Eat whatever you can handle. Morning sickness, fatigue, and cravings don't usually make for thrilling meals. With my son, I wanted to eat bizarre things--like jarred Pace salsa (ick--but it tasted so good then), and potatoes all the time. This time (I'm at 31 weeks), I ate thankfully wanted to eat a lot of falafel, but I would not touch a potato with a 10 ft pole. It's depressing sometimes to think about what you want to eat or what you ARE eating, but you'll get through it.
No sushi ! And limited fish....talk to your OB/GYN as others have said, but a lot of fin fish have high levels of mercury. Limited exposure during the entire term is recommended.
I had extremely challenging levels of nausea well into my seventh month with both boys, and it wasn't just morning sickness; it was morning, noon and night sickness. The only thing that really made me feel great when I ate it was beef Burgundy. I'm not kidding. It was like a drug. I felt wonderful and not nauseous when I ate it and terrific the next day. Crazy but true. I say, go with your instincts on what appeals to you. Yes, you need to be thoroughly supernourished. Take your vitamins with whatever you can keep down, and always remember that the time will fly and the minor inconvenience of pregnancy digestion and appetite issues will be behind you before you know it. The other recommendations posted so far are all very good. ;o)
I used to make my wife calcium-supercharged smoothies. I'd cut up fresh fruit and freeze it (on a cookie sheet, then transfer to a bag so you don't end up with a large block of frozen fruit). I'd throw some fruit in the blender, along with some skim milk, some skim milk powder for extra calcium, and I'd sweeten it with molasses. Really good and helped to make sure she got enough calcium, which is pretty important, not only for the baby, but also for the mom. My understanding is that there's some thought that insufficient calcium intake during pregnancy can contribute to osteoporosis later on.
Yes, I agree with previous posters. Check with the doctor and see what his/her guidelines are, but also find out what cravings the pregnant woman has. When I was pregnant, I didn't crave so much meat as endless fresh vegetables (luckily my first trimester was in the summer, so there were lots to choose from!). Very simply prepared food like a baked potato was also enormously satisfying to me.
Among the foods I couldn't tolerate during pregnancy was broccoli - even the smell would send me running - but as soon as my daughter was born and my hormones returned to some semblance of normalcy, I was fine with everything again. But the oddest part of food during pregnancy were the cravings - I was a vegetarian at the time and lusted for meat! Early in the pregnancy, I shocked myself and my husband by devouring a full grilled chicken breast (both halves) in one sitting. Just one of the early indications that life with children is life-changing.
In my second trimester now and I didn't really have any particular food aversions, other than not really having an overall appetite. I'd say in general,dishes with quinoa, brown rice, salads - healthy grains and veggies are good anytime, especially when pregnant.
If you suffer from morning sickness (in my case, morning/noon/night sickness) first trimester is usually worst - so a woman may be uncharacteristically picky then. I had serious ever-changing food aversions, so it was hard to predict: one day broccoli, the next something as innocent as cereal with milk on it. My only sustained craving was bacon - but that's not the healthiest thing to over indulge in. (Not saying I didn't, notice.) In terms of relieving morning sickness, I tried everything; nothing helped. Lucky me. Second trimester, was far easier, thankfully.
So, besides the health restrictions mentioned above (no raw fish, raw cheeses, etc.), I'd let those preferences guide you. Also, I became fairly anemic while pregnant, which is fairly common, so if that's an issue, iron rich foods are useful (even if dutifully swallowing those awful smelling iron pills.) Red meat, dark greens like spinach, dried fruit, etc. - whichever the woman likes.
Agree with hardlikearmour about food aversions--mine were poultry, seafood and coffee! I ate A LOT of steak when I was pregnant. Also, pregnant women should have no tuna or raw fish of any kind. And the guidelines keep changing-- find out what her doctor advised about her diet.
You're going to need to talk to the pregnant woman, as they can have food aversions from the pregnancy hormones. I've heard of something as seemingly innocuous as boiling rice inducing nausea! You definitely need to avoid raw cheese, lunch meat/deli meat that is not heated to at least 160º F, paté-type meat, refrigerated smoked fish that is not cooked in something and undercooked meat of all types -- these can carry Listeria, a bacteria that can lead to miscarriage.
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So, besides the health restrictions mentioned above (no raw fish, raw cheeses, etc.), I'd let those preferences guide you. Also, I became fairly anemic while pregnant, which is fairly common, so if that's an issue, iron rich foods are useful (even if dutifully swallowing those awful smelling iron pills.) Red meat, dark greens like spinach, dried fruit, etc. - whichever the woman likes.