Pregnancy diet: 15 best foods to eat while pregnant

Cooking for pregnant women always needs more attention and care than the average person. Nutrition in dishes cooked for pregnant women needs to provide enough nutrients for both mother and baby. So how to prepare rice for pregnant women? And what should I cook for pregnant women?

The following article will provide detailed information about the pregnancy diet and the best foods to eat during pregnancy.

Eating well during pregnancy

Loading nutritious foods is what every mother thinks about to ensure the health of her baby. Pregnant women should supplement with protein to ensure that they have enough energy to help the body have good health during pregnancy.

Salmon, beef, sweet potatoes, or dark green leafy vegetables are foods that are both nutritious and help mom and baby feel good. When the body is fully supplemented with essential substances, it will create energy and increase the immune system for both mother and baby.

A healthy diet during pregnancy

A healthy diet is an important part if you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant. Eating healthy during pregnancy will help your baby grow and be healthier.

No special diet is required, but it’s important that you eat a variety of foods to get the balance of nutrients your body and baby need. During pregnancy, you need to get vitamins and minerals from food, especially folic acid.

You may feel hungrier during pregnancy than usual, but you don’t have to “eat for two” – even if you’re expecting twins or triplets.

Pregnancy Meal Plan

Pregnant women need a complete diet and need special care. Being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to give up the things you love. For many of us, eating is a pleasure.

So if you are on a strict diet and have to eat unappetizing foods for 9 months just because you think they are “good” for you, then this is not good at all. Not only is that not good for your health, but it’s also bad for your unborn baby. That’s why you must have a meal plan during pregnancy.

Diet during pregnancy should ensure rich, fresh, and attractive goals. Consider food choices that benefit both you and your baby. Don’t wait until the 3rd month when you need to gain weight to notice this. Eating an extra plate of fruit or drinking an extra glass of milk is enough to provide the extra energy needed for pregnancy.

The quality and nutritional content of the daily diet are more important than quantity. Have you heard the phrase “work smart” before? Pregnancy is also a time for you to “eat smart”, based on analyzing what you and your baby need, how much, not just eating enough, or just having a good appetite.

The importance of a diet plan during pregnancy

Pregnancy Meal Plan is the key to providing all the nutrients needed for both mother and baby. It helps you be more proactive in what to eat, when, how, and also avoids the case of over-stocking or completely running out of food in the refrigerator.

If you don’t have time to buy food, think of other ways to buy groceries online, make a list of items to buy, and then ask the seller to deliver them to your door, ask your husband to buy them… Worth the investment. Time and effort for delicious and nutritious food, right?

Pregnancy diet plan

Normally, pregnant women usually need to eat about 5-6 meals a day during pregnancy, including snacks. If you don’t have the habit of eating breakfast, now is the time to get into this good habit. You will not be able to start the day effectively without having a full breakfast, because you will not have enough energy to work at full capacity during the day.

Because according to scientists, if you skip breakfast, the body will go into a state of hunger and automatically store fat instead of using it. So, to promote metabolism and keep both mother and baby healthy, eat breakfast scientifically and fully, not only for you but also for the fetus.

During pregnancy, you can’t eat and drink arbitrarily. You need to have a pregnancy diet plan. That ensures a healthy and safe pregnancy.

Foods for the month of pregnancy

Eat easy-to-digest, starchy foods like bread, cookies, rice, and noodles.

Liquid soups that are not too fatty with meat, chicken, and some vegetables are also a good choice. But note, do not eat too much at once and stop when you feel full. This will help you keep food and avoid vomiting.

Healthy Pregnancy Recipes

Cooking for pregnant women also needs diversity and abundance. Therefore, experts have given some suggestions on nutritional menus for pregnant women to refer to. The menu with dishes and instructions on how to cook will ensure a healthy pregnancy and good weight gain.

