Eating Real Food for Pregnancy isn’t always the easiest, but the research is quite compelling! Here are some of my real food for pregnancy “must eat” foods for baby number 2:
This post is kindly sponsored by Ultima Replenisher: my absolute favorite electrolyte drink mix that I drink every single day. But, all of the info and opinions here are my own!
I’ve always been a little bit of a diet nerd. As someone who has struggled with endometriosis and autoimmune disease, I have seen a clear correlation on how diet impacts not only my negative symptoms, but also how well I feel overall. I truly believe that what we consume matters. That being said, pregnancy is a rough time to be thinking about diet for most of us. Food aversions, nausea, and fatigue all play into the desire to just nosh on takeout. BUT it’s also a season where we have an unparalleled ability to impact not only own health during and after pregnancy, but also potentially shape facets of our baby’s development and future health as well.
Before getting pregnant with baby number 2, I dove even deeper into the research that’s available surrounding diet, conception and pregnancy. Lily Nichols is one of the greatest dietary resources of our generation + many of the tidbits of info below can be found in her books, which I’ll link: Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Fertility. I used the information in these books, combined with other research, and my understanding of my own needs and body, to create a “must eat” real foods for pregnancy list for myself.
I’m not perfect at hitting these goals. In fact, there were 2 weeks during my first trimester where I mainly consumed salt and vinegar chips + ginger ale, BUT they have also been a guidepost for me as I build, navigate and adjust my diet over the 40 weeks of growing a babe. There’s always space for grace + space for growth. Here’s where I landed with my list:
Real Food for Pregnancy Must Eats:
Eggs
During my first pregnancy, eggs were one of the only first trimester proteins I could stomach. I literally ate them every day with a side of avocado toast + did it happily. This pregnancy, eggs are more of a conscious choice, ha. My stomach has “yes” days and “no” days, but I try my best to figure out a way to consume eggs every single day + here’s why they’re an essential real food for pregnancy.
For me, the most enticing thing about eating eggs is their stellar level of choline. Choline is an essential b-vitamin that’s often overlooked, but is really essential for baby’s brain and neural tube development. We often hear ALL about folate, but choline is up there in importance too. Some prenatal vitamins include a little bit of choline, but very few get close to the 450mg needed per day.
But eggs? Eggs have choline! In fact, just 2 WHOLE eggs (the yolks are where the choline lives) supply nearly 1/2 of your entire daily needs. They also are a great source of DHA, an essential omega 3 fatty acid + all other sorts antioxidants and trace minerals. Oh, and they’re also easy to cook, less expensive than other protein options + super versatile! I try to make sure to purchase free range, organic eggs if I can (because science shows pastured chickens produce eggs with higher nutrient density), but any eggs are better than none if budget is really tight for you. I still love serving them with sourdough toast, or fried alongside fruit. If I can’t stomach them on their own, I’ll often make some blender pancakes that contain at least 2 eggs per serving.
Organ Meats
I know I might lose some of you here + I get it. As a society we have totally moved away from the traditional practice of eating an entire animal from nose to tail, but I truly believe that our ancestors knew what they were doing. Did you know that liver, in particular, is often nicknamed nature’s multivitamin? For good reason!
Liver is having more of a moment these days with desiccated liver pills becoming really popular in the mainstream wellness space. And while I don’t hate that, I also love the ideas of consuming actual grass fed liver (or other organ meats) from a local farmer + here’s why:
Like eggs, liver is SUPER high in choline, which we’ve already talked about. But it’s also a freaking powerhouse food when it comes to iron – something many pregnant women struggle with. Anemia is screened for in pregnancy for a reason, so I like to be a bit proactive in making sure my iron stores are healthy. Liver contains a form of “heme” iron, which is an easy to digest and absorb form of iron that doesn’t cause constipation (like most supplements). It also contains folate, B12 and tons of other essential vitamins.
