Week 23 - Sample of a Day's Meals for Mom & Baby

The spring weather has finally come! I thought we would never see spring with the way the weather has been in Ohio. This past weekend was beautiful though and I used it to spend time with friends, my husband, dog walks and house projects.

Moving into a newer, larger house a few days after you confirm that you are pregnant is a bit of an undertaking. I will admit that the first five weeks we lived there I barely wanted to get out of bed; let alone organize our new house. I'm very thankful that the "all-day nausea" (do not let people tell you that it is morning sickness because it is usually more than morning sickness for most people!) during the first trimester started to wane after the ninth week. 

The motivation was still lacking though, especially when you work full-time and commute thirty minutes to work. Some mornings I literally only had enough energy to get up, get dressed, maybe put on make-up, eat breakfast and try to get to work at a decent time. That was exhausting most days! 

As we've rounded second base though (my husband and I both love baseball), I'm definitely starting to get a spring in my step and banishing the dreary winter weather has absolutely contributed to it. 

22 Weeks...she is starting to pop out

I'll post later this week about some of the projects we have going on: building a privacy fence, starting our raised bed gardens, painting and decorating. I wanted to share some of my favorite meals/recipes that are easy to make and easy on the tummy. Lately, the same foods have become a staple frankly because I have less energy to be creative when it comes to food prep. These are also really easy to throw together for a day at the office or if you're on the go doing errands most of the day.

Breakfast: Morning Burst Oatmeal (I have this almost every day with a banana and a glass of organic skim milk and it keeps me full for hours!)

• 1/2 c. dry Old Fashioned Oats (I like Kroger & Meijer's organic brands) 
• 1 tbs. Trader Joe's Chia Seeds 
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 c. Simple Truth organic frozen blueberries 
• Optional: make the oatmeal with almond or coconut milk for good fats 
• Optional: eat with a medium banana & 8 oz. organic skim milk

Nutritional Information (using water for oatmeal): 285 calories,  8 g total fat, 1 g sat fat, 53 mg sodium, 188 mg potassium, 44 g carbs, 15 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 10 g protein, vit. a-8%, vit. c-6%, calcium-16%, iron-25% 

Nutritional Information (with banana & glass of skim milk): 470 calories, 8 g total fat, 1 g sat fat, 174 mg sodium, 1,000 mg potassium, 84 g carbs, 18 g fiber, 35 g sugar, 19 g protein, vit. a-20%, vit c.-27%, calcium-46%, iron-27%

Lunch: Greek Yogurt, Fruit & Nuts

• 1 c. of pineapples
• 1 c. of strawberries
• 1 individual Greek yogurt (my favorite are Chobani & Fage) 
• 1/4 c. deluxe mixed nuts (Trader Joe's, Kroger or Archer Farms are my go-to brands) 

Nutritional Information (with Fage Peach 2% as the Greek yogurt): 420 calories, 17 g total fat, 3 g sat fat, 43 mg sodium, 399 mg potassium, 53 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 38 g sugar, 19 g protein, vit. a-2%, vit c.-235%, calcium-18%, iron-14%

Mid-Afternoon/Post Workout Snack (I often workout on my lunch break through

• 1 c. of celery
• 2 tbs. Simple Truth organic creamy peanut butter

Nutritional Information: 214 calories, 16 g total fat, 4 g sat fat, 166 mg sodium, 263 mg potassium, 9 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 9 g protein, vit. a-9%, vit c.-5%, calcium-4%, iron-5%

Dinner: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Green Beans & Baked French Fries

•  3 oz. slow cooker pulled pork (http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/slow-cooker-pulled-pork.html)
• 1/2 c. spinach (I like to put my pork on a spinach bed)
• 3/4 c. cooked Trader Joe's frozen green beans (made with a teaspoon of EVOO & spices)
• 1 c. baked french fries (http://www.self.com/fooddiet/recipes/2011/05/no-fry-fries)
• 2 tbs. Simple Truth organic ketchup

Nutritional Information: 418 calories, 18 g total fat, 4 g sat fat, 662 mg sodium, 704 mg potassium, 40 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 11 g sugar, 26 g protein, vit. a-32%, vit c.-62%, calcium-9%, iron-14%

TOTAL NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION for the DAY: 1522 calories, 60 g fat, 12 g sat fat, 60 mg chol, 1,045 mg sodium, 2365 mg potassium, 184 g carbs, 34 g fiber, 88 g sugar (mostly coming from fruits), 73 g protein, vit. a-63%, vit. c-329%, calcium-78%, iron-60% 

As you can see, this meal plan allows for some extra calories if you're pregnant especially if you worked out and ate these meals. I did a spinning class at lunch today and have a volleyball game tonight, so I need to get more nutritious calories in throughout the day today. My prenatal vitamin (Rainbow Light) will supplement the vitamin A, calcium & iron that I'm missing for the day, but I will be mindful to eat more leafy greens tomorrow :).


Until next time,
Elizabeth
 

Sneak peak of our room transformation!