Throughout the nine months of the pregnancy the body needs more protein, vitamins and minerals than before, something which may be easily achieved by eating a varied diet.

 

It is recommended that you eat breakfast, have a mid-morning snack, have lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, without eating in between meals. But do not go too long without eating, because hypoglycaemias will occur, that is, drops in the blood sugar levels.

 

It has often been said that breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and this continues to apply throughout pregnancy. This first meal can begin with a piece of fruit or a fruit juice. It is recommended that you eat fruit whole, with the skin on and preferably on its own and not mixed with other foods. This could be followed by a coffee with semi-skimmed milk, or milk alone if you prefer, and then choose between wholewheat biscuits, brown toast with butter and a little jam, or some homemade pastries.

 

At lunch time, vegetable, fish and lean meat dishes are recommended whilst avoiding animal fat as much as possible. Some recommended recipes are different kinds of salads: with vegetables, fruit-based and mixed with mozzarella cheese, or if you prefer with strips of lettuce, onion and mushrooms with small strips of roast chicken breast on top.

 

Other options are rice with mushrooms, vegetable and pulse stews such as chickpea stew, any kind of pasta, particularly that made with wholemeal flour and cooked with fresh tomato sauce and parmesan cheese, served with green salad, spinach with b�chamel sauce or Swiss chard stuffed with meat.

 

In order to make the latter, you separate the green parts from the stalk and put them to one side, whilst you wash the stalks thoroughly and boil them in salted water. Once they are cooked, they are drained and cut into large pieces. The leaves, together with several peeled potatoes, are boiled in salted water with a drop of oil. Once they are cooked, they are liquidised until you obtain a vegetable sauce.

 

Meanwhile, you saut� some sliced garlic and small pieces of chopped ham and add some mince. Season and add some chicken stock, tomato sauce and a little b�chamel sauce. Leave it to reduce and cool down and then arrange this filling between two leaves as if it were a sandwich. Dip them in flour and beaten egg and fry them in hot oil. When serving, place the vegetable sauce at the bottom of the dish with the stuffed leaves on top.

 

For afternoon tea, it is best to choose light foods which fill you up like curd cheese with honey, natural yogurt with dried fruit and nuts, brown toast with unripened cheese, cottage cheese with quince or a piece of fruit or some fruit salad.

 

At dinner time, since digestion is slower during pregnancy, it is preferable to eat smaller amounts. As well as salads, which are very refreshing and full of nutritious properties, you can choose between a vegetable soup or cold courgette, spinach and cheese soup. This is a very easy recipe containing lots of vitamins. The vegetables are boiled in a pan and once they are cooked some of the water is removed so that the soup is not too watery. Add a few portions of cheese, place everything in a blender in order to make the soup and season.

 

This recipe can also be made by adding Roquefort cheese, which gives it a stronger flavour. Other dinner suggestions are endives with unripened cheese, salmon and kiwi, baked trout with tomato, grilled anchovies with lettuce hearts and hake in a sauce.

 

You can also make some delicious chicken kebabs. You make a citrus marinade from fresh orange and lemon juice, a bit of chilli, a crushed clove of garlic, olive oil and salt. All of these ingredients are mixed together in a bowl and the marinade is left in the fridge until it is required.

 

Meanwhile, you take several large kebab skewers and alternate pieces of chicken with orange segments and chopped onion on each one.  Leave them to marinate for at least an hour and then grill them for between 5 and 8 minutes, drizzling them with the citrus marinade from time to time and then serve them.