Easy Healthy Pregnancy Snacks

Easy healthy pregnancy snacks we can grab on the go are a lifeline as our baby bumps grow.

Healthy snacks can stave off nausea and morning sickness when we’re struggling to keep anything down in the first trimester. And give us the energy just to keep going when we’re tired and big in the third trimester with barely space to eat anything without feeling full.

Simple pregnancy snacks can also help massively with a healthy gestational diet that’s good for us and baby if we’re struggling with something like gestational diabetes or polyhydramnios.

And healthy snacks, I discovered, CAN also help massively with our newborn’s breastfeeding, sleep and even colic. Basically the more we can do to cut down on the sugar in the last few months of pregnancy the better.

So I’ve got a big list for you of really simple, easy health pregnancy snacks – including high protein, low carb and anti-nausea snacks – you can grab on the go when you’re at work, chasing a toddler or in need of a late night, midnight treat.

I do hope they give you a boost all the way through your pregnancy. Do save them for quick reference later.

And for more simple pregnancy tips follow me on Pinterest and check out my other simple pregnancy & baby tips. And if you haven’t found the perfect name for your baby yet, do check out these lists of gorgeously unique & unusual baby names for girls & boys.

50 Healthy Easy Pregnancy Snacks On The Go

1. Anti Nausea Snacks For First Trimester

For lots of us the best pregnancy snacks are the simplest ones in our first trimester as nausea and our massively strong sense of smell puts us off almost everything else.

So I’ve got a load of simple pregnancy snacks for you here plus some including traditional anti-nausea ingredients like lemon and ginger plus B6 rich food that can really help with morning sickness.

Very Simple Carbs

Lots of us have all sorts of issues with carbs but there are times when they are the only thing we can keep down. These simple carb snacks are much healthier than most :

Plain oat cakes.
Plain crackers.
Wholemeal, wholegrain toast – bread has got itself a bad name but good quality wholegrain bread is really healthy and filling and will keep you going if you can’t keep much down.
Baked potato – again this is not low carb but really good for nausea and with this clever trick you can massively lower the GI : cook it one day, let it cool in the fridge and then heat it from cold.
Sweet potato crisps – plain crisps (chips to you American) are good for all kinds of nausea, not just the pregnancy variety, but sweet potato ones are typically healthier than ordinary potato ones.

Frozen Berries

This sounds crazy but sucking on something can help loads with nausea and sucking on yummy frozen fruit is not only much healthier that sugary sweets but may actually be more effective :

Frozen raspberries
Frozen blueberries
Frozen grapes – again bizarrely soothing.
Frozen peas – sucking on a pea doesn’t sound like a great snack but trust me, they’re yummy, soothing & rich in essential folic acid.
Red pepper sticks – they are rich in B6 and great either raw or frozen.

Super Simple Protein

It can be hard in the first trimester when we’re struggling with nausea to keep up our protein levels but these are all very simple, gentle ways to get a boost with almost no effort :

Cottage cheese – is a great protein rich combo with any of the simple carbs above.
A very fresh hard boiled egg – they are very healthy but if you have a really sensitive nose in the first trimester you might not be able to handle unless its very fresh.
Tuna & rice – both B6 rich.

Cold Meat

Good quality slices of cold meat stored properly are another great simple way to get protein :

Cold turkey slices – B6 rich, if you buy them ready cooked you won’t have to cope with the smell from cooking which can be a big nausea trigger. If you’re struggling to eat a proper meal or keep food down, eating small cold meat snacks during the day can be a great way to keep up protein, iron and energy levels.
Cold chicken slices – as above.

Nuts

We’ve all got a bit nervous of eating nuts during pregnancy because of the rise in nut allergies but unless you’ve got a nut allergy yourself they are safe to eat in pregnancy and are rich in B6, B12 and magnesium that can help us sleep well :

Almonds –
Cashews – these are little power houses of B6 rich energy that will stop you grabbing the cookies!!
Brazil nuts – another B6 rich energy source that can help with nausea and also full of selenium that can help with anxiety.

Pregnancy Nausea Teas

Drinking anti nausea tea can help us keep down other pregnancy snacks if we’ve got morning sickness:

Ginger tea
Lemon tea
Peppermint tea
Chamomile tea

If you are really not a tea sipper try sparkling water with lemon slices in it as both the lemon & the sparkles help with nausea.

