Half the battle of eating healthy while you are expecting is figuring out what to buy and what to cook. Many of us are all too familiar with the interior of the grocery store: skillet meals, frozen dinners, boxed meals, canned lunch, cereal, pasta mixes and other prepackaged foods make up a large part of our American diet. We may take a detour through the produce section for onions or a head of iceberg lettuce, but most of us wouldn’t know where to begin if we were restricted to the perimeter of the store; and yet that is where healthy eating begins.
Your skillet is your best friend. The easiest way to add wholesome veggies to your diet without inducing a gag reflex is to master the art of stir-fry. There are so many combinations and ways to eat stir-fry. The first step is always the same: heat up a small amount of EVOO in a large pan. From there, it all depends on your taste. If you’re not one to chop all your veggies from scratch, frozen veggies are the next best thing. Best of all, they come in a variety of blends that cater perfectly to different dishes. One of my favorites is the Asian medley. Once the veggies are cooked, I like to add a few cups of cooked rice and I crack a few eggs to make vegetable fried rice. I also like combining a fajita blend with chopped chicken to be served in a whole wheat tortilla with fresh lettuce and mashed avocado.
To bring out their sweetness, try tossing chopped vegetables in a small amount of oil and seasonings and roasting them in the oven. They go really well with baked chicken.
Fruits are even easier than vegetables, since you don’t need to cook them. If you are not sure how to open or cut a certain fruit, you are certain to find video instructions on You Tube!
For snacks, reach for a cup of low fat yogurt instead of potato chips. Reduced fat string cheese is another great option. Curb your sweet tooth with chocolate covered frozen bananas or frozen fruit bars that are made with 100% fruit and fruit juice.
Remember, you are not just feeding yourself, you are providing nutrition for your baby as well, so healthy eating is important. Try to stick to the outside perimeter of the grocery store when you do your shopping. Use fresh ingredients as much as possible and limit your use of sugar or salt when flavoring foods. Always ask yourself the question, would I feed this to my baby?