Snacks during pregnancy are an excellent opportunity for expectant mothers to include more nutrient-dense foods into their pregnancy diet. Snacks during pregnancy and always should also be appealing to the taste buds. But, it can be hard to find snacks that fit within these two categories, especially at the same time. Luckily, fruits are both delicious and nutritious and are among the healthiest and safest foods you can eat during pregnancy!
Just like in everyday life, consuming fruits during pregnancy has many benefits. They offer many essential nutrients to support the mom and the growing baby. Fruit can also help pregnant moms satisfy sweet cravings while providing a nutritious boost. And the best part is, even the pickiest eaters usually love at least some fruits. It’s easy to incorporate healthy fruit-based snacks into your pregnancy diet that you both enjoy eating and have tremendous benefits for you and your baby.
Let’s go over some different fruit-based snack ideas that are delicious and easy to add to your pregnancy diet!
10 Fruit Snacks During Pregnancy
Fresh fruit
One of the most accessible snacks to consume during pregnancy is fresh fruit. Think apples, oranges, sliced watermelon, grapes, mangos, bananas, and berries. Fresh fruit is an excellent choice during pregnancy because it is chock full of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that are good for both mom and baby.
Here are a few examples. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium that can help prevent muscle cramps. Watermelon is great for keeping expectant mothers hydrated. Oranges are full of folate, an essential nutrient for a baby’s development, and berries are rich in antioxidants and fiber. Always follow food safety guidelines and wash your fruits thoroughly before eating. It’s ideal to pair your fruit with a source of protein and healthy fat like cheese sticks, Greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, or nut butter to promote good blood sugar balance.
Dried fruit
Like fresh fruit, dried fruit can make a tasty addition to your pregnancy diet. Dried fruits like figs, apricots, raisins, dates, prunes, and cranberries are rich sources of iron, potassium, vitamin C, fiber, and many other essential nutrients. Also, dried fruits like prunes help prevent constipation. Dried fruits are a great addition to trail mix, and dates taste delicious and are stuffed with nut butter!
Keep in mind that dried fruits are a more concentrated source of carbohydrates. So, as with most foods consumed during pregnancy, be sure to consume dried fruits in moderation. It’s also ideal to choose dried fruit without added sugars or sweeteners.
Fruit leathers
Have you ever had a fruit roll-up? Fruit leathers are similar to fruit roll-ups, except they are 100% natural food ingredients. Fruit leathers usually contain just a few ingredients. And can help satisfy a craving for fruit roll-ups. Fruit leathers are delicious, chewy, dried fruit snacks made from pureed fruit.
The most common fruits found in fruit leathers include berries, peaches, dates, mangos, apples, pears, grapes, or any of these fruits. Other common ingredients include cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Depending on your fruit, these fruit strips can be rich sources of iron, vitamins C and B6, fiber, folate, and potassium. Like dried fruits, try to find an option without added sugar or sweeteners.
Smoothies
Yummmm…who doesn’t love a good smoothie? Smoothies are a safe and excellent way to incorporate fruit into your diet during any trimester of pregnancy. The best thing about pregnancy smoothies is adding any mix of fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients to your smoothie to make it to your preference. Plus, they are super helpful when it comes to keeping expectant mothers hydrated, they are an easy way to bump up your nutrient intake, and they are generally easy on the stomach when dealing with morning sickness.
When it comes to smoothies, be creative and incorporate fruits you enjoy. Always incorporate protein and fat to keep them blood-sugar friendly. Examples are protein powder, Greek yogurt, nut butter, and chia seeds. Not sure which smoothie to make next? Try one of these!
Trail mix
When you think of trail mix, the mind doesn’t immediately go to fruit snacks. But, creating a homemade trail mix with some dried fruits, nuts, and even a few chocolate chips is a delicious and nutritious snack that incorporates fruit. Add dried figs, prunes, apricots, raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit to your mix. As well as nuts and seeds like walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds. Dark chocolate chips can be a yummy addition that bumps the magnesium!
Pregnancy benefits of healthy snacks like homemade trail mix include helping expectant mothers maintain a healthy weight gain and providing a boost of protein to keep moms feeling extra energized. Trail mix can help boost your omega-3 fatty acid intake depending on which nuts you choose. These are important for babies’ proper growth and development and are also crucial for immune health.
