What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting

Wow -- what a great book!!! I'm newly pregnant and I really want to make sure I'm eating good food for my baby, especailly since I'm so nauseous all the time. I saw this book in the bookstore and bought it... and am I glad I did. It's packed with info about nutrition during pregnancy. It's funny and it's a really easy to read book -- plus it doesn't make you feel bad if you miss a few days of eating healthy or if you eat some unhealthy food every once in a while.

The first chapter tells you why it's important to eat nutritious food. The second chapter is so great because it goes through all the pregnancy symptoms and gives advice on exactly what to do for them in terms of food. Too nauseaous to eat (my problem) -- here are some tips. What to do about the food cravings (especially when you're craving something totally unhealthy). But the best thing is that it doesn't make you feel guilty if you do crave ice cream or cake or whatever. It recognizes that sometimes the only thing I can eat is potato chips, and it doesn't make me feel like I'm hurting my baby! But it still gives you the ideal of what you should eat (there's a really funny section later on called "ideal...get real" that totally gets this point across. Plus it makes you realize you probably are eating healthy for the most aprt anyway). I love that.

The next chapter goes through weight gain and the pregnancy diet telling you what you should be eating each day. The best thing is that the book has tons of lists of different foods -- and the serving amounts -- so figuring out how much to eat is no big deal. Then there's a great chapter on being an expectant gourmet. It goes through all the different types of food that you can eat while you're pregnant. I learned so much from that chapter. Who knew there were so many different types of lettuces!

There's also stuff on what foods to avoid when you're pregnant, and how to keep your food safe. Also sections on eating while you're working with great tips on eating when you're sick, when you're traveling, and what you can eat when you're in a restuarant.

Then the best part is the recipes -- it's half the book! Totally yummy. I already made the ginger and carrot muffins (they say ginger is good for morning sickness) and the Chicken Burgers with Mango relish. The recipes are all healthy -- but so good and they totally don't taste like health food stuff-- even my husband (mr. very picky eater) thought the muffins were great. And what's great is that I was able to eat them too even with my nausea! There are so many good looking recipes, I don't know which ones to try first (I think I'm going to try the Pork Medallions with arugula and Tomatoes next).

Totally get this book if you're pregnant and want to eat healthy and eat good food. I highly recommend it and am telling all my friends to get it too! Even the non pregnant ones!

I took this book out of the library, but decided to buy it because I wanted to own the recipes. There is a great variety of recipes for all meals of the day and snacks. Most of the recipes are lower fat and sugar and higher fiber and protein versions of your favs. They don't elimate the bad things, but they do limit it and work in more whole grains and veggies then I normally do in my cooking.

As for the other reviewers comment about the grapes on page 82 - I can see how she got confused, but they actually say: "...;a slice of whole wheat bread, an ounce of cheddar cheese, and a half cup of grapes equals 200 calories." They are talking about how to get the most variety of vitamins in your snacks.

Many who buy this book may find the info rather simplistic, which it is. Eat a variety of highly nutritious foods. But, buy it for the recipes.

Excellent book to become familiar with eating habits during pregnancy. Most of the time, I eat healthy enough, but this gave me the opportunity to see what I might be missing and how it would effect the health and development of my growing child. Highly recommended, as are all of the "What to expect" books.

I wish I would have had this during my first pregnancy. I had asked all of my health care professionals what I should eat and how I should take care of myself during that crucial time, but the standard reply was always, "Eat healthy and exercise." This book defines what eating healthy and taking care of yourself during pregnancy involves. It includes tips on weight gain, pre-pregnancy and postpartum nutrition, information on low carb and vegetarian diets as well as family-friendly recipes.

This book is NOT written by doctors, and my OBGYN (considered one of the best in my county) strongly disagrees with a lot of stuff in the book. I also have found research that counters some of what they say.

My OBGYN was absolutely enraged at the book's allegation that pregnant women who have food allergy family histories should not eat peanuts or peanut butter. There is no medical validity to that claim--the peanut butter is not going to harm your baby, and there is no medical evidence to suggest that it will give the baby allergies.

Also, the book talks a lot about how you should eat flaxseed liberally, when in fact there are studies that show too much flaxseed can interrupt the growth of the fetus. While the book does say you should consume DHA, it barely mentions EPA (equally important). Also, it does the SERIOUS disservice of not explaining that the true and purest form of DHA/EPA is in algae--NOT fish. Seafood itself has no DHA/EPA--the fish get it from the algae they eat. There are companies like V-Pure (whose supplements I purchase) that grow their own organic algae outside of the ocean (so free from ocean contamination).

So pregnant women like me who wish to avoid seafood because of mercury DO have an option. However, the book just makes it sound like seafood is the only way to get DHA/EPA. Not true.

In the section discussing Selenium, the book states that Brazil Nuts are a "whopping" supplier--they do not tell you that one brazil nut contains 200 mg of selenium (the book correctly states you need 60 mg per day when you're pregnant) and that eating too many brazil nuts can lead to selenium toxicity--well, the average woman would not think that eating 3-4 brazil nuts a day could be harmful--but it could be.

The book also recommends DHA fortified bars and snacks which contain Life's DHA, a product by a company called Martek. However, it does not mention that the Cornucopia Foundation released a study showing that Martek extracts Life's DHA using a NEUROTOXIN called Hexane, and that severe illness and diarrhea has been diagnosed in some babies who consume formula and products with Life's DHA. I say "no thanks" to consuming that while I'm pregnant.