Veggie & preggo

[crunchyNurseMommy]

I am finding it hard to eat healthy with a nice balance of protein on a vegetarian diet. This has always been a struggle for me but even more so now that I am pregnant & hungry all the time!

Meals are so so but snacks are really challenging.

Anyone have good recipes, books or websites with snack & meal ideas???

Thx!

[MyM&W]

I'm vegetarian. I do a lot of beans. Especially lentils. Yum! For snacks I do nuts, seeds and stuff like that. Its quick and crunchy! I also do a lot of Greek yogurt and regular yogurt...but the Greek yogurt can provide a lot of protein without having to cook anything (for those days where fatigue takes over) I'm just talking simple stuff...if you are looking at MEALS I'd suggest checking out vegweb.com. I love the recipe selection on there.

I try not to stress about protein to much. As Americans we over consume on protein. They make it sound like we need to have so many mgs each day but in reality we do not need to be consuming that much. But that might be regarding meat protein and not other natural proteins. I believe that each person is different regarding how much they need, I think there is a website out there somewhere that Canada tell you how much you need if you are 160lbs or whatever. I'd look into it!

Also, listen to your body. If you start craving a food that is high in protein that you don't normally eat, take that as a sign that you need protein. For me when I start craving meat I know I need some protein. I haven't eaten meat in 5yrs. So when I crave it I know something is up!! Lol.

Good luck mama!!

[MyM&W]

Oh...and eggs!!

[MyLovely]

Make sure you always have healthy snacks on hand! Get some shelled edamame, cook the whole bag and stick it in a tupperware in the fridge. Keep cheese of all varieties (slices, string cheese, etc) on hand along with some whole wheat saltines. Go to a Whole Foods or somewhere similar with a bulk section, and get all sorts of nuts and seeds and make yourself a big batch of trail mix. I always do cashews, sprouted almonds, pumpkin seeds and some dark chocolate chips.

One of my favorite easy recipes is for lentil tacos. 3/4 cups of lentils, 1.5 cups of water, one pack of taco seasoning and some chopped up onion. Stir in some frozen corn, top with cilantro. Spoon onto tortillas (I get the whole wheat kind) with toppings of your choice. It's super, super easy and high protein.

Finally, if you really feel like you're struggling with protein intake because you're just not up for cooking, find a good-quality protein shake you like. Garden of Life and Bluebonnet make some yummy, minimally processed ones that taste awesome when mixed with unsweetened almond milk.

[songbird516]

Originally Posted by MyM&W Oh...and eggs!!

yes, eggs! I was almost vegetarian during my first pregnancy and the only thing I craved was eggs! I don't know if you eat sigh, but that's a good addition to your diet if so. (and shellfish).

[dagmomma]

A great blog with recipes is http://ohsheglows.com/

I also Like "How it All Vegan" (book)

And Alicia Silverstones "The Kind Life"

A great pregnancy book is "Your Vegetarian Pregnancy" by Dr Holly Roberts.

These are all vegan resources but you can easily add eggs and dairy to anything

[SFOducky]

I really liked "The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook" by Cathe Olson. I know when i'm pregnant i tend to increase the amount of lentils i eat.. we normally eat a lot of beans anyway but for some reason lentils just really hit the spot when i'm pregnant... also miso soup for when i don't feel like eating but still need something..