Grilled vegetable pizza
It’s all about filling up on whole foods – lean- and vegetable-based proteins, complex carbohydrates, folate-rich greens and beans, whole fat dairy – and avoiding processed, trans-fat-filled meals and snacks. “What it takes is some fine tuning,” says Areli Hermanson, a Victoria-based dietitian. “Ask yourself: ‘How can I create a welcoming environment for a little person?’ Food is a really big part of it.”
Together with Hermanson we’ve come up with a fertility meal plan using triple-tested Chatelaine recipes that will fuel your body with all the good stuff it needs to welcome a little one. Wake up rested – sleep is important for fertility! Try any one of these options daily to get you on the right track:
Breakfast:
- High protein blueberry-almond smoothie and toast with almond butter
- Ricotta-oat bran pancakes with maple-raspberry sauce and greek yogurt
- Quinoa porridge with fresh fruit
- Best-ever breakfast sandwich with fresh berries
Lunch:
- Coconut-curry tofu pita pockets
- Grilled vegetable pizza
- Southwestern beans on toast with fresh tex-mex salad
- Baby greens with chicken and spring vegetables
Dinner:
- One pot asian rice
- Porcini-crusted black cod with garlic spinach
- Sweet and sour Indian vegetable stew with brown rice
- Honey-ginger tofu with quinoa and kale pilaf
Use this checklist to track what you should be getting everyday:
- Lots of water throughout the day
- Take a prenatal multivitamin, plus mineral with 1 mg folic acid (men should take an iron-free multivitamin plus mineral)
- Antioxidants
- Vitamin D
- Iron
- Omega 3s
- Zinc
- Exercise (Gentle exercise is best.)