First Trimester & Eating

[MamaJoAnna]

OK, this is my first (ever) pregnancy and I'm 5w2d today. I've been trying to eat healthier, 3 meals a day + maybe a snack or two (I'm not the smallest girl ever so those are negotiable I guess?). I'm just stumped on what to eat...I quickly got tired of the same old toast/omelette/sausage for breakfast and I've always been stumped even pre-pregnancy on what to eat for lunches. Dinners aren't usually an issue since I try to have a meat, a starch, and a veggie in every dinner.

Advice? Please? I want to eat right but at the same time eat happy. ;lol:

[MamaJoAnna]

I was thinking about salads, but I can't stomach tomatoes (at least not pre-pregnancy). The most my pre-preg salads have been is greens, carrots, sunflower seeds, croutons, and grilled chicken cut up in it. That's about it

I hadn't thought about lunch meat bc of the nitrates...and damn, oatmeal!!! I do love me some oatmeal lol. Thank you!

[ber614]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Has the nausea hit yet? Because before I got pregnant I was like "When I get pregnant I am only going to eat healthy!" then nausea hit around 6 weeks and I could only eat crackers and toast. The thought of eating fruits and vegetables made me gag haha. My doctor said the first trimester is "survival mode" and to eat whatever sounds good.

But if you are a lucky one that doesn't get nausea, have you thought about going to the library and getting a book on nutrition during pregnancy? Most of them have meal ideas. Anyway, for breakfast you can have smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal, bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter/almond butter on an English muffin. I like to put peanut butter and cut strawberries&bananas on a toasted English muffin. It sounds a strange, but it taste so good. For lunch I love making salads with basil, tomato, and mozzarella cheese, mix it with olive oil and pepper. You can make tuna salad and put it on crackers, hummus and pita bread or hummus with veggies (carrots, celery, bell peppers), chicken wraps or veggie wraps, spring rolls, or soup and sandwiches.

Here are some links to yummy recipes
Veggie Wrap
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/02/ ... wraps.html

Chicken Wrap
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013 ... alad-wrap/

Spring Roll
http://notenoughcinnamon.com/2013/03/17 ... ep-recipe/

[MamaJoAnna]

Nausea/morning sickness thankfully hasn't hit me yet...I find it a bit strange bc with talking to one of my best friends who has another friend due 5 days before me, that friend is sick constantly...and yet I'm not. (Not that I'm jealous of not puking )

Thank you for the links and the food suggestions! I'm gonna start What to Expect When You're Expecting soon and hopefully I can pick up some other pregnancy books at the library or even our thrift store.

[blackbetty]

One of my fav things to eat is a low carb pita or wrap and shredded poached chicken breast with a little franks red hot and spinach. Mmmmm.

[fossilfinger]

Tortillas are your friends! They are so versatile. Here are some ideas:

Breakfast:

Chopped apples (or pears) + cinnamon + other spices of your choice + (choose one, maple syrup, agave syrup, any other kind of syrup) + brown sugar. Wrap in a tortilla, wrap in aluminum foil, and bake. I just estimate on temperatures and times, maybe around 325*F for 20 minutes. You can also add other fruits in there like blueberries, blackberries, dates, and banana. Instead of wrapping this in a tortilla, you can put it on top of oatmeal, or serve it on top of sliced bananas.

Green smoothie: Frozen banana + other frozen fruit (mango, strawberry, and pineapple are all good) + coconut water + enormous hand full of spinach

Lunch:

Hummus + veggies and greens of your choice wrapped in a tortilla

Spiralized/julienned zucchini and carrots with herbs and other vegetables. Just throw it all in the oven or on the stovetop together. It's like pasta but with veggies instead of noodles.

Lettuce wraps - take either bibb lettuce or romaine hearts and put everything you would put in a sandwich inside of the lettuce.

Easy and tasty guacamole that also contains vegetables - avocado + bell pepper + spinach + green onion + garlic + celery + cilantro or other herbs. Throw in the food processor and pulse three or four times. It takes seconds to make!

