Healthy pregnancy snacks we can grab easily on the go truly are a lifeline as our baby bump grows.
Quick healthy snacks can stave off pregnancy nausea in the first trimester and boost energy when we're big and tired in the third.
The right healthy pregnancy snacks can also boost our nutrition going into labour which can in fact help with our newborn's breastfeeding and sleep and even with baby colic!
So I have here a big list of grab-and-go healthy pregnancy snacks including easy snack ideas for :
- 1st Trimester Morning Sickness
- 3rd Trimester Fatigue
- Stashing In The Freezer
I do hope these snack ideas help. Let me know what works best for you.
And do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
This is not medical advice. Contact your doctor for any concerns during pregnancy.
Table of Contents
Anti Nausea Snacks For Pregnancy First Trimester
The best pregnancy snacks in our first trimester are super simple as nausea and our strong sense of smell puts us off anything else.
But nutritionally we still need key minerals like B12, iron & magnesium PLUS plenty of protein for us & baby.
Food rich in vitamin B6 can also help ease morning sickness symptoms.
So stock up on these nutrient rich, anti-nausea snack ideas :
- Very Plain Carbs
- Frozen Berries
- Cold Meat
- Super Simple Protein
- Nutrient Rich Nuts
- Pregnancy Nausea Tea
- Pregnancy Nausea Cookies
Very Plain Carbs
Many of us have saturated ourselves with carbs causing blood-sugar issues. But if we have pregnancy nausea in the first trimester they may be all we can keep down :
- Plain oat cakes
- Plain crackers
- Wholemeal, wholegrain toast
- Spelt bread - lower GI
- Sweet potato crisps - lower GI
- Pretzels - you can make your own pretzel bites to flash freeze
- English muffin - less nausea inducing than other bread
- Baked potato - chill it in fridge after cooking then reheat or eat cold to lower GI impact
- Rice crackers - are a handy kids snack so practice making now:
Do check ingredients and avoid stuff with added sugar or artificial ingredients as both inflammatory.
Seek medical advice if you can't keep food down at all. You may have hyperemesis gravidarum like Kate Middleton.
Frozen Berries
Sucking something relieves nausea but frozen fruit are a healthier option than anti-nausea sweets :
Buy bags of mixed berries with e.g. :
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Strawberries.
Or flash freeze garden raspberries and foraged wild blackberries.
Other great nausea relieving snacks to keep handy in the freezer are :
- Grapes
- Peas - which are rich in folic acid
- Red pepper sticks - rich in B6.
Cold Meat
It is easy to end up deficient in protein, iron and B12 during pregnancy if we don't eat meat.
But eating just cooked meat in the first trimester can be challenging!!
So good quality slices of cold meat can be a healthy snack option :
- Beef - a nutrition power house
- Turkey - rich in anti-nausea B6
- Chicken - not as good for iron but sill nutritionally valuable
- Ham - you can freeze cooked to add protein to green soup.
Cold meat is more nutritious sliced off a roast joint than in packets with sugar, weird additives and the risk of listeria. Make sure meat is cooked well - not rare - and stored safely.
Super Simple Protein
Other super simple options for protein rich snacks when feeling nauseous in the first trimester are :
- Cottage cheese - with crackers
- Hard boiled egg - very fresh eggs are less likely to trigger nausea
- Tuna & rice - both are B6 rich
- Hummus with vegetable sticks
- Mashed avocado & egg on toast or with B6 rich red pepper sticks
- Roast chick peas - very easy to make your own roast chick peas :
Nuts
Nut allergies have made us nervous of eating nuts but if you don't have a nut allergy they are safe to eat in pregnancy and are rich in B6, B12 & magnesium for better sleep :
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Brazil nuts.
Pregnancy Nausea Teas
Drinking anti nausea tea can help us keep down other pregnancy snacks if we’ve got morning sickness:
- Ginger
- Lemon
- Peppermint
- Chamomile
You don't need to fork out for fancy pregnancy teas, make your own from from the kitchen cupboard.
If you are not a tea sipper, chill the tea and then combine with sparkling water which also helps with nausea.
Pregnancy Nausea Cookies
High blood sugar in pregnancy can lead to both polyhydramnios and gestational diabetes so we do need to keep an eye on the carbs.
But homemade ginger or lemon cookies can be a healthier option.
Ginger Anti Nausea Cookies
These ginger cookies are made with almond flour, honey and coconut sugar so gentler on the stomach than those made with all-purpose flour ...