Here are 15 Recipes for a Healthy Pregnancy

Kale salad with dried fruit and seeds

Material:

• 8 large kale leaves
• 125g thinly sliced ​​almonds
• 90g dried blueberries
• 45g finely chopped
• 60 ml of vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced onion
• 125ml olive oil
• 60g shredded cheese

Cooking for pregnant women needs to ensure food hygiene and safety. The ingredients need to be cleaned and drained before cooking to avoid food poisoning for pregnant women.

With kale leaves proceed to shred into bite-sized pieces. Then add the blueberry almonds and proceed to mix. Add vinegar, pepper, salt, olive oil to another bowl, mix well until fluffy, and season to taste. When using, sprinkle the mixed vinegar mixture on the island to infuse and enjoy.

Smoked chicken with vegetables

Material

• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• half of chopped onion
• 8 eggs
• 185 ml fresh milk
• 155g pasteurized cheese
• Minced garlic
• Salt and pepper

First, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Smoked chicken is cooked to turn light brown and then drained. Put a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft.

Once the onions are soft, beat the eggs in a large bowl and stir well with the cheese and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and stir, you can add little herbs but only remove the leaves. When the mixture is cooked bring the chicken out to decorate.

You can also split the egg and buttermilk mixture in half, cook with onions, and cook the other part with chicken. With the above recipe suitable for 4 people to eat, you can adjust the dosage to cook rice for pregnant women.

Mixed vegetable sauce with baked egg

Materials to prepare:

• 1 eggplant about 375g, chopped and saved
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• Diced red bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• Salt and ground pepper
• 470g tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil
• 4 eggs
• Chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius and bake eggplant, onion, zucchini, and bell pepper. After finishing, drizzle with olive oil and add garlic and salt, and pepper. Squeeze tomato juice, add a little basil on top of the dish. Continue beating the egg in the middle of the dish. Continue, put the dish in the oven, add the eggs until cooked, and then take them out.

Before serving, sprinkle some parsley to make the dish more attractive.

Pan-fried salmon, lentils, and leeks

Material:

• 140g lentils
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 235g finely chopped leeks without the green leaves
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 2 stalks diced celery
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced parsley
• 185g salmon fillet
• Ground salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon vinegar and red wine
• 2 teaspoons minced chives

Soak lentils in boiling water and soak for 15 minutes before draining. Sauté the leeks with olive oil and then add the minced garlic.

Mix remaining seasonings then cook with lentils until tender. Add a thin layer of olive oil over the salmon, then bake at 230 degrees.

When the lentil mixture is complete, remove the leaves and add salt and pepper, parsley, and chives. Season to taste, then scoop the tofu over the grilled salmon.

Steamed cod with vegetables

With this cooking method for pregnant women, you will provide a sufficient amount of green vegetables to combat common constipation during pregnancy. Tomatoes, asparagus, basil, and chives are mixed with olive oil.

Cod grilled in foil to cook soft without losing nutrition. Bring the cooked grilled fish to a plate, pour the mixed sauce on top of the spinach, and then grill it again until it’s fully cooked. If you want to eat sour, you can squeeze a little lemon into the dish and enjoy.

Grilled chicken with peas

Grilled chicken will provide protein to create energy and help your baby develop better physically. At the same time, combine with peas and some powdered spices to enhance the flavor of the dish.

Oatmeal with tomato shrimp and avocado

With this dish, spices such as coriander, basil, mint, garlic, and lemon zest will be pureed to make it easier to infuse the food. Then mix this mixture with olive oil and salt and pepper to marinate the shrimp and then bake.

Save some of the seasoning mixtures for seasoning when sautéing avocado tomatoes and green onions. Oats are cooked in another pan with a little olive oil until soft. Finally, mix all the ingredients together and enjoy.

Chicken and mushroom soup

Soups will help pregnant women improve digestion better and also easily absorb nutrients. Especially with ingredients from chicken and shiitake mushrooms, it will improve the health of pregnant women and fetuses. Cook the soup with some peas and spices to taste. When done, cook a little more on low heat so that all ingredients are soft.

