Plant-Based Eating For Pregnancy

I’m not a nutritionist so I won’t be able to talk about pregnancy and health in that language, but I really love Ayurveda, so that’s the framework I’ll be using.

Food during pregnancy should be mild and nutritive. Avoid foods with strong actions, like extremely spicy or laxative or cleansing foods. Of course, this is relative to you, and if you usually enjoy spicy food then that’s what your body is used to and you’ll likely be able to tolerate some spicy food during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the fire in your belly will be hot! This explains nausea and reflux, and also why you are so freaking starving all the time. This strong digestive power means you can digest foods that are cooler and heavier than usual, and perhaps why strange combinations of food are more appealing too. Pregnancy is a rare time when Ayurveda suggests we can easily digest cold milk and raw foods and this hot and fiery digestion is often why we crave out-of-control carbs - pasta with potatoes anyone?

The truth is, for many pregnant people, it’s very difficult to keep food down. Aversions are far more likely than cravings, so no matter what anyone says you should eat, you always have to do what works for you. Plus your happiness is considered absolutely essential during pregnancy, so if you do have cravings, indulge them! Morning sickness is considered in Ayurveda to be caused (in part) by unmet needs.

Dairy

I personally found my body really craved milk when I was pregnant and I definitely consumed more dairy than I usually do. Even though we eat dairy I am concerned about the impact on the planet and am always looking for ways to reduce our consumption and the impact of our consumer choices. We get milk from an organic farm in Margaret River, and try and buy organic butter (though this is not available locally) and reduce our cheese consumption. Organic farming is more likely to be regenerative therefore have a lower carbon footprint than conventional animal products.

Grazing animals are an ancient and very important aspect of our grassland ecosystems. Managed well, grazing animals play a critical role in carbon drawdown but managed badly (as is largely the case today) the impact on global emissions is catastrophic.

“Silvopasture is an ancient practice that integrates trees and pasture into a single system for raising livestock. Research suggests silvopasture far outpaces any grassland technique for counteracting the methane emissions of livestock and sequestering carbon under-hoof. Pastures strewn or crisscrossed with trees sequester five to ten times as much carbon as those of the same size that are treeless, storing it in both biomass and soil.”

Start asking livestock farmers you buy from about their grazing practises and give to organisations such as Carbon8 if you want to support the transition to sustainable agriculture.

I’ve been slowly reducing the amount of parmesan cheese my family have on pasta and recently I stopped putting it on the table altogether and have been surprised that the kids haven’t even noticed!

I’ll talk more about dairy alternatives in future posts in this series.

Here Are A Few Healthy Plant-Based Meals That You Can Try During Your Pregnancy

Rajma Dal

Rajma dal is a traditional Indian dal made with kidney beans. Kidney beans are heavy and cool and dry so whilst they can be difficult to digest, they may be well tolerated during pregnancy. Plus they can be beneficial for stabilising blood sugar and have been named diabetes “superfood” by the American Diabetes Association.

Traditionally rajma dal is made with cream, but to give you an idea of how you can easily replace animal products this recipe uses powdered cashews to give the dal a creamy texture. You can use cashew powder to replace cream in many different recipes, try stirring some through your favourite soup recipe or into tomato pasta sauce for a different kind of creaminess.

To get 3 cups cooked beans you’ll need to soak and pre-cook 1 cup dry beans or use 2 cans.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can just gently simmer this in a large saucepan on the stove for maybe an hour until thick and creamy.

Ingredients

Olive oil

6 Cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons ginger, grated

3 Teaspoons ground cumin

1 Teaspoon ground cardamon

1 Teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ Teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ Teaspoon ground mustard

5 Cups water

3 Cups pre-cooked kidney beans

1 Cup dry whole black lentils

2 Teaspoons tomato paste

1 Teaspoon salt

½ Cup cashews, powdered

Fresh coriander

Method

1. Fry garlic and ginger in olive oil in a small saucepan for a few minutes. Add the other five spices for one more minute then take off the heat.

2. Put the spices and all remaining ingredients except cashews and coriander into a slow cooker and cook 4-6 hours on low (or 2-3 hours on high).

3. About half an hour before eating stir in cashew powder to thicken the sauce. Serve with fresh coriander.

4. Mix well and serve with rice or chappatis.

Mee Goreng

Yotam Ottolenghi is such a superstar cook for showcasing the diversity of plant-based foods in his exotic and mouthwatering recipes. His recipe books are favourites in our house, but this one is available online and it’s awesome, it’s simple, healthy and the kids love it.

It’s a unique take on Mee Goreng with cumin seeds which are so unexpected and delicious! It’s also topped with shredded iceberg lettuce and crispy fried shallots for crunch and texture. If you want to make sure this recipe is vegan, check the noodle packets as egg noodles often don’t actually have egg in them!

Tofu is amazingly high in protein, as well as manganese, copper, iron, folate, calcium and selenium. Soy gets a bad wrap for its phytoestrogens which can mess around with your hormones if you eat a lot. But one or two serves a day is generally considered safe during pregnancy. If you hate tofu or just want to avoid it replace it with a handful of cashews or peanuts, or egg if you don’t mind some animal products.

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/mee-goreng

Kitchari

Mung beans are high in iron, zinc, folate and protein, fibre and antioxidants, all-important for a healthy pregnancy!

Kitchari is a very popular health food in India and is suitable for postpartum and babies and toddlers too. My kids have always eaten loads of it, and we still eat it most weeks. It’s great to take a simplified version with red lentils as a dry mix for camping, holidays or gifts (see instructions for meal kits here.)

Whilst it’s typically made with ghee it can easily be substituted with olive oil if you prefer to make it vegan.

The full recipe is in my recipe book Nourishing Newborn Mothers. Use a lot less ghee during pregnancy, than is recommended for postpartum.

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Learn More About The Plant-based Series >>> Plant-Based Eating For Beginners , Plant-Based Eating For Postpartum and Plant-Based Eating For Babies And Toddlers.

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Nourishing Newborn Mothers