Fruit & nut butter
Have you ever eaten peanut butter and apples? Or better yet, have you ever made a peanut butter and banana sandwich? YUM! For a simple, quick, and easy fruit snack, simply pair your favorite fruits with a bit of nut butter. Nut butter pairs exceptionally well with apples, bananas, grapes, or strawberries. And you can choose any nut butter you would like! The options are plentiful, including peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, pecan butter, etc.
Benefits of this snack include extra healthy fat, like omega-3 fatty acids, it helps keep expecting mothers feeling full, and it provides a bump of protein for your day. This healthy snack also contains nutrients like fiber, vitamin B6, and magnesium. And depending on the fruits you include, this snack may also have other nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, calcium (oranges), and antioxidants.
Plain Greek yogurt with fruit
Plain Greek yogurt is an excellent pregnancy breakfast idea and one of the healthiest snacks you can consume during pregnancy. In addition to plenty of protein, plain Greek yogurt also contains vitamins A, B2, B5, and B12, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and probiotics. Wow!
To make plain Greek yogurt a delicious fruit snack, simply add your favorite fruits as a topping. This will not only improve the taste of your yogurt but will also increase the nutritional value of this yummy snack.
Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, bananas, mangos, and pineapple are a few delicious fruits to add to yogurt. In addition to any variety of your favorite fruits, you can also add coconut shreds, nuts, or seeds to your yogurt for an extra kick.
Pregnancy-approved charcuterie board
Charcuterie boards are all the rage. And being an expectant mother doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in this delicious, protein-packed snack. In fact, with a little preparation and with good food safety practices in mind, you can make a pregnancy-approved charcuterie board right from your home! Oh, and of course, don’t forget to add your favorite variety of fruits!
Fruits that go great on charcuterie boards include grapes, slices of melon, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and pomegranate. You can include both fresh and dried fruits – so many options!
Remember, food should not be sitting out for longer than 2 hours at room temperature and less than not longer than 1 hour when temperatures are higher. Pasteurized cheeses, nuts and seeds, chocolate, and whole-grain crackers are safe options to include too! Sliced meat is up to your comfort level, but typically not much riskier than consuming any other item on the board.
Guacamole
Did you know that avocados are classified as a fruit? Well, they are! And that means that guacamole can totally be classified as a fruit-based snack. So, next time you’re craving some delicious and nutritious guacamole, don’t hold back!
Just remember that when it comes to dips like hummus and guacamole, it’s best to make your own, homemade version. This way, you are in charge of the food handling and preparation from start to finish. This will help to reduce the risk of contamination and food borne illness.
Avocados have tons of benefits during pregnancy and they are a great source of many nutrients important for pregnancy. They are full of healthy fats which are necessary for mom and baby as well as helpful to promote better blood sugar balance. Avocados are a great source of fiber and magnesium to help in the prevention and management of constipation, a common side-effect of pregnancy.
At its simplest guacamole is avocado, lime juice, and salt. Red onion, tomatoes, and other fresh vegetables and herbs are often added too. You can feel free to spread your guacamole on whole-grain crackers or toast, or dip your favorite freshly cut veggies like red, yellow, or green bell peppers, carrots, or celery.
Chocolate covered fruit
Last, but certainly not least, we have chocolate-covered fruit. As we’re sure you can imagine, almost every fruit out there would be delicious with a little chocolate glaze. So, feel free to whip up some chocolate-covered strawberries, oranges, peaches, pineapple, bananas, or any fruit for that matter. Just remember, as with any sweet treat during pregnancy, to consume in moderation.
If you like dark chocolate that’s a great option to opt for! Compared to white or milk chocolate, dark chocolate has some additional nutritional benefits for pregnant women. It contains zinc, copper, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. Plus, it’s chock full of antioxidants, may be helpful for lowering blood pressure, and it can help expectant mothers beat those sugar cravings. Look no further than chocolate drizzled fruit for your next sweet treat.
Choose one of these fruit-based snack ideas as your next delicious and nutritious snack during pregnancy!
Snacks during pregnancy can be a great opportunity for expectant mothers to incorporate extra nutrient-dense foods into their diets. But, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice taste. That’s what makes fruit-based snacks during pregnancy the best! Snacks that incorporate fruit are both delicious and nutritious. Fruit is also often well tolerated when nothing else sounds good in that trimester. Still, looking for more snack ideas? Check out these amazing snack ideas for pregnant women.
If you are feeling confused about the “do’s” and don’t’s” of foods during pregnancy be sure to join The Prenatal Nutrition Library (TPNL). You can even download TPNL app for free to get a sneak peek inside the library today. If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to drop them below! Until next time, give one of these fruit-based snacks a try!
