When you’re pregnant, you’ve got to pay careful attention to your nutrition to support your body’s changes and to help your baby develop healthily. Managing your energy levels becomes even more challenging, especially when juggling the demands of work. Skipping lunch is not an option during pregnancy, as it can compromise the intake of vital vitamins and minerals necessary for both you and your growing baby. Try these pregnancy work lunches packed with vital nutrients and superfoods!
How Can I Work Comfortably While Pregnant?
Each trimester can bring with it different challenges. In the first trimester, you may have to deal with morning sickness, which can make work uncomfortable. Keep crackers in your desk drawer as well as ginger tea to help reduce nausea.
As your body changes and your belly gets bigger, it’s important to alleviate back pain. A comfortable and supportive chair with good lumbar support can help with this.
“If you spend a lot of time sitting, be sure to stand up, stretch, and walk often. Sitting for long periods can cause your legs to ache, compromise your circulation and make you feel more tired than you do already,” advises What To Expect.
When you get closer to the end of your pregnancy, you may need to take more breaks. Chat with your employer and colleagues to express your needs.
Excessive stress is unhealthy during pregnancy, so plan your tasks as much as possible to avoid tight deadlines.
These tips are focused on more office-based jobs. If you work in a physically demanding industry or your job entails handling chemicals or being exposed to diseases, you may need to take early maternity leave or change jobs while pregnant. Chat with your healthcare provider about your job demands – they will advise you.
What Are 3 Kinds Of Food That A Pregnant Woman Should Eat?
Try to ensure your meals include these three things:
Protein
Protein is essential for building new tissues. Healthline highlights lean beef, pork, and chicken as excellent sources of protein for a pregnant woman as they’re also high in iron, “Iron is an essential mineral used by red blood cells as a part of hemoglobin. You’ll need more iron since your blood volume is increasing, and especially during your third trimester.”
Whole Grains
Complex carbohydrates are fantastic sources of energy to help battle pregnancy fatigue. Whole grains such as brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, barley, and bulgur work to maintain a healthy digestive system and avoid constipation (a common pregnancy concern).
Fruits And Vegetables
Try to incorporate a wide variety of fruits and veggies into your pregnancy meal plan in order to get a range of vitamins and minerals as well as fiber in your diet. “Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day – these can include fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced. Always wash fresh fruit and vegetables carefully,” says the NHS.
What Can I Take To Work For Lunch While Pregnant?
Pregnancy Sandwich Ideas
Turkey and Avocado
Turkey is a great source of protein and B vitamins. As it’s advised for pregnant women to avoid deli meats, opt for a turkey breast you can cook and slice for lunches.
Avocado is a pregnancy superfood! Not only is it a source of healthy fats to support energy production, but it also contains folate, magnesium, and potassium.
Layer whatever other veggies you like, such as grated carrot, lettuce, and cucumber.
Hummus and Roast Veggie
Chickpeas are a healthy vegetarian source of protein for pregnancy, and this legume contains iron, folate, and calcium, too.
Spread some hummus on bread and top with grilled veggies from the night before such as broccoli, peppers, and zucchini.
Grilled Chicken
Chicken is rich in choline, which plays an important role in your baby’s brain development. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises pregnant women to eat 450 mg of choline each day.
Cook extra chicken for dinner, and use it for your work lunch. Layer chicken, cheddar cheese, tomato slices, and lettuce on bread.
Tip: Swap out the bread for a tortilla and make a wrap!
Pregnancy Salad Ideas
Don’t skimp on the ingredients when making salads! Make large salads to ensure you’re properly satiated.
Quinoa Salad With Vegetables and Chickpeas
Quinoa is a healthy grain and well worth making a pantry staple, as it contains magnesium, potassium, iron, fiber, and folate.
Roast veggies such as butternut, potatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli to add to the quinoa, as well as some spiced chickpeas.
Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, or a tahini dressing.
Spinach, Feta, And Chicken
Leafy greens, such as spinach, deserve to feature prominently in your pregnancy diet!
“Spinach has high folate and iron levels, and kale and turnip greens are both excellent sources of calcium,” says Parents.
Feta is a pregnancy-safe cheese to eat, as long as it’s pasteurized.
You can include quinoa or bulgur to bulk up the salad and add a glug of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Steak And Broccoli
Broccoli is another super healthy pregnancy food! This veggie is full of antioxidants and fiber and is a good source of calcium and folate.
Along with steamed broccoli, add lettuce and rocket, along with cucumber and tomatoes.
Cook the steak completely before adding it to the salad – undercooked meat could be harmful to your baby.
Red meat contains iron, protein, and zinc, all important nutrients for a healthy pregnancy.
Tip: Top your salads with nuts and seeds to get extra nutrients!
Nutritious meals are just one part of having a healthy pregnancy and preparing your body to welcome your baby into the world. To mentally prepare for this next chapter, it’s important to gain insight into birth and the newborn period, too.
Knowing what to expect – including baby sleep training methods and breastfeeding tips – helps shift expectations and assists with your transition into parenthood. Learn as much, or as little, as you want, about labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period in the Birth Made Simple prenatal course. Sign up here!
