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Home › Articles › Eating For Two › The Pregnancy Pantry

The Pregnancy Pantry

Get Healthy by Taking Stock

By Kelly Burgess

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After Josh Janicek of Austin, Texas, found out his wife, Elise, was pregnant with their first child, he posted on his blog that he was looking for ideas for healthy meals. Janicek loves to cook and sees fixing nutritious meals for his pregnant wife as a way for him to be actively involved in the pregnancy.

"We've become very cognizant of what we eat since finding out that Elise is pregnant," says Janicek. "Luckily we were both raised by families who emphasized cooking balanced meals at home. Elise usually comes home to a nice dinner at night. I don't go all out every time, but throwing something together that tastes good and is healthy isn't hard or too time consuming."

A Healthy Start
Dr. Hope Ricciotti would agree. Her philosophy has always been this: Don't diet; learn to cook. That goes double for the pregnant woman. In other words, healthy, nourishing meals are only as far away as your own cupboards.

Dr. Ricciotti, an OB/GYN at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Mass., and author of The Pregnancy Cookbook (W. W. Norton & Company, 2002), says the greatest thing about pregnancy is it's a time when women are willing to make important lifestyle changes.

"It's not just healthy eating for pregnancy," says Dr. Ricciotti. "Women also recognize that their whole life is about to change and they'll have a different level of responsibility. This makes them want to understand more about healthy living and to get more organized and efficient and learn to cook and equip their kitchens."

To start, for those who don't have a lot of experience cooking, the best first piece of equipment is a couple of good cookbooks. Janicek uses a variety of cookbooks, including Weight Watchers, even though he and his wife aren't dieting, simply because of their emphasis on healthy, low-fat dinners. He also frequently uses the Internet for healthy meal ideas and to search for recipes with a specific ingredient. The Internet is also a great resource for beginning cooks to search for help on cooking techniques and tips.


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