Feed the Belly by Frances Largeman-Roth, Robin Miller (Foreword by)

From the Publisher

"Feed the Belly is overdue! If you are pregnant or living with someone who is, you will find this book to be invaluable to the pregnancy. It has knowledgeable information, great anecdotes, recipes and tips for navigating the challenges and surprises of pregnancy. Feed the Belly can help in creating a happier, healthier journey for the whole family." —Cat Cora, the first female Iron Chef and author of Cooking from the Hip

If you've got a bun in the oven...

FEED THE BELLY IS YOUR HEALTHY EATING GUIDEBOOK.

The only eating guide for expectant moms that helps indulge cravings while giving baby—and mom—the essential nutrients they need, Feed the Belly offers a complete look at healthy eating for all nine months. Written by new mom and Health magazine editor and dietitian Frances Largeman-Roth, Feed the Belly covers:

• What to eat to get pregnant

• Get started with a seven-day tear-out eating plan!

With answers to all your pregnancy questions on nutrition, weight gain, food safety, and much more, Feed the Belly offers expectant moms something to sink their teeth into.

MORE THAN 65 EASY-TO-MAKE RECIPES, ORGANIZED BY CRAVING, INCLUDING FAVORITES FROM TOP CHEFS LIKE MARK BITTMAN AND GALE GAND

Mindy Rhiger - Library Journal

Guides on food advice during pregnancy abound, and expectant mom and dietitian Largeman-Roth's contribution covers all the basics: the nutrients you need when you're trying to conceive, foods to avoid, and foods that offer the most nutrition for mom and baby. But this book tries to become more than just a guide filled with dos and don'ts. It has a practical streak to it, including tips for eating out, basic kitchen training, and a whole chapter on healthy weight gain and exercising for two. There is also a brief chapter with advice specifically for women with food allergies. The recipe section offers up some familiar dishes with twists that make them a bit healthier (e.g., banana bread with flaxseed and meatloaf with apple cider vinegar) and some spicier options for those who crave curry but don't want all the sodium and oil often present in takeout. A good book for expectant moms who aren't as experimental in their food choices but want some basic tips for making healthier decisions.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

Excerpt from the Introduction

Chances are, if you're reading this book, you've recently received some seriously exciting news. Congratulations! Or maybe you've just gotten started on a journey to prepare your body for pregnancy.

It's a fabulous time to have a bun in the oven. Being a mom-to-be is no longer something to hide. It's a state to celebrate, a time to embrace the changes going on in your body. In fact, our entire society seems to be baby-crazed, with the dietary lapses and stiletto-wearing habits of celebrity moms-to-be being closely watched. But you don't need to follow the bump watches in the pages of Us Weekly—you've got your own bump to consider. The next nine months are going to be a wild ride, including hunger pangs mixed with indigestion and moments of utter bliss tossed together with extreme fatigue and nausea. Through it all, the most important things on your mind will be your baby's health.

Like most expectant moms, you probably have a lot of questions about how to ensure the best health possible for your baby. Science in general and prenatal medicine specifically are changing constantly, and the advice your mom got about what to eat and how to exercise when pregnant is much different from what you'll get from your doctor today. Feed the Belly gives you the latest information on everything relating to food, nutrition, and living a healthy lifestyle during your entire pregnancy. You'll find an eating guide for those nine months that helps you navigate through morning sickness, crazy cravings, and endless quandaries over what's safe to put in your mouth. You'll also find more than sixty-five recipes, because aside from hiring your ownpersonal chef—a girl can dream, right?—the best way for you to make sure you're getting what you need is to prepare most of your own meals and snacks (and get your hubby to pitch in, too).

Life doesn't necessarily slow down just because you're expecting, and that's where I come in. As a registered dietitian with a decade of experience creating nutrition information and developing recipes specifically targeted to women, I know what it takes to create a dish that's healthy, delicious, and really hits the spot. As Health magazine's senior food and nutrition editor since 2004, it's been my task to come up with mouthwatering dishes that keep busy women satisfied and able to fit into little black dresses.

Plus, I'm picky as all get out, and when I started on my own quest to become a mom, I quickly found there wasn't anything on the shelves that really spoke to me. All of the so-called pregnancy cookbooks and nutrition manuals contained recipes that were about as exciting as the early-bird special at Sizzler. Come on, people! Pregnant women still have taste buds. The recipes I created for the book had to meet my high standards for taste and crave-worthiness, and since I was pregnant while I was working on them, I was the perfect guinea pig.

Going through my first pregnancy while writing this book gave me a front-line view of what advice is realistic, and what is a lot of well-meaning hooey. Normally, I'm a fruit, yogurt, and whole-grain kind of girl in the morning, but during my first trimester, I was all about egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches with ketchup, bags of salty pretzels, and jugs of Orangina. (I discovered that when you're pregnant and trying to get through the workday, a settled stomach often outweighs a perfectly balanced meal.) But I also found ways to get around my lust for salty carbs and sneak in some fruit and veggies when I was feeling more steady. Little swaps—like an organic cheese stick instead of my usual yogurt—helped me fit in calcium and protein while satisfying my salty cravings.

The Feed the Belly recipes I've created (starting on page 150) range from easy, cooling smoothies to healthier versions of comfort foods like chicken pot pie and burgers. All are easy to make, and I've included tips for even easier and faster variations. Every recipe has a complete nutritional analysis, and I've made note of particularly important nutrients for your baby's growth as Baby Bonuses. Goodies for you are designated with a Momma Must-Have note.