vegan pregnancy

MeanieD
MeanieD Posts: 79
edited November 7 in Social Groups
Has anyone gone through a pregnancy as a vegan? I'm pregnant with my first and am trying to stay true, but have been craving the ever-so-hard-to-shake cheese. The fake stuff just doesn't cut it. Thankfully I'm allergic to dairy, so I have an extra incentive to avoid it.

Replies

  • unisheep
    unisheep Posts: 16 Member
    Congratulations on your pregnancy!
    Cheese does nothing good for you, but I do understand the cravings! I used my pregnancy last year and all the weird food aversions I had to abandon my vegan diet and eat all kinds of crap (vegetarian, but loads of cheese and stuff like that). Well, I gained 50 lbs and now I have to deal with that (gratefully I have a healthy baby boy!). So I would encourage you to stay true to your diet ...

    Mooncow/Unisheep
    http://weightlossveganstyle.blogspot.it/
  • kitsune1989
    kitsune1989 Posts: 93 Member
    I went vegan while pregnant. So I was vegan for half of my last pregnancy. Have you tried making some of the cheese sauces? I know there are tons of different recipes for that.
  • unisheep
    unisheep Posts: 16 Member
    Oh, yes, and the BEST vegan parmesan:
    5 Tbs nutritional yeast
    1 c. whole almonds
    1 tsp lemon zest
    salt and pepper to taste

    The lemon zest makes this ROCK!

    Mooncow/Unisheep
    http://weightlossveganstyle.blogspot.it/
  • VeganMotoGirl
    VeganMotoGirl Posts: 43 Member
    I have never been pregnant but plan to stay vegan if I ever do have children. I too am allergic to dairy and occasionally crave my good old cheese. I try to take that as a sign that I am not getting something in my diet that is making me crave the cheese. look at your diet and see if you are low on calcium, iodine, iron, or just fats. Also make sure you are eating enough calories overall. It could be that your body is just craving a high calorie/fat content food to make up for the fact that it thinks you need more calories and its just trying to get you to eat!
  • MeanieD
    MeanieD Posts: 79
    Thanks for the advise. I thought of that last night after I posted this and discovered that I'm really low on the fat content, which is excellent for when I wasn't pregnant and trying to lose those last 10 lbs, but not now. Apparently Baby Boy wants something fatty. I'm adding some avocados and more nuts to my diet today,.
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
    I was vegan throughout my pregnancy and throughout our (still going 19 months strong!) nursing relationship, granted I was vegan for 5 years prior, and I really didn't have any cravings throughout my pregnancy.

    Make sure you're eating enough fat for sure.

    You got this!
  • danikanoodles
    danikanoodles Posts: 150 Member
    I highly recommed Karen Ranzi's book Creating Healthy Children. She talks about vegan pregnancy all the way into raising vegan children. She also has a youtube channel which I believe is called superhealthychildren
  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
    My ex went through both pregnancies of our kids vegan. She writes articles about veganism here. You could ask her if you have any questions. Also our kids have been vegan since birth (except the eldest, when he was a toddler, found some dry cat food and oops, ate some, lol!

    http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/vegival

    Update: Here's the link to specifically vegan info.

    http://www.squidoo.com/vegan-journey
  • kumaramash
    kumaramash Posts: 1 Member
    I went through my pregnancy with my son as a vegan; I went vegan four months before I fell pregnant and that was over six years ago! My son and myself are still vegan and I breastfed him for two and a half years.

    I highly recommend Jack Norris's information and advice on vegan nutrition; he is a vegan RD and co-wrote the book 'Vegan For Life; with Ginny Messina (also a vegan RD). He has all of his info on his website http://www.veganhealth.org and also read Reed Mangus's recommendations - http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/veganpregnancy.php - along with the book he wrote.

    It is pretty good idea to take a vegan prenatal vitamin and DEVA do a great one at a great price :-)
  • PeaceLoveTrees
    PeaceLoveTrees Posts: 42 Member
    Try cashew cheeses! They are delicious and spot on. I refuse to eat the fake vegan cheeses because I think they are gross but cashew and other nut cheeses taste just the same!


    I haven't had kids yet but I'm planning on staying vegan when I do. I think it will be totally awesome to raise a child who's never eaten animal products before!! I met two last summer and they were inspiring little kids!
  • MeanieD
    MeanieD Posts: 79
    Thanks. I do take the DEVA prenatal and I made some cashew cheese this weekend. It's okay, but I think I just need to tweak it a bit.
  • aleldo
    aleldo Posts: 4 Member
    I am 21 weeks pregnant with my first child and have maintained my vegan lifestyle throughout. I would definitely recommend incorporating lots of healthy fats from nuts and avocados! I eat all kings of nuts and seeds but I really like to eat walnuts because of the omega-3s. Good luck with everything!
  • jmunn1129
    jmunn1129 Posts: 32 Member
    ashleysgreenlife.com is a great resources. She's a vegan mama of two, and blogs about recipes, about raising vegan kids, and about both of her vegan pregnancies. Congrats and best of luck!
  • carriecarrio
    carriecarrio Posts: 70 Member
    I was vegan throughout my last pregnancy. I do not buy the fake cheese anymore. I have made almond and cashew cheeses and my next project is to make vegan mozzarella with cashews.
    unisheep wrote: »
    Oh, yes, and the BEST vegan parmesan:
    5 Tbs nutritional yeast
    1 c. whole almonds
    1 tsp lemon zest
    salt and pepper to taste

    The lemon zest makes this ROCK!

    Mooncow/Unisheep
    http://weightlossveganstyle.blogspot.it/

    love this, always in my fridge! i put it on salads
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