Making food for Pregnant Women? Here are 4 dinner ideas

With our schedules being as busy as they are, trying to make nutritious meals after a long day at work can be more than challenging.  If you are pregnant, or are in charge of making food for pregnant women, dinner can be a particular struggle. 

No one wants to walk in the door and have to cook when they are tired.  There are ways to anticipate this obstacle and prepare ahead.

Chili Can Be Good Food for Pregnant Women
Nothing hits the spot like chili on a cold night.  You can either make the brown rice in advance, or make the chili as a response to leftover rice.  In keeping with a tradition of simple cooking, this chili uses canned beans and premade tomato sauce.

1 pound ground beef – grass fed
2 cans of organic pinto beans
1 jar organic tomato sauce – a variety that doesn’t contain any sugars
Chili powder to taste
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ cup BBQ sauce – pick one that is either sweetened with xylitol, or better yet, honey

Use the oil to fry the ground beef and put it in a crock pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Leave it on low for the day.  It will be ready when you get home.

Add a nice salad with plenty of dark greens and you have a great meal.

Quinoa Salad
Quinoa takes less time to cook than brown rice and offers plenty of protein.  It makes a great lunch which is easy to pack and satisfies.
1 c. quinoa – cook and cool
1 medium cucumber – diced
1 red pepper – diced
½ cup parsley – chopped
½ cup raw cashews – chopped
2 carrots – steamed lightly and sliced
1 cup green peas – steamed
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Sea salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together; salt and pepper to taste.  Then, wrap the salad up and keep it in the fridge.  This is a great grab and go meal at any time – I usually eat it at breakfast but it is perfect for a light dinner too.

Factor X Salad
When I get back from the store I cook up several fish fillets, a few chicken breasts and a dozen hard boiled eggs.  This gives peace of mind because I know that at any point I can grab one of those “factor x” ingredients, toss them into a handful of greens, chop up some peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and broccoli florets and have a healthy meal ready in about 5 minutes.

As an added bonus, when my kids want a snack, they either reach for fruit or a hard boiled egg.  Healthy and no fuss for me–now if only they would eat the yolks!

Quick Dinner Burritos
I always have sprouted grain tortillas in the freezer for just such emergencies.  I let them warm up enough to peel off the ones I need and then I have some choices to make.
 1. Eggs and Peppers–I scramble up some eggs, toss in some red peppers and then roll them up in my tortillas.  Dinner is ready in less than 5 minutes.  I pull the baby carrots out of the veggie drawer, slice up some fruit and I am done.
 2. Leftovers–there are very few leftovers you can’t chop up and put in a burrito.  Slice up some leftover sweet potatoes, cube some leftover chicken or steak, put them in the burrito with some sprouts, lettuce and a bit of salsa and you have a meal.
 3. Nut butter roll ups–spread some raw almond butter on the burrito, top it with a sliced banana or apple.  It is a great snack at any time, but it also makes a nice light dinner.  It is great food for pregnant women as well as anyone else in your household!

 

Are you in charge of shopping?  Food for pregnant women should be as easy as it is tasty.  Visit http://www.whattoeatwhilepregnant.com/ for the answers to see you through your pregnancy.

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