Eating Healthy (Prego Edition)

I will be 7 months on the 28th of October and I feel like the pregnancy cravings have been getting the best of me!! So I want to make a goal from this point forward to eat healthier and be on a pregnancy diet that restricts me from eating too much of the "good" stuff that's bad for me!

With some research, here is the ideal amount of each food groups that should be consumed on a daily basis -

The six MyPyramid food groups

Grains: 6 to 8 ounces a dayGenerally, an ounce of grains equals a slice of bread or half a bun, 1 small corn or flour tortilla, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta. For at least half of your daily grains, choose whole grain varieties like whole wheat bread or brown rice. Whole grains contain the most fiber, vitamins, and nutrients.

Fruits: 2 cups a day

Vary the color of the fruit you eat and choose fresh over canned – many prepackaged varieties are preserved in sugary liquid. Bonus: The fiber in fruit helps head off two common side effects of pregnancy, hemorrhoids.

Vegetables: 2 1/2 to 3 cups a day

As with fruit, fresh is best for fiber and vitamins. For maximum nutrition, vary the color of the vegetables you choose. Broccoli, for example, is packed with folate, calcium, and B vitamins. Sweet potatoes provide vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber.

Meat and beans: 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 ounces a day

This amount is about 2 servings that are each the size of a deck of cards. Choose lean meat and limit fish to 12 ounces per week. (More than that may expose your baby to harmful levels of mercury.)

Milk, yogurt, and cheese: 3 cups a dayIn the MyPyramid plan, a cup of dairy equals 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese, and 2 ounces of processed cheese. Dairy products, in general, are a great source of calcium and protein. Low-fat varieties give you all the nutrients you need without the extra fat.

Oils: 6 to 8 teaspoons a day
The best sources include canola oil, olive oil, safflower oil, fatty fish, avocados, nuts, seeds, and olives. Note: Avocado is a fruit but most of its calories come from fat, so it's included in the oils category.

Discretionary calories: 165 to 360 a day This MyPyramid plan budgets 165 to 360 "extra calories" that you can spend as you choose! They could be used on extra servings of grains (like a little more pasta), extra protein at meals, whole milk instead of low-fat, some sugar in your decaf iced coffee, or an extra scoop of ice cream.

If you're not sure which group a particular food is in – or how many servings or calories it amounts to – simply type it into the program's MyFoodapedia page. You can even compare two different foods at a time.

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Sample menu for a pregnant woman

Here's an example of a daily menu, with a few extra snack suggestions to boost your calcium intake.

Breakfast
1/2 cup cantaloupe
2 eggs scrambled with 1/4 cup mushrooms and bell pepper, using 1 teaspoon canola oil
1 slice of whole wheat toast with 1 teaspoon of light margarine*
1 cup low-fat milk

Snack
1 large apple
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Lunch
1 medium baked potato topped with 3/4 cup chili with beans and 2 tablespoons grated low-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup spinach salad with 1 tablespoon dried cranberries and 2 tablespoons light salad dressing
5 whole grain crackers
1 cup low-fat milk

Snack
1/2 cup baby carrots with 1 tablespoon of light ranch dressing
3 cups light popcorn (includes 1 teaspoon oil)

Dinner
Half a sliced tomato and 1/4 of an avocado, sliced
4 ounces grilled salmon
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
1/2 cup green beans, cooked
1 multi-grain roll
1 orange

Snack
8 ounces low-fat vanilla yogurt
2 graham crackers

* A note about margarine: Not all margarines are created equal. Some contain trans fats, which are harmful to your health even in small amounts. How can you tell which ones have it? "Partially hydrogenated" oil will be on the ingredients list. The American Heart Association recommends choosing soft liquid or tub margarines (not stick types) that are free of trans fats. Don't assume margarine that says "0 g trans fat" on the Nutrition Facts label is trans fat-free. The FDA allows foods to make that claim if they contain less than 0.5 grams per serving, but it's better for you not to get any.

How the servings add up

Here's how the foods above fit into the MyPyramid plan for a total of 2,265 calories:

Grains: 7 ounces (5 whole grain)
(560 calories)1 slice whole wheat toast
5 whole grain crackers
3 cups popcorn
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa (counts as 2 ounces)
1 multi-grain roll
2 graham crackers

Vegetables: 3 1/4 cups (1/4 cup from discretionary calories) (150 calories)1/4 cup mushrooms and bell peppers
1 medium baked potato (counts as 1 cup)
1/4 cup vegetables in chili
1 cup spinach salad (counts as 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup tomato slices
1/2 cup green beans

Fruit: 2 1/8 cups (1/8 cup from discretionary calories)
(240 calories)1/2 cup cantaloupe
1 large apple (counts as 1 cup)
1 tablespoon dried cranberries (counts as 1/8 cup)
1 fresh orange (counts as 1/2 cup)

Milk: 3 1/3 cups (1/3 cup from discretionary calories)
(330 calories)2 cups low-fat milk
2 tablespoons grated low-fat cheddar cheese (counts as 1/3 cup)
8 ounces low-fat vanilla yogurt (sugar from discretionary calories)

Meat and beans: 8 ounces (2 ounces from discretionary calories)
(330 calories)2 eggs (1 ounce each)
2 ounces beans in chili
4 ounces salmon

Oils: 9 teaspoons (1 teaspoon from discretionary calories) (360 calories)1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon light margarine (counts as 1/2 teaspoon, from discretionary calories)
2 tablespoons light salad dressing (counts as 1 teaspoon)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (counts as 3 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon light ranch dressing (counts as 1 teaspoon, from discretionary calories)
1/4 avocado sliced (counts as 1 1/2 teaspoons)
oil from popcorn (1 teaspoon)

Discretionary calories: 310This is how the extra calories were used:

2 eggs (150 calories)
1 tablespoon dried cranberries (25 calories)
1/4 cup vegetables in chili (15 calories)
2 tablespoons low-fat cheddar cheese (25 calories)
1 1/2 teaspoons oil (45 calories: 1 teaspoon light margarine, 15 calories, and 1 tablespoon light ranch dressing, 30 calories)
sugar in yogurt (50 calories)

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Some healthy comfort food recipes that I'd like to try soon as alternative to the high caloric meals that I've been craving for!

Swirled Cheesecake Brownies

Oven Fried Fish & Chips

Chicken Piccata

Caramel Popcorn

Well, this gives me some arsenal in helping me be successful in my prego diet... I'm also thinking about getting a juicer... 

For prego mamas out there, what are you doing to help you control the weight gain?

Stay beautiful inside and out!

Ree