Information for a healthy pregnancy and to prepare for a natural birth.

Sample Pregnancy Menus

You may be thinking good nutrition during pregnancy sounds good on paper, but will be too confusing or too much food to actually accustom yourself to eating. Its easier than you think.

You will just need to start thinking about the way you eat a little differently. Instead of planning for three larger meals every day, plan for 5 or 6 smaller meals. Don't think of eggs as just a breakfast food. Plan for snacks that go beyond chips or crackers.

If you need a little help, use the printable menu planner that allows you to check off each dietary need as you plan it into your day. Then as you eat your food, you can check it off the eaten side of the menu planner. This will make it easier to substitute foods when your plans change, or you encounter last minute problems.

Here are a few samples of a days meals using the Brewer Diet Plan. Please keep in mind that these are only examples based on the number of servings suggested by Dr. Brewer. Depending on your activity level and weight before pregnancy, you may need to eat more food that this. Dr. Brewer maintained that his diet was the minimum amount of food a pregnant woman should eat. Feel free to eat as much as your body needs.


Sample Menu 1 - Works great if you love to cook, or if you want to plan ahead.
Sample Menu 2 - This menu gives you some flexibility in how much work you would like to put into the preparation.
Sample Menu 3 - Basic menu with suggestions for those who don't like to cook.
Sample Menu 4 - This menu consists of items that are easy to take along or pick-up on the way for a busy day.
Sample Menu 5 - This menu consists of items that require very little cooking.

Be sure to check out the Menu Planning Helps and Making the Most of Your Shopping Trip. Find out how you can make your snacks count. With a few adjustments, you can be secure knowing that you and your baby are receiving the right balance of nutrition.

At this time there are no sample menus for a vegetarian diet. This is not due to the safety of a vegetarian diet but rather to the inexperience in the author at planning a diet with adequate protein using non-meat foods. It may take a little extra work for a vegetarian to eat well, but most vegetarians are more used to ensuring they are getting adequate nutrition than the general population anyway.

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You May Also Be Interested In:

Explore ways exercise in pregnancy can help you stay healthy.

Finding out how to tell if labor has started.

The Coach's Notebook helps you master comfort measures for labor.

The Natural Childbirth Directory can help you find more information about pregnancy and locate childbirth professionals.

Virtual Labor Game lets you practice your new labor skills.

© Copyright 2000-2007 Jennifer VanderLaan and Birthing Naturally


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Sample Menus
Sample Menu 1
Sample Menu 2
Sample Menu 3
Sample Menu 4
Sample Menu 5

Pregnancy Meal Planning
Quick Meals
Sample Menus
Shopping Helps
Healthy Snacking
Printable Meal Tracker
Printable Protein Sheet
Freezer Fast Food
Preparing Vegetables
Pregnant Pantry List

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Check out the other recipes in the Cook Book


Pregnancy Nutrition
Nutrition Basics
Common Concerns
Sample Menus
Pregnancy Cookbook

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