or surfing websites, looking for things that sound good. As you’re reading, be sure to write down the ingredients you’ll need. Although meal planning doesn’t sound all that difficult, it’s time-consuming—especially when you add in the extra time you’ll have to spend at the grocery store.
• Do the shopping. Even if your partner still plans the meals and makes out the shopping lists, your going to the store will spare her an hour or so a week of walking around on floors that are tough even on nonpregnant people’s feet. In addition, many women who have severe morning sickness find that being in a grocery store, surrounded by so much food, is just too much to stomach. If your partner did the shopping before the pregnancy, ask her to make a detailed list of the items she usually bought.
• Make her a nutritious breakfast shake. Let her spend a few more precious minutes relaxing in bed in the morning (see below for a good recipe).
• Keep some snacks in the glove compartment when you’re out together. Her energy can crash at any time, and a handful of nuts, some raisins, or a granola bar can really help.
A Special Note for Adoptive and ART Dads
If you’re one of the many expectant adoptive parents who has met your future baby’s birth mother, or you’ve hired a surrogate, do whatever you can to support her pregnancy without being annoying. Encourage her to exercise, stop smoking, eat right, take her prenatal vitamins, go to her regularly scheduled medical appointments, and so on.
“Why have you brought me here?”
RECIPES
Power Shake
1/2 cup skim milk
1 banana
12 strawberries
juice of 2 oranges
Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor and serve over crushed ice or straight up chilled.
Stocking Up
If you keep the following items on hand, you or your partner should be able to throw together a healthy meal or snack anytime.
• Unsweetened cereals
• Whole-wheat pasta
• Tomato or vegetable juice
• Whole-grain bread
• Skim milk
• Nonfat cottage cheese
• Low-fat, naturally sweetened yogurt
• Fresh eggs (and some hard-boiled ones too)
• Natural peanut butter
• Pure fruit jams
• Bottled water
• Crackers
• Fresh vegetables that can be eaten raw, including carrots, cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes
• Fresh fruit
• Frozen berries and grapes
• Raisins and other dried fruits
• Doughnuts (okay, not very often, but you’ve got to give yourselves a break once in a while)
Basic Quick Snacks
• Peel and slice carrots and celery the night before for your partner to take to work for lunch.
• Boil eggs: put a few eggs in a pot with enough water to cover them, cover the pot, bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the pot for 20 minutes. Then rinse with cold water and shell.
• Mix up some GORP (dried fruits, nuts, raisins, sunflower seeds).
Chocolate Banana Pancakes
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (if you’re missing either kind of sugar, just use a whole tablespoon of the one you have)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but great)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
a bit less than 1 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3 bananas, sliced
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the egg, vanilla, oil, and milk. Mix into a smooth batter. Add the chocolate chips and mix again. Melt the butter on a heated griddle. Pour the batter onto the griddle in large spoonfuls. Then quickly place several banana slices on each pancake. When the bubbles that form on the surface of the pancakes pop, flip them over. Cook until the second side is as brown as the first, and remove from griddle.
Open-Face Mexican Omelet
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1/4 cup green and/or red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, diced
black pepper to taste
If eating the egg yolks aggravates your partner’s morning sickness, use only the whites. Whisk eggs in a bowl or measuring cup and pour into a medium nonstick frying pan. Turn heat on low. As eggs begin to cook, add all other ingredients. Simmer until egg becomes firm, and slide omelet onto plate for serving.
Microwave Oatmeal
1/3 cup oats (you can use 1-minute, 5-minute, quick, or regular)
2/3 cup water
1/2 banana, sliced
dash cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk
1 tablespoon wheat germ
Put the oats in a 1-quart microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the water, banana, cinnamon, and vanilla. Microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the concoction starts steaming or bubbling. Take out and stir again. Add milk to taste. Sprinkle with wheat germ for extra vitamins and protein.
Any of the following salads can be served as a main course for lunch or as a side dish for dinner.
Tomato and Basil Salad
The combination of these two ingredients makes a refreshing salad. When available, use fresh basil and local tomatoes for the best flavor.
2 vine-ripened tomatoes
6–8 basil leaves
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Slice tomatoes and arrange on a serving plate. Shred basil leaves and sprinkle over tomatoes. Cover with the vinegar and oil. Add freshly ground pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator a half hour before serving.
Reading the Small Print
Getting healthy food isn’t always as easy as it might seem, and even though labeling requirements are getting more stringent, most food manufacturers aren’t about to do you any favors. So as you’re pushing your cart around the grocery store, be