5 great snacking ideas for pregnant women:
Pregnant women are often advised to eat frequently and in small portions in order to keep their blood sugar levels nearly constant. The same advice is true for diabetic women as well. Here are some quick, easy snacks which even busy women will find easy to grab….
1) Raw fruits and vegetables like carrot sticks, cucumber, sweet potato (shakargandi), watermelon, apples, pears etc make for great snacks. You can make a salad or fruit chaat and make it tangy with some lemon juice. Make sure that they are nicely washed before consumption. Occasionally sprouted lentils (dal) can be added in the salad. Keep the raw material handy in your refrigerators all the time.
2) Dairy products like yogurt (curd) and skimmed milk are excellent sources of calcium. You can mix a bowl of yogurt with some nuts and fruits to make a healthy snack. It can also be churned in a blender with some fruits and honey to make a smoothie or frozen into an ice-cream which can be stored in the refrigerator and consumed when you come back from office.
For those who are fond of milk, it can be taken warm and mixed with nuts or protein mix to form a shake. One can take it cold and mixed with mango or cheeku pulp to make a cool shake.
If you like to eat Cheese (Paneer), it can be simply sautéed with green veggies like capsicum or grilled and eaten after sprinkling with some fruit salt. Paneer should never be eaten raw because of a possible salmonella infection.
3) Eggs are universal favourites for snacks. It can be taken in many ways. You can have it boiled, omelettes, add in salad with some mustard seeds and lettuce leaves or make French toasts for a change in flavour. One egg contains only 70 calories on an average and keeps you full for a long time.
4) Soups are easy to make and store so that they can be consumed even when you are in a hurry. One can add extra garlic and ginger for more antioxidant properties if the flavours permit.
5) Popcorns, oats (daliya) with a green tea as a drink would make you feel full for a long time while giving you enough fibre and other nutrients.