Bread during pregnancy: notes from a baker

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I wanted to write a quick post on eating bread during pregnancy. With bread playing such a big role in my daily food routine, and at 25 weeks pregnant, a special post devoted to this feels appropriate 🙂

Here are my general tips around bread during pregnancy

  • According to the NHS UK; “starchy foods (carbohydrates) – including bread – should make up just over a third of the food you eat.”
  • However, try to limit or cut out white bread (and other ‘white carbs’ such as white rice or pasta) during pregnancy as much as possible.
  • Instead, opt for brown / wholegrain / multigrain breads, brown rice and wholemeal pasta.
  • If you are prone to snacking on sweets, incorporate some dried fruit into your loaf of bread instead. This date and nut loaf for example makes for a delicious breakfast bread or afternoon snack.
  • Adding nuts to your bread dough will add some much-needed protein into your diet too and, in general, I recommend to add seeds (e.g. sesame seeds are a good source of calcium) and extra wheat bran (for added fibre) to any bread you bake.
Healthy whole grain bread
Healthy whole grain bread

The best bread during pregnancy?

If you are looking to start baking your own bread during pregnancy or if you are looking to bake healthier loaves during pregnancy, take a look at this post on healthy bread from earlier this year.

Wholemeal sourdough pita bread pocket
Wholemeal sourdough pita bread pocket

There is good dietary advice on the NHS (UK) website and a lot of this can easily be put into practice with your daily choice of bread.

Here are my recipe tips:

  • Try this wholemeal pita bread recipe and pair it with homemade hummus, carrot and celery sticks if you fancy a savoury snack.
  • This Greek pastry snack with folate-rich spinach and feta cheese also ticks a few of the recommended dietary boxes.
  • Crispbread can be a life saver in the first three months of feeling nauseous and queasy; I found it really easy to eat during the tricky first trimester.
  • And if you are following a ‘eat little and often’ pregnancy routine, this oatcakes recipe is ideal.

All the best!

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