Eight Hacks for Keeping the Pregnant Woman Fed

1.    Eat Everywhere.

And I mean EVERYWHERE. In church, class, meetings, while you shop, while you drive, even take a snack to your nightly bath or shower. The more you can keep on top of your calories the better you will feel. Oftentimes it can feel awkward eating in public, but your duty now is to your baby and to your body, so don’t worry if people are judging you, just take care of yourself and you’ll feel way better. 😊

2.    Eat What Your Body Needs.

If you’re anemic, center your meals and snacks around iron rich foods, if you’re struggling with pre-eclampsia, count your protein intake and make sure to include protein each time you eat. Whatever challenge your body is dealing with, plan your grocery lists and meal plans around the deficiency and you will be able to get on top of nutritional needs just by being intentional about buying the groceries your body needs.

3.    Take Time For Eating.

If you’re like me, you get bored of eating quickly, only want to eat small amounts, and would much rather be “getting something done.” This is where you have to make eating fun. Create a good set up, put on your favorite show, get a nice soft blanket, get comfortable, and pull out your three-course meal with beverages included. Embrace the fact that you need a lot of nourishment and TAKE the time to nourish yourself. (If you have kids, use some of your free time to take time to eat. I do it while Ellie is napping. It’s a lot harder to eat when they’re up and going and need constant care so take some dedicated time to FEED yourself.)

4.     Eat While You Do Other Things.

Last week I was feeling like, “all I do is eat. I want to do other things too.” So, I started eating while installing curtain rods, eating while painting fall pumpkins, eating while ordering groceries online. If I sit at the table every time I need to eat I will never leave the table. 😉 Make SOME time where you can multitask- I wouldn’t recommend doing this all the time because you will tend to eat less and slower if eating while doing a project, but it’s still a good way to feel like you have a life outside of food.

5.     Eat What You Like.

This was great advice from my husband. He said “if you’re not enjoying it, don’t make yourself eat it. Just find something else.” It’s hard to want to eat all the time if you struggle to swallow the food in your mouth. If you notice yourself really struggling with a certain texture or flavor, put it away (your husband can eat it for you when he gets home) and make something else. This makes eating less of a burden because you’re eating things that are easy for you to get down.

6.    Buy Nourishing Snacks.

If you supplement your daily calories intake with snacks, you won’t feel like you’re cooking 12 meals a day and can instead just make 3 and feel like you’re more of a normal personal. I buy big bags of nuts, dried fruit, and boxes of yogurt from Sam’s Club, and then when I need something quick I have food ready to go without always having to wonder, “what should I eat? Or what should I make?” This also makes it easier if you need to get out of the house because you have something quick you can grab on your way out the door and you don’t have to worry about staying well fed while you’re gone.

7.    Be Okay With Expanding Your Grocery Budget.

You’re pregnant (or nursing) or both 😉 you need more food now, so if your grocery budget has to go up a little that’s okay. Baby’s worth it and you’re worth it. Buying ready snacks isn’t as cheap as making everything from scratch, but your time isn’t cheap either so give yourself some shortcuts so you have time to do other things besides cook. You also might need to be a little more lenient about going out to eat- sometimes you just need a meal that you didn’t have to prepare, and sometimes the only thing that sounds good is café rio, 😉 so if you need to expand your budget to accommodate a little more eating out, and it’s going to benefit your mental health and lower your stress #doit.

8.    Remember This Is Just A Short Season Of Life.

One day you will again be a normal human who can go 3-5 hours without food, but in the meantime, the work your doing (growing or nourishing your baby) is crucial and they couldn’t be born without you. So, though it may at times feel menial, what you are doing now (all of this eating and resting and self-care) is full of purpose and importance and there is no better or more consecrated way for you to use your time. Keep up the good work Mama! Keep eating. 😉