Healthy Snacks For Pregnant Women
If you’re on the sweet wait and you’re worried about your diet, this is the time to learn. Incorporating the nutrients you and your baby need is critical during these nine months.
Below, we’ll list some healthy snacks for pregnant women that, on top of everything else, are delicious.
First, let’s define the dietary needs of a pregnant woman. In this sense, it is almost an obligation to disprove an incorrect myth: pregnant women should not eat for two.
On the contrary, an expectant mother should strive to maintain a complete diet based on proven concepts.
If in early pregnancy the woman is of adequate weight, she should not increase the amount of calories until the second trimester. At this point, you should increase approximately 300 calories, to go to a 450 calorie increase in the last three months.
What nutrients are needed? Mainly vitamins and minerals. Here we include vitamins B and C, folic acid, calcium and iron.
Based on these premises and others that we will mention shortly, we prepared this list of healthy snacks for pregnant women. We hope you like it!
5 healthy snacks for pregnant women
1.- Homemade cereal bars
Cereal bars are a great option for incorporating carbohydrates into your diet. They are nutritious and healthy. When preparing them at home, you can make them with whatever fruit you like, such as apples, apricots or strawberries.
Its preparation is easy: you must melt 50 grams of butter in a bowl and add 75 grams of honey and 150 grams of sugar. Then add 200 grams of oats, 150 grams of the fruit of your choice cut into small pieces and 50 grams of puffed rice.
Mix everything until it forms a homogeneous mass and place the mixture in a mold greased with butter. Once cool, cut into strips and you’re done! Delight in their homemade bars.
2.- Oatmeal with banana pieces
The benefits of oats are numerous. In addition to being a source of energy, it helps to lower bad cholesterol in pregnant women.
To prepare this snack, you must mix 100 grams of oats with half a liter of hot water. Then heat this mixture stirring constantly until the dough is consistent.
Once it is consistent, remove from heat, let it cool and add the banana pieces.
3.- Fruit salad
This is one of the healthy snacks for pregnant women that requires less work. Its vitamin content is very high. That’s why it is highly recommended for this phase.
The idea is to add pieces of different fruits. The ideal of this snack is that it can be customized according to your preferences. You can add kiwi, banana, orange, peach, pear, pineapple or any other fruit you prefer.
Another benefit is that you can refrigerate overnight.
4.- Yogurt with berries
Dairy products, a great natural source of calcium, could not be missing from that list. Yogurt with berries is one of the healthiest snacks most requested by pregnant women.
You can choose the yogurt flavor you like the most and combine it with pieces of blackberry, strawberry or any other fruit of that type.
5.- Cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich
We cannot forget to consider those women who have a preference for savory snacks. For them, this sandwich is an excellent alternative.
To prepare, we recommend using wholegrain bread, fresh cheese (which has calories but also lots of protein and calcium), fresh tomato and lettuce (lettuce has folic acid, so it’s very important).
Also, if you like it, you can also add slices of turkey breast, a healthy, low-fat meat.
Other dietary advice for pregnant women
During pregnancy, it is recommended that expectant mothers incorporate some healthy habits into their diet. Here we list some:
- Eat five meals a day. This point is essential, since with a breakfast, a lunch, two snacks and a dinner you will be able to have a better diet and a less time consuming digestion.
- Include as much and as much variety of fruits and vegetables as possible.
- Maintain a balanced diet. No food, however complete, can fully satisfy your needs and the baby’s.
- Avoid sugars and saturated fat.
- Reduce or avoid alcohol or caffeine consumption.
- Quit smoking cigarettes.
Finally, it is important to clarify that these are general recommendations. If a woman has a deficiency in her nutritional values, she should consult a nutrition specialist to recommend a diet that suits the person’s needs.