Liver is really inexpensive to get your hands on, even grass fed! I purchase mine from a local farm + use it ground up, mixed with ground beef. (Our farm actually offers a pre-enriched beef which includes ox liver already in it! YAY!) We use this beef + liver mix in pasta sauce, chili, tacos or even meatloaf! Liver definitely has a flavor that you either love or hate, but I find mixing it with beef and spices makes it really easy to eat!
Electrolytes
I’m sure you’ve heard someone online talking about consuming electrolytes before, but do you know WHY we need them? Electrolytes get their name because these minerals actually carry an electrical charge when dissolved in fluid – wild right!? Sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium are all “electrolytes”, and they’re all absolutely essential for healthy bodily functions from things like keeping our hearts beating to preventing muscle cramps.
In pregnancy, our fluid requirements increase hugely due to things like our increasing blood volume and the upkeep of producing adequate amniotic fluid for baby – important stuff! As fluid needs go up, so do our electrolyte requirements. That’s where Ultima Replenisher comes into play for me.
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Bone Broth
I have been making + using bone broth for YEARS mostly because it’s a way to pull some extra life out of the expensive free range chickens that we buy as part of our meal plan. It’s also delicious and a really easy way to add extra nutrients and protein to all sorts of dishes without any extra work. If you want a recipe on how to make your own, I’ve actually got an oldie, but goodie right here on the blog already!
Bone broth, which involves slow simmering animal bones, actually extracts protein, gelatin, collagen, glycine and other minerals in the process. Glycine, an amino acid, is essential for for all sorts of functions, including helping baby’s bones, organs, skin, etc. to develop! It can also help with the demands on mama’s body as ligaments and skin are asked to stretch during pregnancy. There are also a few studies suggesting a link between low glycine intake and preeclampsia though the full extent isn’t entirely clear.
Bone broth is an inexpensive way (if you’re using bones you were going to throw away!) to get extra protein into your pregnancy diet (where needs for protein are higher!) and honestly tastes great. I love cooking my rice with bone broth instead of water, adding it to sauces, soups, or using it as a way to deglaze a pan. I also love to sip it from a mug with some extra salt. As with eggs – bones from pasture raised or grass fed animals seemingly contain more nutrients, but bone broth made from conventional meat sources is still great too!
Full Fat Dairy
As someone who has had issues with dairy on and off her entire life, this one is a mixed bag for me. BUT the research surrounding the benefits of full fat dairy for fertility, conception and pregnancy are just so strong that I have done my best to find a way to add sources of full fat diary to my real food for pregnancy diet without upsetting my tummy in the process.
Aside from the well known benefit of consuming dairy for calcium, full fat cow’s milk products also contain other vitamins + minerals, namely vitamin K2, A and D. Vitamin K2 specifically is linked to bone health + can help prevent mama’s body from stealing nutrients from her own bones to create baby’s. (Did you know some women can actually develop osteoporosis during pregnancy from lack of nutrients?!)
I personally like to choose butter, full fat greek yogurt or aged hard cheddar as my dairy of choice. Butter and hard cheese are lower in lactose, so doesn’t bother bellies as much! Greek yogurt is considered a fermented dairy product and actually has higher levels of Vitamin K2 than normal dairy. Greek yogurt also is a delicious way to help me hit my protein goals for the day.
And there you have it! I’m sure there are a million other things I could choose to focus on in my real food for pregnancy diet. Things like getting enough fat and adequate protein seem to happen relatively easily when I adhere to the above list whenever I’m trying to create meals for the day/week.
But as I’ve said before: there is no place for shame or mom guilt here. This list has helped me find a jumping off point + I do what I can, but I’m never perfect, nor do I expect myself to be. There have still been plenty of ice cream cones + slices of cheesecake in this pregnancy too, ha!
I’d love to know, friend, what were your pregnancy diet must haves? Anything you focused on in postpartum? Let me know down below in the comments!
