Eating healthfully in pregnancy for those who don't like cooking

[Anonymous]

Trader Joes is your friend. They have good summer sauces, ready to go frozen brown rice, the of frozen mixed veggies, etc. if you think spending 20-30 minutes is too difficult to cook, you should try to consider an education on how to try to provide slightly more healthy meals for your family. Alternatively, have your partner/spouse learn to cook.

I dislike her, but rachel rays cookbooks are good and easy starting points. If you aren't happy with your cooking and eating habits before pregnancy, this is a good time to change them, and it's important to provide a good sample for your child.

[Anonymous]

I second another PP's salad recommendation. Takes two seconds to throw together, especially if you buy beans or pre-cooked chicken breast. Eggs are easy too -- we do scrambled eggs for dinner at least once a week. Just scramble them up with whatever you please (or plain, if that is your preference) -- I do sun-dried tomatoes, pecorino cheese, red pepper flakes and sometimes fennel seed. If you are not a huge eater, and don't get markedly more hungry during pregnancy, there is no need to eat a giant meal. How about just a whole sweet potato nuked in the microwave, with some butter? That is pretty filling if you don't have a huge appetite, and could not be easier. Healthy, too. (I believe in a reasonable amount of fat in the diet.) Sometimes I just slice up a tomato, douse it in olive oil, and accompany with a plate of cooked kale. Opinions vary, but my personal philosophy is to look at nutrition not at each meal, but over the course of a day or even a week. So if I have nothing but vegetables for dinner, that is fine, so long as I eat some protein the next day. If I have eggs for dinner, I try to go heavier on the veggies the next day. Etc.

Also, you can only do what you can. I actually like cooking but I was too exhausted in my first trimester and couldn't stand the smell of raw anything. But it was ok if someone else cooked it. So I did a lot of take-out from the Whole Foods salad bar. Not as healthy as making it myself but better than relying on McDonalds or something. At least I was still getting all the food groups in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm 18 weeks now but otherwise in the same boat as you! I've made a point to be sure to have something, anything, for breakfast and that has helped with the rest of the day a lot. I've relied on smoothies, overnight oats, and grabbing string cheese on my way out the door in the morning. For lunch and dinner I've really just been trying to listen to my body and go from there. Sometimes tuna salad and then a bowl of cereal is all I want, so I've been trying to just make sure that when I do eat, I make good choices. And I always bring cut up fruit and veggies to work to snack on (I just leave the container out on my desk so I'm more likely to see it and actually eat!).

Thanks for your thoughts. Do you feel you are getting enough calories? I have always maintained a steady weight but when I really look at what I'm eating it's not that much calorie wise or amount wise (pre-pregnancy). Now in pregnancy I worry I am not getting enough of the right nutrients or eating enough quantity in general. For breakfast, I usually have cheese and crackers, but this seems inadequate. I have never been a snacker, and don't tend to get hungry in between meals. I'm trying to force feed myself, but this doesn't seem like a great solution either.

I sometimes feel (and felt pre-pregnancy) that I don't get that many calories, but then my weight has been generally steady, and I feel well, so I feel like that's got to count for something. If you generally didn't take in that many calories pre-preg, then I would be inclined to think that you wouldn't necessarily need as many during pregnancy. Like I said before, I've basically stepped away from worrying about the quantity of what I'm eating and just making sure that the quality is good. For breakfast, maybe add some fruit to the cheese and crackers? Or bring it with you to work and have it there in front of you as a reminder to try a bite . . . I agree that the force feeding thing doesn't seem like a good idea. If you're hungry, eat, and eat healthy foods. If you're not hungry, I don't see the sense in trying to force something down. But, of course, I'm not a doctor, so it wouldn't hurt to bring it up at your next OB appointment just to get his/her take on things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second another PP's salad recommendation. Takes two seconds to throw together, especially if you buy beans or pre-cooked chicken breast. Eggs are easy too -- we do scrambled eggs for dinner at least once a week. Just scramble them up with whatever you please (or plain, if that is your preference) -- I do sun-dried tomatoes, pecorino cheese, red pepper flakes and sometimes fennel seed. If you are not a huge eater, and don't get markedly more hungry during pregnancy, there is no need to eat a giant meal. How about just a whole sweet potato nuked in the microwave, with some butter? That is pretty filling if you don't have a huge appetite, and could not be easier. Healthy, too. (I believe in a reasonable amount of fat in the diet.) Sometimes I just slice up a tomato, douse it in olive oil, and accompany with a plate of cooked kale. Opinions vary, but my personal philosophy is to look at nutrition not at each meal, but over the course of a day or even a week. So if I have nothing but vegetables for dinner, that is fine, so long as I eat some protein the next day. If I have eggs for dinner, I try to go heavier on the veggies the next day. Etc.

Also, you can only do what you can. I actually like cooking but I was too exhausted in my first trimester and couldn't stand the smell of raw anything. But it was ok if someone else cooked it. So I did a lot of take-out from the Whole Foods salad bar. Not as healthy as making it myself but better than relying on McDonalds or something. At least I was still getting all the food groups in.

I couldn't agree more with the bolded stuff above. I LOVE avocados and probably lived on them for a couple of weeks when nothing else sounded good. My appetite and all is back to normal now, but when I just can't get excited about anything else, my go to is cutting up an avocado and enjoying that . . . maybe mixed with cut up tomato and lime juice if I'm feeling crazy

[Anonymous]

Get your husband to start making some food for you both.