Did you know that today is Eat Your Veggies Day? We all know that vegetables are important to a healthy diet in general. Vegetables are especially valuable when pregnant. Knowing that doesn’t necessarily make it easy to consume enough.
Sometimes we need help understanding which nutrients are most important so we can make good choices. Maybe you are struggling to figure out what to buy? Once you have purchased healthy food, do you struggle to figure out a meal plan?
Perhaps you know quite a bit about nutrition but need some suggestions on how to get organized and save money while eating healthy.
Even small changes can make a big difference in your health and the health of your pregnancy. You won’t be able to see all of the benefits of eating vegetables. But you will definitely appreciate that eating lots of vegetables can help you achieve a healthy weight, manage your blood sugar, and reduce or eliminate constipation in pregnancy.
Vegetables are also very versatile. You can boil or bake them or fry them. They can be added to fruit smoothies, salads, casseroles, pasta dishes, soups and stews, dips or eaten raw. Veggies can be seasoned any way you like. If you are not in love with the taste of a particular vegetable try spicing it up. If you don’t like spice, add a little butter and salt.
Buying vegetables from a local farmer is definitely an excellent way to access high quality vegetables, often at an excellent price. But if you are trying to eat your veggies on a really tight budget, consider buying frozen vegetables in bulk family sized bags. Vegetables are generally frozen when they are fresh and retain a lot of their nutrition. Frozen vegetables can be used in all the same ways as fresh vegetables.
If you are unsure how to prepare veggies, turn to Google. Google is a terrible place to get information on the childbearing year. But Google is an excellent place to find recipes and how-to videos. You can even type a bunch of ingredients you happen to have at home into the search bar. Google will provide you with recipes using those ingredients.
Try to make every day Eat Your Veggies Day. Your body will thank you.
Genia is a registered midwife and international board certified lactation consultant at Generations Midwifery Care. You can learn more about Genia here.