Lemon Anti Nausea Cookies
These lemon cookies are made with almond and coconut flour so again gentler on the stomach in the first trimester of pregnancy. If you are cutting right back on sugar you could skip the glaze without losing out on the delicious lemon flavour ...
For more tips to help with morning sickness do check out this big guide to pregnancy nausea remedies.
2. Nutritious High Protein, Low Carb Pregnancy Snacks
We may not need to eat for two in pregnancy but we do need to keep our energy up as baby & bump grow.
So healthy pregnancy snacks that boost energy without sending blood sugar sky high are super valuable in 2nd & 3rd trimesters.
Ideally these snacks also need to :
- Deliver key nutrients
- See off constipation
- Ease inflammation.
And luckily there are a whole load of quick and easy pregnancy snacks that do just that including :
- Simple Keto Snacks
- Super Fruits
- Nuts & Seeds
- Delicious Dairy
- Quick Fish
Simple Keto Snacks
You don't have to be fully signed up to a keto diet to enjoy the low carb energy boosting benefit of these quick Keto snacks including delicious :
Super Fruits
Fruit make great snacks as it is :
- Full of vitamins & antioxidants
- And fibre rich to ease constipation.
But most fruit is high in sugars so try these for a low GI option :
- Raspberries
- Apples
- Dried apricots
- Dried prunes
- Cherries.
Most fruit is also acidic and triggers acid reflux so if you suffer with heartburn try these low acid fruit.
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds make great healthy pregnancy snacks as they are :
Stock up on a range of these to make trail mix or add to other snacks :
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Walnuts
- Pistachios
Nut butters are a great quick protein-rich option with crackers and you don't need to stick to peanut butter as it is now easy to buy :
- Almond Butter
- Cashew Butter
- Hazelnut Butter.
Delicious Dairy
Many of us have ditched dairy but full fat milk from pasture fed cows is :
- Nutrient rich
- Helps us absorb key nutrients
- Balances hormones
- And keeps us full.
So if you enjoy milk combine your other snacks with one of these :
- Glass of full fat milk
- Slices of cheddar
- Natural yoghurt - make sure it has no sugar or additives.
Do remember to avoid blue or unpasteurised cheese.
For a quick pick-me-up pregnancy snack when you're exhausted in the 3rd trimester nothing beats a big bowl of porridge with :
- Full fat milk
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Frozen berries
- Topped with honey or cream!!
A big bowl of porridge is also a real winner when you are breastfeeding.
Quick Fish
Fish is a great easy to digest source of protein and important fats BUT the smell can trigger pregnancy nausea in the first trimester.
Simple no faff options which minimise nausea triggers are :
- Salmon fillets - just shove in oven for 20 minutes at 350f as is.
- Cod fillets - as above, plain mash will help your stomach handle it.
Another great option is to get in the habit of making fish bites for the freezer. They are great kids food :
- Salmon bites - you can bake or air fry these quick salmon nuggets
- Cod fingers - or make your own super healthy fish fingers.
Healthy Pregnancy Snacks For The Freezer
There are all sorts of delicious low-carb, protein-rich pregnancy snacks you can make easily for the freezer from no bake energy bites to :
- Black bean brownies
- Frozen yoghurt berry bites
- Protein popsicles
- Pregnancy muffins
Many of these are also a great freezer stash for when you're breastfeeding and again need energy boosting snacks you can grab and go.
Black Bean Brownies
These black bean brownies are chocolatey but otherwise low GI and protein and fibre rich ...
Frozen Yoghurt Berry Bites
These berry bites make gorgeously delicious healthy freezer treats ...
Protein Popsicles
If you are pregnant over summer protein rich popsicles make a cool, energy boosting pregnancy snack.
This very simple recipe is just yoghurt and berries ...
Whilst these breakfast popsicles have added granola ...
And these pregnancy popsicles have granola with coconut and mango ...
Pregnancy Muffins
Muffins are easy to make and make healthy so again are great snacks to stash in the freezer when pregnant and then when breastfeeding.
These blueberry muffins are packed with oats & yoghurt but sugar free ...
Whilst these oat muffins are full of energy boosting bananas and flaxseed ....
And there you go over 50 super easy, healthy pregnancy snacks to ease nausea in the first trimester and boost energy - without sugar spikes - all the way through pregnancy.
Do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
And for more simple tips explore my other pregnancy & baby tips posts and follow me on Pinterest.
Original image sources : Pregnant woman by Raw Pixel and Fresh Blueberries above white background with copy space, Green grape by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0
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