Cooking for the expectant mom

[Aquarius68]

I've gotten a lot of good info from our birthing center and on the Internet regarding nutrition for pregnancy but figured it never hurts to get more info or a good resource for recipes.

I'm the expectant dad and I love to cook, the expectant mom doesn't always eat very well and doesn't like to cook so I'm happily taking on the role of family chef. I'm pretty conscious of trying to balance the meals I prepare to make sure she gets everything she needs but sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming.

She's a pescetatian who will on occasion eat chicken but no pork or beef, lamb, etc. I enjoy making fish but we don't want to eat it too often because of the mercury threat (though the monterey bay aquarium has a great resource on their site and an iphone app to help make decisions on fish to buy both in terms of sustainability and mercury)

I'm an improviser and I never follow recipes verbatim and often make things from scratch off the top of my head but some basic recipes for a starting point that consider the special nutritional needs of pregnant women and avoid the don't eats would be great.

The lovely mom to be just started her third trimester and it seems we have a BIG boy on the way. But I just want to keep the two of them happy and healthy and well nourished.

So if you know of a cookbook or a website specifically addressing cooking for pregnancy I appreciate whatever options I can get :-)

Cheers and thanks

[Jill_at_StorkRadio]

I highly recommend salmon for the DHA in it. Also roasting veggies make them so much better - i recommend broccoli with onions and garlic with a little bit of olive oil at 400 for 25 minutes. yum!

[Aquarius68]

Yeah salmon is something I make for us pretty often and it's pretty versatile. Last time I made it with fresh tarragon pesto it was awesome. I usually get veggies in the mix one way or other. I'm more a raw veggie guy and she likes them cooked so roasting is good. If I try to feed her spinach salad again though I think she's gonna throw the bowl at my head (just kidding) .. ;-)

[lou]

I have two words for you, WHEAT GERM. it's loaded with folic acid and vitamin E. in fact it contains 23 nutrients, and has more nutrients per ounce than any other vegetable or grain. it's very versatile. you can use it in EVERYTHING. I add it to may sauces, meatballs, meat loaf, I coat my meat and fish with it rather than breading or frying, I sprinkle it on fruit, you can add it to smoothies, use it in casseroles, sprinkle it on sandwhiches, cereal, I use it to make GERM burgers for my kids, sprinkle it on ice cream (it has a bit of a nutty flavor, etc....
my husband says he doesn't like the flavor, you can't taste it when it's mixed in. there have been many a times he's complimented me on my cooking, has two servings and jsut goes on about how good it is. only then do I reveal it contains wheat germ.
I took the liberty of searching allrecipes.com for recipes containing wheat germ. here are the results http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx?WithTerm=&SearchIn=All&Wanted1=wheat+germ