

 

[rachelleigh]

Hi! I'm vegetarian and this is my second pregnancy. I have found that a lot of the usual protein sources I eat (beans, tofu, tempeh, etc) sound awful to me right now! I have been eating an egg most mornings even if I'm not in the mood because I know it's great protein. Peanut butter on toast or crackers is another go-to. I did end up with a slight iron deficiency during my last pregnancy so I've been doing my best to eat plenty of iron rich foods this time around. Easier said than done sometimes with first trimester food aversions and nausea. A vegetarian diet is totally fine when you're pregnant. Prenatal vitamins fill in the blanks if you're lacking something.

 

[Neferet]

I'm vegetarian and I'm on my second pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Isaac I was vegan at the beginning but started craving cheese so I went back to being just vegetarian (still just vegetarian now). Haven't changed my diet at all and I'm not eating or taking anything special.

 

[hanrh]

Thank you ladies that really puts my mind at rest. I can't even stand the thought of eggs so am trying my best to eat tofu, pulses etc.

 

[shout4]

Me, this is my second vegetarian pregnancy and I didn't change anything in my diet and I had no issues last time. I was iron deficient only when I returned from 2 weeks in Vietnam, where I wouldn't eat a damn thing and was bad about taking my vitamins.

 

[hanrh]

Do any of you have any good veggie recipes? I've been looking up some high protein ones and have found a delicious sounding tofu and spinach cannelloni! I will try it tonight.

 

[trishpalac]

I'm so happy to see so many other vegetarians here! I'm trying to eat lots of peanut butter, whole grains, cheeses, milk, broccoli, eggs in any form, quinoa, ect. Basically just trying to make sure to get lots of protein daily.

 

[MindUtopia]

I was primarily a vegetarian all through my pregnancy and had been for nearly 20 years (I'd recently started to eat some fish, but not regularly). All my usual protein sources seemed really unappealing when I was pregnant. I just ate what my body told me to, which was often carbs, fruit and milk, and trusted it knew what it was doing. I also took a good quality pregnancy vitamin with gentle iron, plus took added vitamin C with meals to help with iron absorption. My iron was great all through pregnancy (13.9 and 12.1). I had a healthy pregnancy and easy home birth.

 

[rachelleigh]

I love this lasagna recipe- it uses tofu in the ricotta mixture which adds a lot of good protein. You don't even know it's there! It's a great one to make ahead and freeze too.

https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-to-feed-157866

 

[hope2bmother]

I'm vegan and I take my prenatal, calcium and iron supplement, and a vegan omega 3 DHA+EPA supplement. I generally eat boatloads of dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard, collards, etc), plenty of legumes, nuts, quinoa and amaranth, tons of fresh fruit, nut milks,etc (whole foods). However, this first trimester has been rough- constant nausea and no appetite whatsoever. I still force myself to eat relatively healthy, but blech! veggies are among my worst aversions right now. Once I start to feel better (hopefully in the next week), I will resume my pre-pregnancy diet and just increase the amount of protein I take in (legumes, nuts, pregnancy-safe protein powder in my smoothies). Like MindUtopia said, I just eat what my body tells me to eat. From what I understand, the embryo/fetus initially just feeds off what you have stored up (which is why a healthy balanced diet leading up to pregnancy is so important). Just take care of yourself and you and your LO will be fine!