5 HEALTHIEST BREAKFASTS DURING PREGNANCY

I must admit, I was never much of a breakfast person. One reason being that I love to work out first thing in the morning, and eating a full meal prior to hitting the gym makes me feel a bit sick. I used to just grab a banana or an apple, and have another light snack after my workout. There is nothing wrong with that, I am more of a grazer than a sit down for 3 meals kind of eater, but now that I am (very) pregnant, my eating habits have definitely changed! 

Unfortunately I have not been allowed to work out as much as I had envisioned, as being pregnant with twins, and being quite tiny to begin with, is considered a high risk pregnancy. Twins don't like to stay in too long, and any stress on the body can invite them out! When I first found out I was expecting - and no I didn't know it was twins at the very beginning - I was hitting the gym and doing yoga every day. Once morning sickness struck, I didn't leave my couch for over 2 months. I took long walks here and there, but being that I was barely eating, exercise was definitely no longer a part of my daily routine. Now that I am well into my second trimester, with one complication after the next, my dreams of swimming and doing any type of pregnancy safe cardio have remained dreams! I've been doing some Ballet Beautiful Baby - which I LOVE - I have been doing the regular workouts for a few years now, and I love that there are a few hours worth of ballet exercises for pregnant women. I bought the DVD's a while back, and have happily been using them. They put no stress on the body, and some of the workouts require nothing but sitting on the floor and using your own body weight or 1lb weights. When I feel ok, I do about 45 minutes of pre-natal yoga - but I have learned never to push myself. If I wake up feeling its not a good day to exercise, I don't. If I can, I do. Always consult with your doctor before starting any type of exercise routine during your pregnancy, and never start anything you have never done before. 

Back to the point of this post. The importance of eating protein and calcium every day is crucial, as are basically all other vitamins and minerals, but these two, the most. Since I am expecting two, I need a bit more than just being pregnant with one, and eating meat several times a day just won't cut it for me. Especially not for breakfast! I won't discuss the first trimester, because as you know it was a disaster for me, and all I consumed was toast and tangerines. The second and third trimesters, when your baby actually starts looking like a tiny human and is rapidly developing, you need to focus on your protein and calcium intake. If you don't, they start depleting your body of the calcium that you need for your own bone health! You don't want that to happen! Pregnant women need about 71g of protein per day, which sounds like a lot, and it is, but there are easy ways to reach that number!

1. EGGS - 1 large hardboiled egg has 6.3g of protein. 

Suggestion: 1-2 hardboiled eggs (remember, it has to be fully cooked!), omelette, or my favorite, mashed avocado and egg toast. Avocado contains about 2g of protein, so there you have over 8g, just for breakfast! 

2. PROTEIN SMOOTHIE - 4 tbsp of hemp protein powder contains 12g of protein

Suggestion: Green power smoothie - 1 banana (1g), hemp powder (12g), 1 cup spinach (1g), 1 cup kale (2g), 1/2 cup blueberries (1/2g), 2 tbsp peanut butter (8g) = 24.5g protein!

3. GREEK YOGURT BOWL - 0% has 18g of protein; 2% has 20g protein

Suggestion: mix Greek yogurt with raw honey, hemp seeds, chia seeds and fresh fruit

4. OATMEAL - 1/3 cup oats has 4g protein

Suggestion: cook oats with water or almond milk and add honey, hemp seeds (1oz = 10g), chia seeds (1oz = 4.7g), 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup raspberries and 2 tbsp almond butter or peanut butter.

* oats are also full of gut healthy fiber - which pregnant women need a lot of!

5. BANANA PALEO PANCAKES - 1 banana (1g), 2 eggs (12g)

Suggestion: mash the banana and whisk with the eggs. Melt 1 tsp coconut oil in a pan and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes. Top with fresh fruit, almond or peanut butter, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, hemp seeds or honey!