Grilled pork with barley grain and dried apricots

Similar to grilled chicken with sauce, you can change the ingredients a little and replace it with pork to avoid boredom while eating.

Black bean cake with sweet potato and butter

This cake will be made from sweet potatoes and mashed butter to shape cake. Then you bake it to keep the shape and sprinkle with butter seasoning and some nuts and then bake until evenly cooked.

Mixed curry chicken, sweet potato, pumpkin

Curries are also prepared in a similar way to soups but can be spicier and with coarser ingredients. Cooking the pumpkin until it is soft and dissolved in the curry will create a delicious, fatty taste that will help pregnant women want to eat.

You can also roast pumpkin, sweet potato, and chicken before cooking to keep the sweetness from dissolving in the water.

Tofu with sugar-water served with broccoli

Tofu, coconut water has a sweet, fatty aroma that is quite pleasing to the mouth. Just fry the garlic and beat the sugar water and boil it with tofu, then remove the sugar, we will have a tofu dish.

Then you add some dried seeds and broccoli, bake until cooked, and enjoy with olive oil.

Thinly sliced ​​steak served with red bell pepper and onion

The steak is quite high in protein, but pregnant women will have a hard time leaving the whole piece. Chop them up and then add them with bell peppers, onions, and a little butter or bay powder… you bake until all ingredients are soft and enjoy with olive oil.

Cooking for pregnant women with thinly sliced ​​steak served with red bell pepper

Shredded zucchini with sesame sauce

Sesame sauce is quite good for health to boost the immune system. You can grate zucchini-like noodles to stir-fry with sesame sauce and add olive oil before enjoying.

Grilled Cauliflower with Yogurt

You will cook the cauliflower first. Because the flower structure is softer than the body, it should be divided to bake to avoid burning or uneven cooking.

Yogurt is mixed with a little lemon zest, parsley, garlic juice, and salt. Finally, heat olive oil with a small donkey in a pan spread the cauliflower over the hot oil, and pour the yogurt mixture on top. You can also bring the pan to bake or enjoy.

Above are 15 recipes for cooking rice for pregnant women for your reference. Wishing you a delicious and nutritious meal.

9 best foods to eat while pregnant

Foods rich in nutrients such as iron, protein, B9, calcium, vitamin C … will help the mother’s body absorb enough nutrients, the fetus develops according to standards and quantification and helps the mother have an abundant source of energy, healthy enough to work and live during pregnancy.

So what kind of foods are good for pregnant women, which foods provide nutrients, and what effects do they have during pregnancy? Here is a list of good foods with ingredients, their effects on the fetus and pregnant mother.

Meat

Lean animal meat such as chicken, beef, pork… is good food for pregnant women. In lean animals, meat contains a lot of protein, minerals such as calcium, iron, vitamins A, D, B1, E … provide enough nutrients for the mother during pregnancy.

Pork and beef are good food, it is rich in iron, B vitamins, choline. These are essential nutrients, mothers must supplement more during pregnancy.

Pregnant women in the last 3 months should choose foods rich in iron because iron is used by red blood cells. It supplies oxygen to the cells in the body. Meats, especially lean meat from animals, are essential foods that every pregnant woman should supplement during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester.

Note: Mothers should not eat dishes from animal meat with drinks and foods rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C when eaten will reduce and hinder the absorption of iron and protein by the body.

Eggs

In 1 egg contains up to 77 calories, protein, fat of high quality. And eggs also contain many important nutrients, necessary for the development of the brain and bones such as zinc, calcium, vitamin D, omega 3 …
With 113mg choline in 1 egg, it helps children develop a better brain and prevent the risk of neural tube defects in the fetus.

Eggs are good food for pregnant women with a high content of nutrients, good for the development of the fetus and the health of the mother. But to be safe, mothers should not eat raw eggs, peaches because this type of eggs is easy to infect, bacteria have a high ability to penetrate. Pregnant women should not eat more than 2 eggs/day.

