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Expert Q&A

	By Allison Gamble Nutritionist/Diet Technician Highland Park Hospital, Illinois

What are the most healthy and nutritional snacks you can eat when you're pregnant to boost your energy, instead of depending on caffeine?

Snacks are wonderful! They help carry you over to your next meal and keep you out of midday slumps. They also provide the additional calories you need during your second and third trimesters. (Keep in mind you only need an additional 300 calories in the second and third trimesters.)

You should be sticking to vegetables, fruits, dairy and grains for your snacks. Why not carry a yogurt and a bagel with you? Graham crackers, popcorn, pretzels, a piece of fresh bread, there are a million things to depend on instead of caffiene. I think there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to getting energy. The only way to get energy is through calories. Vitamins and minerals don't have calories and therefore, do not provide energy. When I was tired and lacking energy I was always told to take vitamins. For years I believed that vitamins were a source of energy until my teacher broke the news a couple years ago. It's too bad, because those chewable vitamins taste really good too!

I am a cereal fanatic. When I am home and am looking for a good snack, I almost always reach for a bowl of cereal. I used to get yelled at by my mom, because to her, "cereal is a breakfast food!" Not anymore!

Another option is a fruit smoothie. All you need is a blender or a food processor. I found a recipe that I think is easy:

1/2 cup yogurt, plain or flavored. (You may also substitute milk.)
1 cup fruit juice
1/2 cup to 1 cup fruit (fresh, frozen or canned)

Combine them in your blender and then blend until smooth.

You get approximately 250 calories with 80 percent of the calories coming from carbohydrates, 10 percent from protein, and 10 percent from fat. You can do a million Combinations: Strawberry-banana, strawberry-kiwi, pineapple-strawberry-mango-kiwi, etc. The options are endless!

One of the aspects that I love about my field is cooking. I have had such fun learning how to cook! My family loves it too, because they get to be my taste testers. So dive into your cookbooks for ideas, get creative and have fun!

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