Cooking for Pregnancy

It's only the second month that I have been trying to get pregnant, and I am already nervous about a lot of things, but the most immediate one is, how to eat what I'm supposed to eat once the test is positive.

In the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting", the authors write that a study done at the Harvard School of Public Health demonstrated that, of the women who had excellent diets in the study, 95% had babies in good or excellent health. Those who had poor diets (as in junk food) had babies in good or excellent health only 8% of the time, and 65% of them had infants whom were stillborn, premature, functionally immature, or had congenital defects. Most women, they say, are somewhere in the middle, and they produce babies with average health. Only 6% of those women produce babies with excellent health. This is significant. Especially considering that what you eat is something you have so much control over.

One of the pluses about being a little older is that I consider my diet to already be above average. At 25, my daily diet was based largely on diet sodas, bagels and frozen yogurt, but since then I have made a conscious effort to eat for my health, instead of just my jeans. The problem is, there's a difference between making an effort to eat vegetables and eating vegetables. In making an effort, I probably eat vegetables three to four times a week. When you're pregnant, they say you should be eating at least five fruits and vegetables a day. According to experts, you're also going to need four proteins, four, five, or more whole grains and legumes, four servings of calcium-rich foods, and an eye out for vitamin C foods and foods high in iron, in case you don't get enough from the first few groups. Who would have time to leave the house, except to go to the grocery store? Even though you may have just checked off a grain and a calcium-rich and a fruit, with a couple of egg whites on the side, you still have a truckload of food left to eat for the day. I began to fantasize about a little piece of gum like Violet stole away with in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". An entire day of nutrition packed in a pellet.

The following recipes aren't quite in pellet form, but I created them with the idea in mind. Fiber and vitamin B-rich garbanzo beans with leafy green kale, and protein rich walnuts. Stuffed potatoes in their skins with cottage cheese and cheddar, which are great with roasted string beans. Yogurt, banana and mango shakes are good for breakfast with whole grain toast, and any time you need a snack, a little bag of trail mix goes a long way.

Green and Beans Salad If you have a slice of whole grain bread with the salad, you will have a complete protein. The kale is packed with calcium and beta carotene, garbanzos are a protein source, add fiber, and even a little calcium, and the ginger and garbanzos help with an upset stomach. More Info

Stuffed Potatoes Potatoes in the their skins are a rich iron source, cottage cheese is packed with protein and calcium, and the red pepper and tomatoes are good sources for vitamin C. More Info

Tropical Cow One of these is a Vitamin C, calcium, and beta carotene blitz. The banana even adds potassium, and if you want a little more protein, add a tablespoon of wheat germ. More Info

Trail Mix Trail mix is great for munching bit by bit, when you can't think about getting down a whole meal. The dried fruit is good for fiber, the nuts are great for Vitamin E and protein, the ginger has been used for centuries to fight off nausea and headaches. If you can find brazil nuts to throw in, you get a big dose of selenium, which can help with the blue side of mood swings. More Info