When you're pregnant, a healthy diet that includes foods from each of the food groups will help you meet all your nutrient needs to support your health and your baby's health. Women need to eat an additional 300 calories a day while pregnant. If you follow an 1,800 calorie diet when not pregnant, then you should increase your daily intake to 2,200 calories per day. Calorie needs, however, should be individualized. Ask your obstetrician how much you should eat each day.
Breakfast
Include food sources of folate in your diet to help prevent birth defects. Foods high in folate include fruits, vegetables, and fortified breads, cereals and pastas. A sample breakfast meal to eat during pregnancy includes two slices of whole wheat toast with margarine, a scrambled egg, 1 cup of nonfat milk and an orange. Make another healthy meal with whole grain ready-to-eat cereal with 1 cup of nonfat milk, a banana and a boiled egg.
Lunch
You need 1,000 to 1,300 mg of calcium and 200 IU of vitamin D a day while pregnant to help your baby's growing bones develop. Include four to six servings of dairy foods to meet your calcium and vitamin D needs. A sample lunch meal during pregnancy includes a tuna sandwich made with two slices of whole wheat bread, 3 oz. of canned tuna and 1 tsp. of mayonnaise with one slice of cheese, served with 1 cup of nonfat milk, carrot and celery sticks, and a small apple. Another lunch meal may include 2 cups of chicken noodle soup, five whole grain crackers with 1 oz. of low-fat cheese, 1 cup of nonfat yogurt and 1/2 cup of fruit.
Afternoon Snack
Snacking while pregnant helps you meet your nutrient needs. Crowding from your growing belly can make eating large meals difficult. A sample mid-afternoon snack includes 1 cup of nonfat yogurt, or one slice of whole wheat toast with 1 tbsp. of peanut butter.
Dinner
Your blood volume doubles during pregnancy, increasing your need for iron. Meat, beans and spinach are good sources of iron to include in your diet while pregnant. A sample dinner meal for pregnancy includes a 3 oz. serving of pork tenderloin with 1/2 cup of applesauce, a small baked potato and 1 cup of broccoli. Have a bean burrito for dinner, made with one 8-inch whole wheat tortilla and 1/2 cup of pureed beans served with salsa, 1/2 cup of beans and rice. The tomatoes in the salsa are high in vitamin C and will enhance the absorption of vitamin C from the beans.
Evening Snack
Sample evening snacks include 1/2 cup of whole grain ready-to-eat cereal with 1 cup of nonfat milk; five whole grain crackers with 1 oz. of low-fat cheese; or 1 cup of nonfat yogurt with three graham cracker squares.
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