All of the containdications during pregnancy can drive you mad. Thanks to Frances Largeman Roth, the issue is demystified and eating is made simple. And, fun!’
Let’s get all the Don’ts out of the way first. I prefer to focus on all the delicious, healthy stuff you can eat when you’re pregnant, but there are a few things you do need to steer clear of when you’re expecting.
What to Avoid
1. Alcohol.
2. Tobacco (weed, too!).
3. Caffeine; limit it as much as possible. Stick to no more than 200mg per day, which is about an 8-ounce cup of coffee. That includes energy drinks that
contain natural forms of caffeine, like guarana, yerba mate, or ginseng.
4. Unpasteurized (raw) milk, juice, and other beverages.
5. Unpasteurized cheeses, such as Brie, Camembert, blue cheese,
feta, and queso fresco. As long as it’s pasteurized, go for it!
6. Processed meats, such as lunch meat, hot dogs (unless they’re steaming
hot), lox, meat spreads, and pâté.
7. Raw foods, including meat, fish (sushi), shellfish, eggs (sorry, honey,
that includes raw cookie dough), and sprouts (including alfalfa, mung,
clover, and radish).
8. Fish that are high in mercury (cooked or uncooked), such as swordfish,
tilefish, king mackerel, and shark.
9. Herbal supplements.
10. Artificial sweeteners (unless you’re diabetic). A new study showed that diet sodas are linked to preterm birth.
What to Enjoy
1. Folic acid-rich foods, such as fortified cereal, lentils, edamame, spinach,
asparagus, and citrus fruits.
2. Iron-packed foods, such as beef, bison, chicken, eggs, salmon, Swiss
chard, dried apricots, and tofu.
3. Protein, which can be found in lean meat, poultry, seafood, soy-based
foods, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and quinoa.
4. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are plentiful in salmon, tuna, enriched
eggs, walnuts, and flax seeds.
5. Choline, a nutrient important for baby’s brain health, which you’ll get in
eggs, soy-based foods, pork chops, cauliflower, and liver.
6. Calcium to build strong bones and teeth, found in milk, yogurt, cheese,
spinach, and broccoli.
7. Vitamin B12, a vitamin found in cooked clams, beef liver, fortified cereal,
trout, salmon, and beef.
8. Vitamin D, a critical vitamin that’s abundant in eggs, salmon, sardines,
fortified milk, and good old sunshine.
9. Vitamin C, which you’ll get in strawberries, red bell peppers, and citrus
fruits.
10. Zinc, a mineral that you can get in fortified cereal, beef, pork, chicken,
yogurt, beans, and cashews.
Here is one of my favorite recipes from the book. For more recipes and info, please visit www.franceslargemanroth.com.
Chunky Monkey Muffins
My goal for this recipe was to create a chocolatey banana muffin.
This definitely fits the bill, and it’s also great for those
times when things aren’t moving so well…if you know what I
mean. Each muffin has 3 grams of fiber, so eat it with a full
glass of water and grab some reading material. For a tasty little protein blast, add a dollop of peanut buttery goodness inside.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Makes 15 muffins
Baby Bonus: 5 grams of protein means this muffin has way more
than empty calories—plus, it’s got a bit of vegetarian omega-3
from the flax seeds.
Momma Must-Have: 3 grams of fiber.
1¼ cups organic whole-wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon, dark cocoa powder
(such as Hershey’s Special Dark)
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2/³ cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces low-fat vanilla yogurt
2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
1 egg (preferably omega-3-enhanced)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup soy or 1% milk
1/³ cup natural smooth peanut butter (optional)
1 tablespoon (or more) wheat germ
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Coat liners with cooking spray and set aside.
2. M easure out the flours, leveling with a knife, into a large mixing
bowl along with the brown sugar, flax seed, 1 tablespoon cocoa
powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Whisk together
until combined.
3. Combine the yogurt, bananas, egg, vanilla extract, oil, and soy
milk in a separate bowl until thoroughly mixed (it’s okay if there
are a few chunks of banana left).
4. Fold the banana mixture into the dry mixture just until combined.
If using peanut butter, fill the prepared muffin cups ½
full with batter and then spoon 1 teaspoon peanut butter on top.
Fill the cups with more batter until ¾ full (if not using peanut
butter, simply fill the cups ¾ full with batter). Sprinkle tops
with wheat germ and put in the oven for 20 minutes or until
the tops of the muffins look dry and spring back when touched
in the center. Allow to cool on the stovetop.
5. Bake the remaining muffin mixture while you’re snacking on a
warm one, and go find a good magazine.
Calories 240; Fat 9 g (Sat 3 g, Mono .5 g, Poly 2 g); Cholesterol 15 mg; Protein 5 g;
Carbohydrate 36 g; Sugars 15 g; Fiber 3 g; Iron 1 mg; Sodium 246 mg; Calcium 32 mg
