Avocados
Loaded with folic acid (vital
to forming your baby's brain and nervous system), potassium, vitamin C, and
vitamin B6 (which not only helps baby's tissue and brain growth, but may also
help with your morning sickness), avocados are a delicious way to get your
vitamins. Spread some ripe avocado on your whole grain roll as a healthy
substitute for mayo. Keep in mind that avocados are high in fat (though the
very good kind) and calories, so heap them on your plate only if you're having
trouble gaining weight.
Broccoli
America's favorite
cruciferous vegetable, packed with plenty of vitamins A and C, with a calcium bonus (better
to build those baby bones with), as well as baby-friendly folic acid. Toss into
pasta or casseroles, stir-fry with seafood or chicken, serve steamed (with or
without a vinaigrette), or dunk in dip.
Carrots
What's up, Doc? Here's what:
Carrots are tops when it comes to vitamin A, so important for the development
of your baby's bones, teeth, and eyes. They're perfect for munching on the go,
but they also shred neatly into almost anything (from salads to meatloaf to
cakes to muffins). Carrots are also a goodsource of vitamins B6 and C, and
fiber to keep things movin'.
DHA
eggs
The old egg is still a good
egg, delivering a low-calorie, high-protein punch in a tasty little bundle. But
here's news: Science now lets us scramble, fry, or boil better eggs, naturally
loaded with DHA, one type of omega-3 fatty acid (the "good fat") that
is a primary component of the brain and retina, and is essential for brain
development and eye formation in the fetus. Plus, they taste just like the eggs
you've always loved.
Edamame
These green pods are actually
cooked soybeans — and they taste so much better than they sound. Packed with
protein, calcium, folic acid, and vitamins A and B, edamame can be scooped up
by the handful as a snack (salt them lightly, and you'll never miss the chips),
or tossed into just about anything you're cooking, from soups, to pasta, to
casseroles, to succotash, to stir-fry. They also make a gas-free stand-in for
beans. So don't forget the edamame, Mommy.
Lentils
Branch into beans for folic
acid and protein, vitamin B6, and iron. Lentils are the most intestine (and
spouse) friendly legume and readily absorb a variety of flavors from other
foods and seasonings.
Mangoes
Sweet revenge for any
vegetable avoider, mangoes contain more vitamins A and C bite for
delicious bite than a salad. This tropical favorite, also packed with
potassium, is especially versatile, a perfect complement to sweet and savory
dishes. Blend it into smoothies or soups, chop it up in salsas or relishes,
simply scoop and enjoy.
Nuts
Nuts are chock-full of
important minerals (copper, manganese, magnesium, selenium, zinc, potassium,
and even calcium) and vitamin E. And even though they're high in fat, it's
mainly the good-for-you kind. So in a nutshell, go nuts with nuts (in
moderation if you're gaining quickly, liberally if you're gaining slowly) and
toss them into salads, pasta, meat, or fish dishes, and baked goods.
Oatmeal
Here's good reason to feel
your oats (and eat them often). They're full of fiber, the B vitamins, and iron
and a host of other minerals. Fill your breakfast bowl with them, but don't
stop there. You can add oats — and all their nutritional super powers — to
pancakes, muffins, cakes, cookies, even meatloaf.
Red
pepper
A super-source of vitamins A
and C, with plenty of B6 in the bargain, a red pepper is one of nature's
sweetest ways to eat your vegetables. Enjoy their sweet crunch as a crudité, with
or without dip (they make the perfect take-along snack). Chop them into salsa,
slice them into stir-fries and pasta dishes, or roast or grill them (with a
little olive oil, garlic, and lemon) and serve them up in sandwiches, salads,
or antipastos.
Spinach
Rich in folic acid, iron
(which you need for all those blood cells, Baby!), vitamin A, and calcium,
spinach now comes completely ready to eat in prewashed bags (free of sand). Eat
it raw, in a salad (especially one with almonds and mandarin oranges), or as a
wilted bed for fish or chicken, or layered in lasagna.
Yogurt
Cup for cup, yummy yogurt
contains as much calcium as milk — but it's packed with protein and folic acid
too. Blend it with fruit into satisfying smoothies, layer with granola in a
breakfast parfait, use it as a low-calorie substitute for sour cream or mayo in
sandwich fillings, dips, and salad dressings, or simply spoon it out of the
carton (no matter where you're headed today, a container of yogurt's always
easy to find). And here's another reason to find culture: The active cultures
in yogurt (also known as good bacteria) can prevent stomach upset, as well as
yeast infections.
