Keeping a healthy and balanced diet is vital during pregnancy, but sometimes, especially in those first months, when morning sickness is still strong and the sense of smell is heightened, it's quite hard to come up with recipes that don't make you go "Yuck!".

Here is our selection of general DOs and DON'Ts backed-up with some really fresh, nourishing, and easy-to-make meals that will surely give you some inspiration. Read on!

Good morning, mamma!

Alright, we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so we must pack it with extra fiber and vitamins because you and your baby need plenty of those!

DOs - Think fruits and vegetables - mangoes, cantaloupes, apricots, peppers, tomatoes, and carrots, for example, are all rich in vitamin A, which is important for your baby's embryonic growth. Plant-based butter on wholegrain toast and yogurt or granola are also ideas you can experiment around.

Caffeine is allowed, but not more than 200mg per day. If pregnancy makes you dislike the taste of coffee, you can try green tea or matcha.

DON'Ts - Avoid both pasteurized or unpasteurized soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside, such as Brie and Camembert. Soft goat cheeses and blue cheeses, like Gorgonzola and Roquefort, must also be excluded from your diet. If you fancy some eggs, make sure they are well-cooked.

Breakfast meals inspiration

Smoothie bowl

Source: Foody First

Our first breakfast idea is for a smoothie bowl. The combination of ingredients is light yet filling, helps control nausea, and aids digestion.

All you need is strawberries, bananas, spinach, ginger, and Greek yogurt. You can freeze the strawberries and the bananas beforehand for a thicker consistency, and the Greek yogurt you can substitute with almond or coconut milk. Play around with the ingredients as much as you want, blend and serve. Bon Appétit!

Oatmeal

Source: Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

Oatmeal is such a comfort food, and it's perfect for soothing a queasy stomach. It's a source of fiber, iron, and calcium, and it's good for stabilizing blood sugar.

Boil a cup of oats and some water, dairy, or plant-based milk on low heat until the mixture reaches the desired texture.

Keep the toppings simple - a tablespoon of maple syrup or honey, some berries or pomegranate seeds, and a portion of nuts.

It’s lunchtime!

We've made it halfway through the day, let's have something quick and refreshing for lunch.

DOs – Do legumes as they are a wonderful source of protein. Fully cooked meats are also all appropriate and can be added to any lunch recipe. Green vegetables are recommended - broccoli, spinach, and kale are rich in the very important vitamins C, K, and A, and even if they are not your go-to choice, you can "hide" them in all kinds of dishes.

DON’Ts - Seafood can be a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, but some fish and shellfish, such as tilefish, marlin, shark, swordfish, orange roughy, king mackerel, and bigeye tuna, contain higher levels of mercury that can be potentially dangerous to your baby's developing nervous system. So do stay away from those. Raw or undercooked seafood that can be found in sushi, sashimi, and ceviche is also a big No-No!

Lunch meals inspiration

Quinoa salad

Source: The Simple Veganista

Our first lunch suggestion is quinoa salad. It's tart, refreshing, and so easy to bulk-make for several days ahead.

You'll need a cup of quinoa, half a cup of chickpeas, half a cup of kidney beans, avocado, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and some cilantro. For the dressing - some lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

Boil the quinoa over medium heat, then decrease to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook it until it absorbs all the water. For the chickpeas and the kidney beans - you can use canned, but you can also prepare them on your own. Just have in mind that they both need at least an hour and a half on the stove.

Chop the fresh veggies and mix everything all together. Simply delicious!

Roasted sweet potatoes

Source: Cookie and Kate

Sweet potatoes are high in beta carotene, which functions as a potent antioxidant. You can prepare them in just about a thousand ways, but in this particular recipe, we'll roast them with some olive oil, smoked paprika, and turmeric - all gentle for you and for your little one.

Peel the potatoes, sprinkle them with the mentioned seasonings, and bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes. You can serve them as a side dish to chicken, fish, or other meat, or have them as they are. Healthy and so tasty!

What’s for dinner?

...Good question! Including nutritious foods in your dinner is just as important, so let's see what we have here!

DOs - Again, fruits and veggies are a must! Soups are an awesome option if you feel nauseous, as they are light and easy to digest. Mildly seasoned chicken with a side of rice or mashed potatoes is another way to go.

DON’Ts - Many women love having a glass of wine or a sip or two of their favorite cocktail in the evenings, but as we all know, alcohol is not allowed during pregnancy. So here comes the moment for you to try mocktails instead! No, they are not the same, but they are a yummy alternative for the time being.

Dinner meals inspiration

Cauliflower cream soup

Source: Cookie and Kate

The cauliflower cream soup is a recipe that will definitely become a part of your weekly meal plan, as you can insert and remove ingredients from it and alter it in so many different ways.

For our version, you will need one cauliflower, two to three carrots, four to five potatoes, and vegetable stock. Boil everything together, remove from the stove, blend, add a cup of milk and a little bit of butter, and blend again!

Serve with croutons and some feta cheese on top.

Baked salmon

Source: Crème de la Crumb

Smoked salmon is not considered safe during pregnancy, but a fully cooked one has many benefits for you and the baby.

Mix avocado oil, a tablespoon of honey, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and rosemary, and sprinkle on top of the salmon fillets. Wrap in foil and bake for an hour, serve with a salad on the side.

And although some of you may feel tempted to enrich the flavors with some garlic, due to its blood-thinning properties, raw garlic can affect your blood pressure. Also, garlic can make pregnant women nauseous, so we recommend you keep a safe distance from it.

I’m here for the snacks

Snacks are just as important as any breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Here are our ideas for something tasty to munch on in between meals.

DOs – Do whole grain crackers, hummus and carrots, raw nuts, rice chips, gluten-free pretzels, and dark chocolate.

DON’Ts - Stay away from chips, corn puff snacks, and chocolate bars that contain unhealthy sugars, corn syrup, and palm oil and can cause heartburn.

Homemade trail mix

Source: I Heart Naptime

Anything and everything can go inside a trail mix. Raw nuts like cashews, almonds and walnuts, raisins and cranberries, some chocolate, and salty pretzels. Go as freestyle as you want and enjoy at any time of the day.

Melon mint salad

Source: Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Okay, this might sound a bit weird, but let us tell you, the combination is actually really good!

Slice some watermelon and honeydew melon, squeeze one lime on top and finish with chopped mint leaves. Doesn't just the sound of it make you all excited and energized?

And that's a wrap! Hope some of those recipes inspired you to start your own kitchen ventures. Share what are your favourite dishes in the comments below, we’d love to hear!