Healthy Diets for Pregnant Women

Pregnancy is an exciting time for all women, but it also comes with worries and concerns about your own health, the health of your baby and what you should be eating during this time.

There are many foods that pregnant women can and cannot eat because of the risks of listeria, salmonella and other food bacteria's that can lead to food poisoning. So if you are looking for a healthy diet for you and your child here is a list of the foods you need to avoid:

DO NOT EAT:

Cold Meats: these include meat you've cooked yourself that has cooled such as cold chicken or beef, or cold meats from sandwich bars. In fact any cold meats are off the menu while you are pregnant. If in doubt, heat it up in the microwave as most bacteria can't live at high temperatures.

Cold Seafood: Including prawns, smoked salmon and sushi. Again, no cold seafood as it can harbour listeria in some cases.

Processed Meats: Salami, ham and other processed meats are a big no-no for the reasons listed above.

Pre-prepared salads: While you can eat salad's that you make yourself because you can be sure of the health standards you used to prepare it, it's another story when you are out and about. Pre-prepared salads can have bacteria in them and you can't be sure of the quality that the shop has used to make them and what the knife used has cut previous to cutting the salads.

Unpasteurised milk and cheeses:  soft cheeses such as camembert and brie are especially risky and should be avoided.

Soft serve icecream:  It isn't the icecream itself that is the problem, but the large machines used to dispense them.  Unless you know that they are cleaned regularly and properly, you'll need to avoid soft serve icecream until after the baby arrives.

Phew!  So what can you eat?

EAT:

Obviously the safest options are to eat at home so you can be sure of the preparation method and that there has been no cross contamination.

Healthy fruits and vegetables make great snacks (I've got more snack ideas below).

You usual breakfast cereal, a smoothie or oatmeal for breakfast are good options that should give you lots of energy for the rest of the day.

Lunch and Dinner should include some vegetables and protein, so a salad sandwich for lunch (that you've made yourself) is a good option.  Adding avocado is great for pregnant women because it contains lots of folic acid (good for preventing neural tube defects).

If you are choosing protein in the form of meat then make sure it's hot.  Anything heated for at least two minutes should kill any bacteria if it's present.

While you shouldn't be dieting while you are pregnant, there are still plenty of good healthy food that you can eat that will great for you and your child.

But with so many contradicting advice out there about what we should be eating, I thought I'd write about some of my favorite snacks for pregnancy that are not only filling but also easy to prepare and nutritious.

Fruit. Yes the humble fruit is not only high in nutrients and vitamins many of them also contain fiber and antioxidants for your health. Some of the best fruits to snack on while pregnant include strawberries, blueberries (very good for you), banana's and apples.

For an extra nutrient boost then mix your fruit with a cup of low fat yoghurt for digestive health and added calcium.

Vegetables. Most of us don't get enough vegetables in our diet so I find that cutting them up into bite size pieces and eating them with a low fat dip like hummus or yoghurt works really well. My favorite vegetables for snacking include celery, carrots, cauliflower and sugar snap peas.

If I feel I need something extra, then I add a bit of peanut butter to a celery stick. That's a great low fat snack with a bit of protein.