[whatsername_]

Do not eat lunch meat unless you heat it to at least 165 degrees before consuming!

Better to be safe than sorry.

Make sure you have a vitamin c rich diet, as it can help avoid things like spina bifida.

And if I'm honest, Jo... I got to the point when I was sick - hopefully you don't have that problem, but eat what doesn't make you throw up. Never force yourself to eat something that makes you sick. It's not fun, and doesn't even remotely feel good.


Make sure to eat foods high in folic acid or folate.
Peanuts, even some breakfast cereals have around 25% of folic acid in then. Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, etc.
Leafy greens like Spinich and Kale.

I found my prenatal makes me incredibly ill because of the high iron.
My doctor said that eating one bowl of Total a day is comparable to taking a prenatal.
Just get that folic acid.

[ladybug]

We started eating very healthy the past few months. I don't eat any refined sugar at all. There are a lot of super foods that are awesome for your growing baby. Eggs are super super healthy, nuts, berries such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries. Extra virgin coconut oil ( tablespoon) mixed in Greek yogurt with berries and truvia is soooo good.

Have you heard of the book "trim healthy mama"? It's a book by 2 women and it's very religious which isn't really my thing but it has some great real-life eating advice for moms, pregnant and nursing including. They have a Facebook group which is worth checking out. A lot of women are having really healthy pregnancies and gaining perfect amount of weight eating this way.

[whatsername_]

I didn't even know lunch neat was bad because I'm a vegetarian heh

It's all good, it's just a risk for Listeria. Which is super bad normally, but extra bad for those who are growing babies.

[whatsername_]

If you ate sushi before you were pregnant, you should be fine.
Just try to avoid the raw stuff. Like... sashimi? That would be a no-go. But something like a california roll would be okay.

I'm also a pescatarian for the most part. Fowl/Fish. I tend to avoid red meat.

[whatsername_]

oh yeah i like the raw stuff the best aha. what is the reasoning? because it could be contaminated?
red meat gives me bad heartburn.

Yes. And salmonella. Everything gives me heartburn. Hahaha

[blackbetty]

And mercury.

[MamaJoAnna]

Thank goodness I am not into sushi.

fossilfinger - LOOOOOOVE the apple cinnamon tortilla wrap idea! Gonna try that tomorrow

whatsername_ - I already got the lunchmeat lecture from hubby. He found me nitrate-free hot dogs and we're gonna go like an hour away and get a Sam's Club membership to try and find other nitrate-free stuff since chicken seems to be a big craving of mine. My prenatal I am taking has DHA and folic acid added into it.

ladybug - I find myself eating at least one egg a day. Must be from making hubby's breakfast sandwiches.

[FLOSSY77]

I ate small meals all day. I ate really healthy but gave in to all my cravings. They were mostly after the morning sickness passed.

[MamaJoAnna]

I'll be 6 weeks tomorrow and haven't gotten sick yet...hoping I'm just lucky and this baby won't make me sick LOL

[blackbetty]

I never got sick til about 6-7 wks

[MamaJoAnna]

Well...shit. I'll let y'all know whenever I get sick then!

[thegooseiscooked]

I didn't get sick at all, just a tiny bit queasy from the smell of coffee.

[whatsername_]

I didn't even know I was pregnant until the morning sickness set in. I found out at 7 weeks 2 days.
Hopefully you don't get sick, but if you do - just eat whatever you can. If hotdogs, chocolate milk and grapes settle your stomach whereas a salad doesn't, don't feel bad.

I did at first, but then I learned that eating SOMETHING (anything) and keeping it down is way better than getting sick 25/8.

[MamaJoAnna]

So I've found something I love - chicken wraps.

I took an 8" wheat tortilla and threw some heated up diced up chicken and lettuce in it and cut it in half after rolling it up. Stick it with a piece of string cheese and you basically had my lunch today. Awesome

I still have yet to try the apples in tortilla thing but I think that'll be my agenda for tomorrow's breakfast - MIL dropped some apples by the other day and so I need to use them somehow...