Quick Tips to eating healthy when Pregnant

Making smart food choices can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby!

Don't skip breakfast! If you are feeling sick, start with 100% whole-grain toast. Eat more food later in the morning. 

Eat foods high in fiber! Veggies, fruits, whole grains, and beans. (Green Peas, Broccoli  Raspberries, Pears, Whole-wheat Spaghetti, Oatmeal, Black Beans, Lentils)

Choose healthy snacks! Low-fat Greek yogurt with fruit, or low-fat cottage cheese with fruit, whole wheat crackers and low-fat cheese, fresh veggie platter with peanut butter.

Limit your caffeine! Try having flavored water or just water instead of soda! Drink decaf tea or coffee. 

10 Foods that SHOULD be in your Shopping Cart!

How do I pick just 10 foods?? I can give you 100 foods that should be in your cart. But I don't want to overwhelm you. Start small, we've talked about baby-steps before. These small changes in your lifestyle will bring you to the goals you are trying to achieve. So go grab your list and start writing.

1. Avocados- Heart Health (can help lower Cholesterol and lower the incident of heart disease!)                                                               
2. Quinoa-great source of fiber, iron, and it is rich in protein!
3. Tree Fruits (apples, pears etc)     control your weight, and a great source of fiber, vitamin C (immune function), A (healthy vision) , and E (heart healthy antioxidant)                     
4. Hummus- has Tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine which can promote good quality sleep and uplift one’s mood.
5. Greens (Romaine, arugula, Spinach, etc)-balance your pH, they have omega-3 fatty acids which help improve many body functions including the brain, they are a blood detoxifier, and help support the immune system.  
6. Oils (olive, grapeseed, coconut, etc)-have so many benefit! I will have a whole post on this!
7. Blueberries -rank the highest of any fruit for antioxidants  1 cup delivers 14% of your daily fiber and nearly a quarter of your Vitamin C, plus they are low in calories!                                                            
8. Honey or Agave  Nectar-there are many benefit to using honey instead of sugar but one is that it is cleaner, or not processed! Again I will go into detail with this topic in a later post!
9. Fish (salmon, tuna ,cod, trout)- low fat high quality protein! May decrease the risk of depression, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and diabetes! Our bodies don't make omega-3 so we must get it in our food and this is a GREAT source!                     
10. Nuts (raw almonds, walnuts, etc)- Rich in energy, protein, packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and much discussed omega-3 fatty acids. Delicious nuts are wonderful gifts to humankind by Mother Nature.                                                                                                                

How often do you have your "treat" ??

So I learned a hard lesson this past week. I restrain myself and my family and we eat so perfect for a good 4 weeks....so I've taught my family that they don't need the willpower I have it for them, but when all my willpower is gone no one is there to help me fight against my cravings. So I fall down...and I fall hard! So after way to much Ice Cream and a few to many s'mores I have come to realize I need to "treat" myself a little more often and not take so much control of how my family eats. If they slip, I can't use all my energy talking them down. Hard lesson, but I'm glad I've learned it! I see the next 4 weeks being much more productive and a lot less stressful! What are you learning on your journey?

So what are you made of?