How to Eat Healthy After you Give Birth (Week 39)

Home Stretch!
I'm in the home stretch now, with less than one week to go until my due date (February 22nd). A lot of people ask me if I'm excited, and I found a great metaphor to help people understand how it feels to be pregnant: It's like waiting in line at bank for nine months to cash lottery ticket. Translation: it's exhausting, uncomfortable, and breeds impatience. It only gets worse the closer you get to your due date. At the same time, imagining my little one in my arms after the marathon of labour is enough to cheer me up!


You Won't Feel Like Cooking After the Baby Is Born
Being so tired lately, it has been hard to work up the motivation to get anything done (including blogging!). I've realized that on my good days, I need to make the most of my time and get things done that I've been putting off when I'm not feeling so great. One of those things is cooking. I've gotten a lot of advice from moms to stock up on food before the baby arrives, because I won't feel like cooking afterwards. Stock up on healthy foods that store well and prepare dishes for yourself that are easy to freeze and heat up.


Foods to Stock Up On

• milk 
• yogurt 
• cheese 
• juice (no sugar added)
• prewashed salad greens
• precut fresh fruits and veggies
• a roasted chicken or two (perfect for meals, snacks, and salads).
• low-sodium soups
• nuts 
• whole-grain bread (you can freeze it), crackers and cereal
• canned beans, fruits and vegetables
• pasta
• brown rice
• sauces

Things you Can Make Ahead

• lasagna
• mini-meatloaves
• pancakes
• bran muffins
• banana or zucchini bread
• omelettes
• casseroles
• stews
• chili
• stirfry
• soup

Store in single-meal containers in the freezer and mark them clearly so you won’t defrost a turkey burger when you’re in the market for banana bread.


Get Other People to Make You Food
More than likely you have people in your life that are as excited for your baby's arrival as you are--maybe more so because they're not the ones that are going to go through labour. Often these people would love to support you in any way, but they may not be clear as to how they can. If anyone does ask you, tell them to cook for you!