What I Eat In A Day (Vegan Pregnancy Edition)

I'm sure everyone is wondering one of those age old questions we vegans get frequently, "But where do you get your protein??" And in answer, pre-pregnancy, that wasn't a concern at all. My midwife told me that pregnant women need 75-100 grams of protein everyday, though, and no lie, that was scary to me. The high end of that is almost double my normal protein intake. Luckily, she said getting 75 grams a day is fine, so that has been my goal. I have since taken a week to track my protein intake, and it actually hasn't been as daunting as I thought it would be!

I tracked from January 18-25, and my numbers were 85g, 75g, 91.5g, 83g, 77g, 77g, 75g, and 98g. So I'm averaging about 82.5 grams a day. On to a million food pics to explain how I did it!

Breakfast
For breakfast, I usually have this smoothie: one cup of soy milk (8g), one banana (1g), two tablespoons of peanut butter (7g), sevenish frozen strawberries (0g), and one scoop of protein powder (20g). Sometimes I'll also add in flax or chia seeds which can add another 3-5g, but normally, this smoothie has me at 36g of protein! If I want a hot breakfast instead, I'll do oatmeal: 3/4 a cup of oats (7g), a cup of soy milk (8g), two tablespoons of peanut butter (7g), two tablespoons of whole flax seed (4g), and two tablespoons of chocolate chips (2g). Plus a banana which has 1g. That gives me 29g. One thing to look out for if you are going to be using a protein powder is if you are also taking a prenatal vitamin, you need to pick a protein with very little vitamin A. You don't want to get too much as it causes birth defects.

36g

29g

Yay, no vitamin A!

I've tried chocolate and vanilla. They're both fantastic.

 Lunch/Dinner
I pretty much do the same types of meals for lunch and dinner. Almost always I have a home cooked meal/leftovers for one and then a fake meat meal for the other. I didn't really crave fake meats much pre-pregnancy, but I have definitely been craving them a lot now which is what really helps me meet my protein goals. If you follow me on Instagram, these may look familiar. For the nachos: chips (8g), Minimalist Baker's queso (7g), black beans (10g), sauteed green bell peppers and red onions (2g), guacamole (.5g), and salsa (1.5g). For eggplant marinara: pasta (16g), marinara sauce (4g), beefy crumbles (13g), eggplant (1g), and green beans (1g). For cheesy pasta: pasta (16g), soy milk (2g), and nooch (8g). I have also made this pasta with Gardein chick'n strips which would add another 14g. I love the Boca burgers. I eat two at a time. My favorite way to eat them is with Just Mayo, ketchup, mustard (I know, I love condiments), spinach, bread and butter pickles, tomatoes, red onion, and avocado. For the burgers: patties (26g), buns (8g), and all the toppings (2g). Lastly, something I love to get as a treat is those Gardein pizza pockets. I eat two at a time so it's not the cheapest, but they are so delicious! Only 18g of protein for two, though.

30g

35g

26g

14g

18g

36g

Snacks
When it comes to snacking, I didn't really start being hungry enough to snack until this week. I really love sweets. It's kind of a problem. But I try to limit all my fruit intake to breakfast since I'm only supposed to be having 1-2 servings of fruit through this pregnancy. Instead, I try to make different snacks like cinnamon toast (6g), or I'll eat a bagel (8g) or bowl of cereal: two cups of cereal (12g), one cup of soy milk (8g). For the cinnamon toast and the bagel, if I know I've had a low protein day, I'll beef them up a little by adding peanut butter which adds 7g making them 13g and 15g respectively. Occasionally, I'll snack on chips and salsa (5g) or hummus and crackers/veggies (5-8g). (Neither of those are pictured)

6g as pictured

8g as pictured

20g

And that's that! Some days I do better than others, but so long as I'm averaging where I need to be, I'm not worried. What are your favorite go-to snacks? Any one else tackled a tricky diet through pregnancy? Any other vegans out there got some yummy recommendations?