Easy Healthy Pregnancy Snacks

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.

This is not medical advice. Contact your doctor for any concerns during pregnancy.

Table of Contents

Anti Nausea Snacks For Pregnancy First Trimester

Anti Nausea Pregnancy Snacks For 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

Anti Nausea Pregnancy Snacks - Ginger 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

Lemon Anti Nausea Cookies

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

Healthy Pregnancy Snacks That Are High Protein & Low Carb

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 :

Super Fruits
Nuts & Seeds
Delicious Dairy
Quick Fish

Super Fruits

Low GI Healthy Pregnancy Snacks - Cherries

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 :

Protein rich
High in iron & magnesium
Full of great fats.

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 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.

For more simple pregnancy & baby tips explore my other posts: