Pregnancy Superfoods To Add To Your Meal Plan
October 16, 2023
Your life changes drastically when you become pregnant! From forgoing your glass of wine in the evening to cutting back on caffeine, then of course there’s the morning sickness and preparing for the arrival of your baby. It’s a lot! You’ve also got to add nutrition to the mix. Eating the right foods can have a big impact on your pregnancy. There are even a few superfoods you should consider prepping meals around to ensure you’re supporting your baby’s development as well as your own health.
What Makes A Food “Super”?
There can be a lot of hype about superfoods, but what does this term actually mean? And, are there any benefits to including superfoods in your diet while you’re pregnant?
Superfood is a title used for foods that are particularly nutrient-dense and help support optimal health and well-being.
During the development of a baby in the womb, a woman’s body needs vitamins and minerals to support this growth. So, yes, it is absolutely beneficial to include these nutritious foods as part of a balanced diet.
What Superfoods Are Good For Pregnancy?
Bananas
This fruit is a fantastic source of energy. Fatigue is a common side effect of pregnancy, so incorporating bananas into your diet can give you extra stamina.
This pregnancy superfood smoothie is a delicious way to enjoy the benefits of bananas:
Wild One Blueberry Smoothie
Along with a banana, this smoothie blends blueberries, pineapples, cauliflower, and spinach (another superfood!) to create a nutritious breakfast that provides you with vitamin C, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Get the full recipe here.
Oats
Oats can help you lower your cholesterol! “Oatmeal has soluble fiber, which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the ‘bad’ cholesterol. Soluble fiber can reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream,” explains Mayo Clinic.Did you know that cholesterol and hypertension are linked? “High cholesterol during pregnancy can lead to pregnancy-induced hypertension, which can threaten the life of both the parent and the child,” says Parents.
If you’re a mama who is experiencing high blood pressure during your pregnancy, we’ve created a guide just for you. Inside it, you’ll learn what gestational hypertension is, ways to control it, and which ingredients help reduce high blood pressure.
A peek inside:
- The difference between gestational hypertension and chronic hypertension
- Who’s most at risk
- Contributing factors that help control high blood pressure
- Lists of foods that are high in calcium, fiber, magnesium, protein, and potassium
Instead of opting for a premade oatmeal or granola from the store that’s often high in sugar, make this:
Cran-Haz-Seedy Granola
This granola is packed with goodness from oats, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, and apricots and is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and honey. By eating this for breakfast you and your baby will benefit from vitamin B12, folate, protein, niacin, and thiamin to name a few.
Get the full recipe here.
Figs
For snacks, keep dried fruit on hand, especially figs. Figs are rich in both fiber and potassium! These little fruits may even help to relieve constipation, a common pregnancy concern.
How to Relieve Constipation During Pregnancy
Dietary Remedies for Pregnancy Constipation Relief
Get the GuideConstipation can be a real pain in the butt. But luckily for you, we’ve got a whole resource that can help provide constipation relief during pregnancy. Download this guide to find out which foods will help get things moving along!
A peek inside:
- Which foods are best to avoid if you’re experiencing constipation
- Recommendations for activities to try and ingredients to buy
- A list of foods rich in magnesium (a mineral that helps relieve constipation!)
- The importance of staying hydrated
Red Bell Pepper
Fun fact: Did you know that a bell pepper has twice the amount of vitamin C of an orange? This vitamin is essential during pregnancy, as it’s associated with tissue repair and immune function.
Red bell pepper is also high in vitamin B6! This is an important nutrient for the formation of red blood cells.Cut up some red bell pepper along with carrots and celery to dip into this sauce:
Oh-So-Good Green Goddess Salad Dressing
This sauce combines fresh herbs with lemon and avocado for a delicious accompaniment to your favorite crunchy crudités. Avocado is a healthy fat to include in your pregnancy meal plan that may even help you with sleep, as Healthline explains, “…higher intake of monounsaturated fat-rich foods like avocados during pregnancy may help improve sleep quality and therefore ease pregnancy insomnia.”
Get the full recipe here.
Lentils
Not only are lentils a great vegetarian source of protein, but they’re also high in folate – one cup of cooked lentils provides you with more than half your daily requirement of this vitamin. Folate (or folic acid) plays an essential role in preventing neural tube defects.
Add cooked lentils to your rice dishes, or use it to bulk up salads like in this recipe:
It’s The Lentil Things Salad
Beside lentils, you’ll also get essential vitamins—such as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin A—from the tomatoes, carrots, and cauliflower this recipe calls for.
Tip: Make a big batch for this salad and keep the vinaigrette separately for meal prep for work lunches.
Get the full recipe here.
Spinach
This dark leafy green is considered to be one of the superfoods to eat while pregnant because it’s bursting with both folate and iron! To accommodate your growing baby, your body needs to increase its blood volume, meaning you need to up your iron intake during pregnancy.
Add a bunch of spinach to soups, stews, and pastas you make, and add this meal to your recipe rotation:
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Crunchy Veggie Slaw
This recipe combines fresh herbs along with cabbage, spinach, and lemon to create a refreshing salad. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top for extra crunch and energy-producing phosphorus.
Get the full recipe here.
Salmon
When it comes to pregnancy superfoods for brain development, salmon is one of the best due to its content of omega-3 fatty acids. “The omega-3 fatty acids (aka DHA and EPA) in fish help baby’s brain to develop, and higher levels of DHA in newborns have even been associated with higher IQs, advanced motor skills and fewer neurological problems later on,” says The Bump.
Try this salmon recipe especially if you’ve experiencing sweet cravings:
Feelin’ Extra Fine Baked Salmon with Sticky Walnut Thyme Sauce
The salmon and walnuts will give you the omega-3s your body and baby needs. This low-mercury fish is also high in calcium! During pregnancy, you need extra calcium to support the bone formation of your little one.
Your sweet tooth will be satisfied from the maple syrup in the sauce.
Get the full recipe here.
Add the above foods into your pregnancy meal plan for ultimate nutrition! For a more comprehensive list of healthy foods to eat while pregnant, download our free What To Eat While Pregnant Guide.
Trying to figure out which foods are safe to eat during pregnancy? From fruits and vegetables to dairy and grains, this one-sheet guide lists out the most nutrient-rich foods to eat while pregnant. We suggest printing it for your fridge and saving it to your digital camera roll for easy reference. Dig in!
A peek inside:
- Fruits
- Veggies
- Nuts
- Legumes
- Dairy
- Meat
- Herbs
- Grains
- Seafood
- Seeds