Pregnancy Nausea Cookies

Ginger cookies – try & find a low sugar brand if you can or make your own.
Lemon cookies – as above.

For more tips to help with morning sickness do check out this big guide to pregnancy nausea remedies.

2. High Protein & Low Carb Snacks

More and more us are suffering from gestational diabetes during pregnancy as the basic carb and sugar level in our diets is now so high. Even if we’re not, it makes sense to follow a healthy low GI gestational diet that is much lower in sugar but is filling and keeps up our energy levels up.

Obviously, one way to do this is to look for easy high protein and low carb snacks and I’ve got a big list of them for you here. But it is also good to look out for low GI carb snacks as carbs are not all bad and actually have an important role for most of us in a balanced gestational diet.

I’ve also included in this list some gut friendly, low carb and low GI healthy pregnancy snacks that help with the dreaded final trimester constipation!!!

Super Fruits

Raspberries – full of great immune boosting antioxidants but also fibre rich so help to keep things moving gently & a good source of iron!
Apples – they’re low GI, good for our gut and again help to keep everything regular and moving down below!!
Dried apricots – rich in iron & low GI.
Dried prunes – not everyone’s favourite but they do help with dreaded constipation and are good, healthy energy boosters.
Cherries – are scrumptious AND very low GI.

Nuts & Seeds

Peanut butter.
Sunflower seeds – they’re tiny power houses of goodness that can help reduce sugar cravings.
Pumpkin seeds – as above.
Flax seeds – now you may never have eaten these before but its worth getting into them now as they are protein rich energy boosters and really can help with low milk supply when you’re breastfeeding. Chuck them in anything you’re baking and in smoothies, porridge and yoghurt (see bottom).
Chia seeds – another good sauce of protein you can combine with almost any other snack on this list to make them even more filling and healthy.
Walnuts – packed with goodness they really can help us from mindlessly eating a whole packet of cookies.
Pistachios – ditto and rich in energy boosting iron when we’re beyond exhausted.
Trail mix – throw nuts and seeds and dried fruit in a bowl and munch in front of the TV with your feet up. It’s mindless eating but it’s healthy mindless eating and when we’re almost full term that may be all we’re up to!!

Delicious Dairy

Glass of full fat milk.
Slices of cheddar – avoid blue or unpasteurised cheese.
A bowl of porridge – if you’re too tired to cook anything, make yourself a bowl of porridge oats with cold milk and chuck in a mixture of fruit, nuts and seeds from the rest of the list. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s filling and a must know pick-me-up when you’re breastfeeding.
Yoghurt – as with the porridge just grab a big bowl of rich, natural, sugar free yoghurt and chuck loads of the healthy stuff from this list onto it. Again it will help with breastfeeding and sleep.

Quick Fish

Cod bites – fish is a great healthy source of protein but can seem like too much faff to cook when you’re pregnant & exhausted but get hold of some grown up fish fingers for the freezer and all you’ve got to do is defrost them, pop them under the grill and dip in yoghurt for a yummy, filling, protein rich snack.
Salmon fillets – again super easy to cook, shove under the grill or in the oven with a blob of butter for an anytime snack when you’re just unbelievably hungry.

Good Carbs

Spelt bread – I know bread isn’t usually thought of as low carb but spelt is much lower GI than even wholemeal bread.
Homemade rice cakes – OK so at some point in baby’s first year you’re going to discover rice cakes, the must know healthy snack for older babies. Most of the bought brands are truly disgusting, cost a fortune and are not really that healthy, so learn how to make your own rice cakes now with this simple fab recipe. And have them as a really protein rich snack with a glass of milk and some cheese.
Hummus – protein rich and gut friendly and great with oat cakes, sugar free crackers and cut vegetables.
Roast chick peas.
Mashed avocado.
Avocado & cucumber smoothie – this might not sound the best but if you’re struggling with constipation, tummy ache and heartburn, the stomach soothing smoothie in this list is amazing!

And there you go, 50 super easy, healthy pregnancy snacks that will ease nausea and morning sickness in the first trimester and help you stick to a low carb, protein rich, energy boosting, gestational diet all the way through pregnancy. I do hope they help.

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