Best breakfast ideas for moms-to-be

by Julie Snyder

Before pregnancy you may not have been a breakfast person. Maybe you'd have three blueberries and a cup of coffee that would hold you for hours.

You wouldn't skip feeding your eight-month-old breakfast, right? You shouldn't skip your unborn baby's, either.

Not only do you want to eat breakfast each day, you want to eat the right kind of meal that keeps your energy going and mood upbeat.

What's in your best breakfast?

It can be a bowl of cereal and milk with fruit or a vegetable frittata for those of you who like a more Mediterranean-style breakfast.

While yours and your baby's needs change slightly each trimester, a healthy breakfast contains a balance of these ingredients:

• Whole grains bread or cereals, fresh fruits or vegetables
• Yogurt cheese, eggs, meat or meat substitutes
• Healthy fats

A good quality breakfast might stave off morning sickness. It will help you avoid a mid-morning or lunchtime mood crash and low energy. You'll make better food choices the rest of the day when you eat breakfast.

Pregnant women who skip breakfast tend to:
✔ Eat too many calories to "catch up"
✔ Have more cravings for sweets and fat
✔ Make poorer food choices because they're too hungry

Breakfast jump starts your metabolism. Typical breakfast foods can be incredibly nutrient dense and furnishing building blocks for your growing baby, too.

You don't have to eat a huge quantity of food. If your appetite hasn't woke up yet, you can start off with a snack. Have another snack later or a more substantial meal.

Five sample breakfasts

Whether the concept of food turns you green or you're starving and ready to chow, we have a breakfast idea for you! Which are you craving today?

Apricot Oatmeal Bake
-- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
-- In your mixer, combine 1/2 cup applesauce, 2 tablespoons molasses, 2 cups milk, 2 tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar and 2 eggs.
-- Add 3 cups rolled oats, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
-- Add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup finely cut dried fruit and 1/3 cup chopped pecans.
-- Bake for 40 minutes.

Dish up 1 cup of oatmeal for each person. Add extra milk if you'd like. The recipe makes about 8 servings. You can refrigerate and reheat another day.

Southwest Style Avocado Burrito
--Warm a skillet. Beat two eggs in a bowl and add to the skillet. Scramble and cook well, about five minutes.
-- While the eggs cook, heat two whole-grain tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds.
-- Add 1/2 cup drained black beans and 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend to the eggs.
-- Cook another minute until the cheese melts.

Serve half of the egg mixture on each tortilla. Top with half an avocado, salsa and cilantro. Fold and enjoy. Wrap one and bring it along as a mid-morning snack.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes
-- Mix together 1 cup cottage cheese, 3 eggs and 2 tablespoons oil.
-- Add 1/2 cup whole grain flour.
-- Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into a skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on the top. Flip with a spatula and cook until the other side is lightly brown.
-- Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Serve yourself four 2-inch pancakes smothered with fresh fruit or fruit-only jam and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Greek Omelet
-- Whisk together 2 eggs, 1 egg white and a dash of Italian herbs, salt and pepper.
-- Sauté 1/2 cup spinach in a small skillet.
-- Add 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped artichokes and 2 tablespoons sliced kalamata olives.
--Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Cook about 3 minutes.
-- Turn and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons pasteurized feta cheese.
-- Cook another 2 minutes.

Fold the omelet in half and slide onto a plate. Enjoy it while it's still hot. Add a whole grain toast or a serving of fruit if you're still hungry.

What's your favorite pregnancy breakfast?

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.