Healthy snacks for pregnancy?

brittanystebbins95

So my husband and I are planning to try for a baby in September.
I am by no means overweight anymore, though I used to be. I’ve lost about 55 lbs and I am currently trying to slowly lose just a few more by the end of summer, because I want to see my muscles more defined.
That being said, when I DO become pregnant, I am absolutely TERRIFIED to gain any extra back. Aside from what is needed for my baby to be healthy, of course. I have done extensive research and have talked to my doctor and know exactly how many extra calories I need per trimester for a healthy pregnancy. If my doctor does not feel I am gaining enough weight, I will adjust those numbers.
So, finally onto my reason for posting this. Does anyone have any low-calorie, healthy snacks or dessert recipes or ideas? I know cravings are going to be a thing, and I have phenomenal self-control when it comes to food, but I would still like to be able to enjoy being pregnant and give in to some of the cravings while still staying on track.
Thanks!

hesn92

I am pregnant. For my afternoon snack I have been eating fruit and string cheese. I have also taken a piece of salami and wrapped it around a piece of string cheese and eaten that. Crackers with peanut butter. Cheese and crackers. I'm not that into snacks tbh. I don't really have any advice for dessert recipes but I eat something sweet every day but limit it to just a little bit. lately I've been eating a fun size amount of peanut butter m&m's. Or I will have a cookie, or dark chocolate etc. Once a week on the weekend I get something bigger like a milk shake. I kind of said *kitten* it all up until week 18 or so and gained a lot of weight really fast, so now at 26 weeks I'm back to counting calories and keeping my weight gain under control. I'm aiming to stay under 35 lbs.

puffbrat

Honestly, I find this question hard to answer because not only will cravings be different for each person, but everyone has different levels of morning sickness to manage, not to mention things like GD, bloating, etc. It's really hard to pre-emptively answer this question. For me, I had morning sickness pretty much non-stop throughout my pregnancy. It didn't go away during the second trimester like the internets promised I also didn't have cravings too badly, I was just miserable. This meant that my snacks were really about nausea management and so I mostly ate fruit and cheese which were gentle on my stomach; and bready things like muffins, ginger ale, and peanut butter which reduced the nausea.

ETA: I also had a really severe aversion to vegetables throughout my pregnancy.

hesn92

That is a good point, the first trimester for me is kind of a wash. My diet was completely different because of random food aversions and certain things making me nauseous. You just have to eat what you can eat. I ate a lot more carby things like rice and crackers. But I did feel better in the second trimester.

acpgee

In the later stages of pregnancy and while you are breastfeeding it is a good idea to get a varied diet with plenty of veg. Apparently a baby's food preferences are shaped by what it is accustomed to tasting via amniotic fluid and breast milk.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/08/child-food-preferences-womb-pregnancy-foetus-taste-flavours

brittanystebbins95

hesn92 wrote: »

I am pregnant. For my afternoon snack I have been eating fruit and string cheese. I have also taken a piece of salami and wrapped it around a piece of string cheese and eaten that. Crackers with peanut butter. Cheese and crackers. I'm not that into snacks tbh. I don't really have any advice for dessert recipes but I eat something sweet every day but limit it to just a little bit. lately I've been eating a fun size amount of peanut butter m&m's. Or I will have a cookie, or dark chocolate etc. Once a week on the weekend I get something bigger like a milk shake. I kind of said *kitten* it all up until week 18 or so and gained a lot of weight really fast, so now at 26 weeks I'm back to counting calories and keeping my weight gain under control. I'm aiming to stay under 35 lbs.

Ohh! The string cheese and fruit thing sounds good

brittanystebbins95

puffbrat wrote: »

Honestly, I find this question hard to answer because not only will cravings be different for each person, but everyone has different levels of morning sickness to manage, not to mention things like GD, bloating, etc. It's really hard to pre-emptively answer this question. For me, I had morning sickness pretty much non-stop throughout my pregnancy. It didn't go away during the second trimester like the internets promised I also didn't have cravings too badly, I was just miserable. This meant that my snacks were really about nausea management and so I mostly ate fruit and cheese which were gentle on my stomach; and bready things like muffins, ginger ale, and peanut butter which reduced the nausea.

ETA: I also had a really severe aversion to vegetables throughout my pregnancy.

I'm REALLY hoping I don't end up with constant nausea, lol. Although in some ways that could be better than non stop cravings. I guess we'll see!

brittanystebbins95

hesn92 wrote: »

That is a good point, the first trimester for me is kind of a wash. My diet was completely different because of random food aversions and certain things making me nauseous. You just have to eat what you can eat. I ate a lot more carby things like rice and crackers. But I did feel better in the second trimester.

Thank you! I hadn't really thought about morning sickness much. My mom didn't have it too badly with any of my younger siblings, other than the very beginning, so I'm hoping I follow in her footsteps there.

brittanystebbins95

acpgee wrote: »

In the later stages of pregnancy and while you are breastfeeding it is a good idea to get a varied diet with plenty of veg. Apparently a baby's food preferences are shaped by what it is accustomed to tasting via amniotic fluid and breast milk.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/08/child-food-preferences-womb-pregnancy-foetus-taste-flavours

Good to know! I LOVE vegetables so that shouldn't be a problem