Salmon

Salmon is good food for pregnant women because it is rich in long-chain omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. This substance has an important role in building the eyes and brain of the fetus.

However, mothers should not eat too much salmon, because the amount of mercury and harmful substances in salmon will affect the fetus. Pregnant women can eat salmon twice a week to provide adequate omega 3, vitamins D, A, B, calcium, cream, potassium in salmon for the body to absorb nutrients, help strengthen the immune system, strong bones.

Avocados

Avocado is a fruit, good food for pregnant women in the second trimester. At this stage, pregnant women should eat a lot of avocados to supplement the necessary vitamins C, B, E, and K. Avocados contain a lot of unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, potassium, copper… very good for the health and development of your baby.

The fat in avocado helps build and form the tissues, brain, and skin of the fetus, and the B9 in avocado helps prevent neural tube defects. The amount of vitamin C in avocado helps pregnant women have beautiful, bright, and smooth skin and limit skin darkening during pregnancy.

If pregnant women often have cramps, they can eat avocados because the potassium content in avocados reduces cramps significantly.
Pregnant women can eat buttermilk, avocado smoothies, or eat pure avocado every day.

Green leafy vegetables

During pregnancy, pregnant women need to supplement the necessary green vegetables for the body. Dark green vegetables are good foods for pregnant women. This vegetable contains a lot of fiber, vitamins C, K, A, iron, potassium, calcium, folate which are very good for pregnant women and fetuses.

The nutritional components in broccoli have a high antioxidant effect, increase the immune system for pregnant women and are good for the digestive system, reduce constipation due to internal heat, and help the baby to be born with a healthy weight.

Pasteurized milk, yogurt

Milk is a food rich in calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium. Milk is good food for pregnant women and during pregnancy, pregnant women must always supplement the necessary amount of milk every day.

In addition to using pasteurized milk, yogurt is a beneficial food, good for pregnant women because it contains more calcium and contains many beneficial bacteria, good for the digestive system.

Supplementing adequate amounts of pasteurized milk and yogurt during pregnancy will help pregnant women avoid preeclampsia, vaginal infections, allergies, and gestational diabetes.

Legumes

The group of legumes includes: soybeans, peanuts, peas, lentils, chickpeas… are good foods for pregnant women. Legumes provide fiber, B9, protein, iron, calcium… for pregnant women.

Insufficient folate (B9) will lead to the risk of neural tube defects, low birth weight in babies and infections, a weak immune system after birth. Therefore, the amount of B9 in beans is very necessary for mother and baby.

This is good food for the first 3 months, mothers should add more. The fiber in beans will help pregnant women reduce and limit alertness and better digestion.

Oranges, tangerines

Fruits rich in vitamin C are known as oranges and tangerines. The high amount of vitamin C in iron helps pregnant women easily absorb iron and has the effect of beautifying the skin and strengthening the immune system.

The glycemic index in oranges and tangerines is low, so they are absolutely safe, do not cause blood sugar spikes, and limit gestational diabetes.

Oranges and tangerines are good foods for pregnant women with many great benefits, such as solving morning sickness symptoms, supplementing water, vitamin C, preventing birth defects in the fetus.

Nuts

Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds.. are good foods for pregnant women in the first 3 months. These nuts are rich in iron, omega 3 is very good for fetal brain development and avoids iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women.  Nuts and Seeds are True “Superfoods”

Eating nuts during pregnancy will help your baby to be smarter, faster, and healthier later. These nuts also help mothers relax, reduce stress and depression.

What NOT To Eat While Pregnant?

Green papaya – Pregnant women should not eat to avoid miscarriage. The first name in the list of foods pregnant women should not eat is papaya. Mothers must be very surprised because stewed green papaya will be really good for postpartum women with a lack of milk, but it is a harmful food for pregnant women.

The reason is that when green, this fruit has a lot of resin and contains enzymes that increase uterine contractions leading to the risk of miscarriage.

Especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. You should only choose to use enough fully ripe plants and enough green stew after birth to provide the necessary nutrients for your baby after birth.

Soybeans and soy products

If post-partum soy and soy products are the first priority in food choices due to the effect of hormonal supplements, increasing Postpartum Estrogen helps to limit common phenomena such as vaginal dryness, dry skin, while pregnant, this is a food group on the absolute taboo list.

Because in a woman’s pregnancy, a woman’s body has certain changes in the mechanism of hormone regulation and production, so abnormal supplementation will cause a risk of genital defects in the fetus. The baby is a boy and can increase the risk of ovarian cysts during pregnancy.

The tubers have sprouted

With hot and humid weather like in our country, the phenomenon of sprouting vegetables is very easy to happen. This can happen with tubers, tubers, or even carrots.

Pregnant women should absolutely not use sprouted tubers because that will be the cause of birth defects due to solanine toxins in them. Although we know that this is a source of essential nutrients for you, we advise you to choose fresh varieties without wilting or sprouting to ensure the health of both mother and baby.

As you know, pineapple helps mothers to go through labor more easily by increasing uterine contractions and softening the uterine wall. Because of that effect, this fruit should absolutely not be used by pregnant women in the first few months of pregnancy to avoid the phenomenon of the fetus being pushed out because the uterus increases contraction due to bromelain in it.

Besides, pineapple has a hot nature that will most likely cause adverse allergic reactions to pregnant women such as rashes and hives.

When you have entered the 37th week of pregnancy, doctors often recommend that pregnant women eat pineapple and drink pineapple juice to help them give birth easier. This is also considered as one of the ways to help the mother not have pain, not have an episiotomy.

Fresh bamboo shoots – Food to avoid during pregnancy

Bamboo shoots are known to be a food rich in vitamins A, E, and many other essential minerals such as niacin, thiamin (available in freshly picked bamboo shoots).

Bamboo shoots benefits in pregnancy

Therefore, eating bamboo shoots during pregnancy is very good for pregnant women, specifically:

Strengthening immunity: Eating bamboo shoots during the changing seasons can help pregnant women strengthen immunity, prevent diseases such as flu during pregnancy, colds because bamboo shoots have antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Strengthens heart health: The abundant fiber in bamboo shoots has the effect of reducing bad cholesterol in the body, thereby limiting the risk associated with cardiovascular diseases.

Good for the digestive system: Eating bamboo shoots during pregnancy is one of the ways to increase the amount of fiber for the body to prevent constipation during pregnancy, to support intestinal digestion.
Weight control: Bamboo shoots contain very few calories and fat but are high in fiber, so they can create a feeling of fullness when eaten.

Cancer prevention: Bamboo shoots are foods rich in antioxidants, so when consumed, the antioxidants in bamboo shoots will prevent the formation of free radicals in the body, helping to prevent some cancers…

Although there are so many uses, based on the risks encountered, pregnant women are advised not to eat bamboo shoots during pregnancy, especially those whose body is weak, threatened, or in the first 3 months of pregnancy.

Pay special attention to dishes made from fresh bamboo shoots when you are pregnant and should not eat any food related to fresh bamboo shoots to reduce the risk of anemia during pregnancy and limit the risk of anemia. Cellular hypoxia can cause fetal strangulation or stillbirth.

Another note for pregnant women who eat bamboo shoots during pregnancy is to avoid eating bamboo shoots in the first 3 months of pregnancy because, at this stage, the pregnant mother is adapting to the changes inside her body, if eating a lot of bamboo shoots can lead to health problems. can cause flatulence, indigestion, glucoside in bamboo shoots also reduces iron metabolism in the body.

Therefore, to ensure the safety of the health of both pregnant women and fetuses, when eating bamboo shoots, mothers should pay attention to how to prepare and cook as follows:

The truth is that bamboo shoots contain a glucoside, if it enters the body, this substance will be absorbed by the stomach and converted into a substance that can cause poisoning, which is cyanohydrin acid.

