Basic meal planning
You need to eat and drink at least 12 carbohydrate choices each day. Most women need 14 carbohydrate choices each day to maintain the desired weight gain of one-half pound each week. If you follow a vegetarian diet, you need 15 to 16 carbohydrate choices each day to get enough nutrients.
Breakfast
- 2 to 3 carbohydrate choices
- vegetable, if desired
- 1 to 3 ounces of protein (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter
- fat, as desired
| Lunch
- 3 to 4 carbohydrate choices
- vegetables, as desired
- 2 to 4 ounces of protein
- fat, as desired
| Dinner
- 3 to 4 carbohydrate choices
- vegetables, as desired
- 2 to 4 ounces protein
- fat, as desired
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Morning snack
- 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices
- vegetable, protein or fat as desired
| Afternoon snack
- 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices
- vegetable, protein or fat as desired
| Evening snack
- 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices
- 1 to 3 ounces protein
- vegetable or fat as desired
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Breakfast tips
Blood glucose is hard to control in the morning when the hormones that boost your blood glucose levels are released. To help, follow these breakfast tips:
- Eat a small breakfast.
- Don't eat fruit or drink fruit juice.
- Avoid cereal.
- Eat whole grain bread products.
- Eat a food that has protein.
Completing a meal plan
Vegetables
Most vegetables do not raise blood glucose. Vegetables supply many nutrients for both you and your baby.
Try to eat at least four servings of vegetables each day. One serving (½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw) has about five grams of carbohydrate. Three servings of vegetables at a meal or snack equals one carbohydrate choice.
The only vegetables that count as carb are:
- corn
- peas
- potatoes
- beans.
For each of these, ½ cup equals 15 grams carbohydrate equals one carbohydrate choice.
All other vegetables are "free" foods:
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- artichokes
- asparagus
- alfalfa sprouts
- bean sprouts
- beans (green, Italian, waxed)
- beets
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- carrots
- cauliflower
- celery
- collard greens
- cucumber
- edamame
- eggplant
- endive
- greens
- jicama
- kohlrabi
- leeks
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- lettuce
- mushrooms
- mustard greens
- okra
- onions
- parsnips
- pea pods
- peppers
- pumpkin
- radishes
- rhubarb
- rutabaga
- sauerkraut
- soybeans
- spinach
- squash: spaghetti, summer
- swiss chard
- tomatoes
- turnips
- zucchini
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Protein
Tip
You may eat a food that contains protein with each meal or snack.
Protein is important for you and your baby. Protein helps build cells, helps with growth and healing, and helps hormones work. Most pregnant women need between
six to eight ounces of protein each day.
Dried beans and lentils contain protein but they must be counted as carbohydrates. Examples of protein foods are:
Food |
Serving size* |
- Beef/veal
- Canned fish
- Cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Egg: medium
- Egg substitute
- Fish and seafood
- Game
- Hot dogs
- Lamb
- Lunch meat (choose lean cuts of meat)
- Nuts
- Peanut butter
- Poultry (chicken, turkey)
- Pork
- Soy or veggie burgers
- Tempeh
- Tofu
|
- 1 ounce
- 1/4 cup
- 1 ounce
- 1/4 cup
- 1
- 1/4 cup
- 1 ounce
- 1 ounce
- 1 ounce
- 1 ounce
- 1 ounce
- 3 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon
- 1 ounce
- 1 ounce
- 1 ounce
- 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup
|
*Each of the serving sizes in the listed foods contains one ounce of protein.
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Fat
Fat contains calories to help supply energy to you and your baby. Fat helps your body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat also gives you essential fatty acids, which help
your baby's brain and nervous system develop.
Spreads like butter and margarine, cooking oils, salad dressings, cream cheese, sour cream, nuts and seeds are examples of fats. You may add these fats to meals or snacks.
Artificial sweeteners
Tip
One serving equals 12 ounces of a beverage or one 6- to 8-ounce carton of yogurt that contains an artificial sweetener.
Avoid saccharin (such as Sweet'N Low® or Sugar Twin®).
It's OK to eat two or three servings a day of foods that are sweetened with these artificial sweeteners:
- aspartame (NutraSweet® or Equal®)
- sucralose (Spenda®)
- acesulfame-K (Sweet One®, Sweet & Safe®, Sunette®)
Many artificially sweetened foods contain more than one of the above listed sweeteners. They are safe for pregnancy, but do not eat too much. Ask your health care provider how much you can eat if you are not sure.
Tips to remember:
- If you are hungry, add vegetables or a protein food to your carbohydrate snacks.
- Don't worry about the fat content of foods right now unless your health care provider tells you to reduce your weight gain.
- Meals that are high in fat can cause blood glucose to be high after eating. If you notice this happening to you, try to choose meals that are lower in fat.
- If your blood glucose is high when you wake up, have a bedtime snack that includes both protein and carbohydrates. This will help keep your blood glucose in check during the night.
- Don't drink alcohol.
- Follow your health care provider's guidelines about caffeine.
Worksheet: My meal plan