As most of us know, carrying a new life in your womb is a task of responsibility. You must ensure to provide adequate nutrition to the foetus inside your womb. Undoubtedly, having a healthy diet during pregnancy is a must.
According to medical research, our pregnancy weeks are divided into three trimesters. The first trimester is when both the baby and mother are vulnerable; this ranges from the first week to week 12. It is followed by the second trimester, which is from week 13 to the 26th week. In this trimester, the baby may start showing up their presence inside your womb. And the third trimester includes week 27 to the day before delivery.
What Should Be Your Pregnancy Meal Plan
Consider the different levels of vulnerability of the foetus and the expecting mother at different trimesters. A pregnant mum should choose her pregnancy meal plan wisely. For example, the meals should not include forbidden foods and must be a healthy yet tasty meal from every aspect.
So, in short, we should be careful and innovative while deciding on our pregnancy meal plans.
By God’s grace, our Malaysia is enriched with many healthy fruits, veggies, grains, and other foods. Let’s learn how to use them to prepare delicious and nutritious meals for our pregnancy days.
Avocado-Eggs Toast
Ingredients
- 2 avocados fresh, ripe
- 4 slices bread
- 4 eggs
- salt as per taste
- pepper as per taste
- lime juice as per taste
Instructions
- Heat a pinch of oil at a medium flame.
- Fry the eggs.
- Cut the avocado into small sizes and smash them.
- Toast the bread.
- Spread the avocado on them.
- Add a pinch of lemon juice.
- Spread the fried eggs on them.
- Sprinkle the salt and black pepper as per taste.
Nutrition
Healthy Nasi Lemak with Quinoa
Ingredients
For the Nasi Lemak (Rice)
- 2 cups red quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 2 pinch salt
For the Sambal (Accompaniment)
- 5-6 red chilies
- 2-3 green chilies
- 10-12 shallots
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 2 inches ginger
- 1 tbsp yoghurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp raw honey
For Anchovies (Accompaniment)
- 2 cups anchovies or ikan billies
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Other accompaniments
- hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, steamed long beans
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a saucepan.
- Add water and coconut milk to it.
- Sprinkle in salt as per taste.
- Add the washed quinoa.
- Let it boil. Close the lid for 10-15 mins.
- Once it is cooked, turn off the flame and whip the quinoa.
- Leave it for 10-12 minutes.
To Prepare the Sambal
- Blend all of the ingredients except the yoghurt, olive oil, raw honey.
- Fry the blended mixture with olive oil until the fragrance come out of it.
- Add the raw honey and yoghurt.
To Prepare the Anchovies
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
- Add olive oil to the dried anchovies and bake them for 15 minutes. If you do not have an oven available, you can shallow fry it in a pan.
- Finally, serve the total dish with cucumbers, eggs, and beans.
Nutrition
Chicken Ginger and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups steamed chicken breasts
- 2 cups carrots and beans chopped
- 1/2 cup cabbage leaves shredded
- 1-2 tbsp ginger fresh, peeled, and grated
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cups chicken broth
- parsley
- coriander leaves
- 1 onion sliced, large
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil on a medium flame.
- Add onions and salt to it and stir them till they turn brown.
- Add garlic and ginger and fry.
- Add the carrots, beans, and cabbage leaves.
- Stir all of the ingredients and cook them until they become soft.
- Pour the chicken broth into it.
- Add the steamed chicken breasts.
- Cook it for 5-10 minutes, closing the lid.
- Once it is perfectly cooked, add the butter, coriander leaves, and parsley to it
Nutrition
Shrimp Curry with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 3/4 pounds shrimps dried
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 cup yellow pepper sliced
- 5-6 ounces peas
- 1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1/2 tbsp garlic
- salt as per taste
- 1/2 tbsp red chill powder
- 1-2 green chili finely chopped
- 1-2 cups water
Instructions
- Soak the shrimps in warm water and wash them with cold water.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the shrimps and stir fry until it turns pink.
- Keep the fried shrimps aside.
- Add ginger and garlic to the pan.
- Sprinkle the red chili powder.
- Add the carrots, pepper, and peas and fry until they get soft.
- Add fried shrimps to it and mix.
- Cook for 5-10 minutes more.
- Add water and let it boil for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve with rice or bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Deep-fried Squids with Yoghurt
Ingredients
- vegetable oil to fill half of the pan
- 500 gms squids
- 250 gms flour
- salt and pepper as per requirement
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- greek yoghurt
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Fill half of the pan with oil and heat it.
- Coat the squids into the mixture of flour, pepper, and salt.
- Now, dip the coated squid in the beaten eggs.
- Deep-fry them in oil.
- Take them out once they are golden brown.
- Add pepper and lemon juice to the yoghurt and serve the squids with it
Nutrition
Makhana (fox-nut) Kheer
Ingredients
- 2 cups makhana or fox-nut
- 4 cups milk
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 10-12 pieces(each) almonds and cashews crushed
- 2 tbsp raisins
- sugar as per taste
- 1/2 tsp ghee
Instructions
- Shallow-fry the fox nuts in ghee until they become crispy.
- Cool them and grind.
- In another pan, boil the milk and add the fox nuts.
- Stir well for 6-10 minutes.
- Add the cardamom powder and sugar.
- Thicken the dessert the way you want. Keep stirring to avoid sticking at the bottom.
- Add crushed cashews, raisins, and almonds and serve.
Nutrition
Carrot Halwa
Ingredients
- 4 carrots medium-sized, grated
- 10-12 almonds water-soaked
- 5-6 cashews
- 3-4 cups milk
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 2-3 tbsp raisins
- 1/2 tsp ghee
- sugar
Instructions
- Make a paste with almonds and milk and keep it aside.
- Heat the ghee in a saucepan and fry the carrot lightly.
- Add the milk to it.
- Mix the sugar and cardamom powder.
- Stir it in low heat and let it boil.
- Add the almond mix and stir.
- Turn off the flame when you get the consistency.
- Garnish with chopped cashews and almonds.
Notes
Nutrition
These recipes shared are all delicious Asian cuisines from different parts of the continent. We have added all kinds of cuisines—from spicy curry to sweet dishes. You can include them in your pregnancy meal plan. However, you need to maintain some precautions as well. You are in your vulnerable stage of giving birth to another life, after all. With that said, let us share some tips that will help you to keep you and your baby safe.
Things to Remember for Pregnancy Meal Plan:
- Consume a balanced diet.
- Do not have too much dessert. It may lead to diabetes, obesity, etc.
- Avoid raw foods and vegetables.
- Alcohol consumption is not recommended.
- Do not skip meals.
- Avoid overly spicy foods. It may cause stomach burning.
- High-fibre foods are essential.
- Do not consume high-mercury fish.
So, these are the points that you need to keep in your mind while choosing a pregnancy meal plan. We hope these recipes will help you to enjoy your pregnancy days while taking care of your health. Stay happy and healthy! Click here to find more mouth-watering yet healthy pregnancy recipes.
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