Therefore, there have been many cases of eating bamboo shoots poisoning due to the failure to remove this toxin before cooking, causing food poisoning symptoms such as nausea, headache, numbness of the tongue, drop in blood pressure, convulsions. convulsions, severe respiratory paralysis.

The active ingredient glucoside in bamboo shoots can be reduced when bamboo shoots are cooked, specifically, this value decreases from 32 to 38 mg to 2.7mg in 100mg of fresh bamboo shoots, while bamboo shoot broth can contain 10mg of glucoside. Therefore, limit the use of bamboo shoots boiling water for cooking.

Longan and hot fruits

The hot fruit and the representative of the longan will cause pregnant women to experience allergic reactions, causing rashes, constipation, indigestion, darkening of the skin, and a gentle appearance that affects health and beauty. of the mother affects the normal development of the fetus. Therefore, instead of eating these fruits, you can completely choose other more suitable fruits.

Tapioca (cassava root), beetroot

According to research, cassava roots contain a lot of HCN acid, causing digestive disorders or more dangerous food poisoning. Therefore, you should consider the use of foods during the development of pregnancy, especially in the first and third trimesters.

There are many women who mistakenly believe that beetroot is red in color, it will help tonic blood, but that is not the case, although it has the same color as blood-healthy foods, beetroot is a food that can cause symptoms. The phenomenon of hemoglobin oxidation causes red blood cells to lose the ability to carry oxygen, leading to severe anemia for the mother and fetus during this period.

Coffee, alcoholic beverages

According to many scientific studies, pregnant women in the first trimester who drink coffee regularly will have a higher risk of miscarriage than other women. Not only that, but coffee also changes the normal development process of the baby at this time. Besides, alcoholic beverages are also the cause of birth defects for children, especially brain development.

Fish contains mercury

Even for normal healthy people, mercury poisoning is extremely dangerous. Therefore, during pregnancy, pregnant women should not eat fish such as mackerel, swordfish, sharks, etc. to avoid the accumulation of mercury in the body, which affects the development of the brain as well as the body of pregnant women. baby leads to less comprehensive development when the baby is born.

Wormwood is an herb that has the effect of reducing muscle pain, helping blood circulation, reducing abdominal pain and is used by doctors for cases of safe pregnancy, continuous miscarriage. However, some recent studies show that if pregnant women eat wormwood in the first 3 months, it will increase the risk of bleeding and uterine contractions.

Consequences can lead to miscarriage or premature birth. Therefore, wormwood is also included in the list of foods that are taboo during pregnancy.

If mothers use wormwood with its effect on pregnancy, mothers should consult a specialist. In addition, if the mother has a history of miscarriage or premature birth, the mother should not eat a lot of wormwoods.

Salads, raw meat, uncooked meat

It will be hard to resist the delicious taste of these dishes, but when you are pregnant, you need to appreciate and value the health and development of the fetus to another level.

You should consider before eating these foods because when they are not cooked, they will be a source of harmful bacteria into your body as well as your digestive system. It is also possible that it will be a flu virus if you accidentally eat poultry with the flu, so all dishes when you are pregnant need to be cooked and boiled.

Food is the main source of nutrition for the fetus, but to protect the baby’s health and comprehensive development, you should pay attention to the diet and the choice of food. In addition to the list of taboo foods during pregnancy that we have mentioned in the article, we also recommend that you limit your intake of hot and spicy fast foods, with many strange spices combined with maintaining yoga practice, walking Walk and relax so you can have the full joy of welcoming your baby.

Even if you eat a healthy diet, you may be missing out on important nutrients. Taking a daily prenatal vitamin – ideally starting at least three months before conception – can help fill in any gaps.

Your healthcare provider may recommend special supplements if you follow a strict vegetarian diet or have a chronic health condition. If you are considering taking herbal supplements during pregnancy, consult your healthcare provider first, as some herbal supplements may harm your pregnancy.

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