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Meal planning and proper nutrition are essential during pregnancy, and only the best pregnancy cookbooks can offer accurate information. It might be challenging to keep track of your diet during pregnancy, especially with sudden cravings. Cookbooks written by trusted professionals provide necessary information on healthy foods, baby growth, and balanced food quantities during pregnancy.
These books have quick and easy recipes that don’t compromise the taste of the food. Besides, they describe detailed prenatal transformations and baby development. Moms-to-be can always rely on these best-selling books to prepare delicious, healthy, and balanced meals. Listed below are some of the best pregnancy cookbooks to help you maintain a balanced diet and good health.
Top Picks
11 Best Pregnancy Cookbooks
1. Best For Babies’ Development:The Mama Natural
The Mama Natural written by Genevieve is the pregnancy reference guide for today’s generation. The book helps you understand the baby’s development within the womb and will also explain in detail about nourishing food, vitamins for both mom and baby, food intake, and the benefits of its consumption. In addition, the book can also be an ideal gift to new pregnant women as it has remedies for natural pain alleviation and labor management to prevent critical scenarios.
Genevieve’s funny anecdotes and gorgeous illustrations on pregnancy and medical conditions will keep you hooked throughout and provide you with experience and pregnancy tips. Loved by many reviewers, this book also includes experiences of pregnancy and positive deliveries from people of many backgrounds with useful insights. Here’s a review video to help you get a better understanding of the product.
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
With over 3,025 reviews on Amazon, this product is a winner.
Quick fact2. Best For Expecting Mothers:Real Food for Pregnancy
Lily Nichols’s Real Food for Pregnancy book combines ancient wisdom and modern pregnancy science. It discusses prenatal nutrition. The author delves into detail every ingredient pregnant women and babies should consume during pregnancy and post-pregnancy and common misconceptions regarding pregnancy foods and nutrition.
This perfect book is an excellent pick for expecting mothers, doctors, Prenatal clinics, and midwives. The information and tips are supported by evidence-based research. Need more information? Watch this review video to make an informed decision about the product.
3. Best For Baby Health:The Whole 9 Months
Jennifer Lang’s The Whole 9 Months cookbook is a terrific companion for expecting mothers. It provides a thorough week-by-week diet essential for women during pregnancy and includes delectable recipes to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle. It also provides up-to-date research and information to answer questions about trimesters and symptoms.
The author discusses how important and simple it is to make smart food choices to stay healthy during pregnancy and why what you eat during pregnancy can have long-term implications on your baby’s health. The tasty and healthy recipes satiate your hunger and cravings, making it the perfect gift for women who crave different foods.
4. Best For Self-Care:The Feel-Good Pregnancy Cookbook
The Feel-Good Pregnancy cookbook is informative and highly recommended for expecting mothers; it features delicious recipes packed with nutrients needed during pregnancy. The author, Ryann Kipping, discusses the mother’s experiences and the significance of self-care during pregnancy. She debunks pregnancy myths and discusses which foods to eat and which to avoid. She talks about different researchers about pregnancy, and the baby’s inside progress.
The book contains wholesome recipes for mother and family and provides information about nutrition that mother and baby require. Trusted by many reviewers, this cookbook includes a progress tracker for your baby and a trimester guide with a full explanation of the changes between mother and baby. The popular pregnancy nutrition book guarantees a healthy nine months.
5. Best For Mother’s Health:What to Eat When You’re Pregnant
Expectant moms should focus more on nutrition and health; they often have questions about what to eat. The book “What to Eat When You’re Pregnant” covers most of your pregnancy nutrition questions. This cookbook, written by Nicole M. and Avena, is all about how medicine, psychology, and nutrition affect and benefit mother and baby during pregnancy, with an easy-to-follow guide and 50 delicious recipes.
It also aids in understanding the body’s requirements during pregnancy. The popular pregnancy nutrition book also offers information about the baby’s development at each stage and provides practical and scientific advice on maintaining the mother’s health and the baby’s development.
6. Best Plant-Based Recipes:Drinking for Two
Drinking for Two is a book recommended for pregnant women, health-conscious pregnant mamas who want to live a happy life, and any woman who wants to keep healthy. This best-selling mocktail recipe book contains over 45 tasty plant-based recipes crafted to deliver essential nutrients, antioxidants and address typical pregnancy symptoms, resulting in a healthy pregnancy.
Every recipe in this cookbook is gluten-free, quick to prepare with natural sweeteners and common ingredients good for both mother and baby. Drinking for Two, written by DianaLicalzi and Kerry Bensonis, has been named one of the best cookbooks. It also emphasizes the benefits of other nutrition and information to help with other pregnancy issues such as nausea and swelling.
Caution7. Best For Nutritional Requirements:Eating for Pregnancy
Rose Ann, a trained prenatal nutritionist, and other professional doctors are co-authors of Eating for Pregnancy. The handbook for a healthy life takes you through the pregnancy month by month, covering developmental milestones, physical changes, and nutritional requirements for both mother and baby. Its expert commentary ensures that mothers receive adequate nutrition.
Each chapter shares wholesome recipes for each month suitable for development. There are two editions of this cookbook. The old edition has 150 recipes, and the current version has an additional 25 recipes.
8. Best For Healthy Pregnancy:Healthy, Happy Pregnancy Cookbook
Healthy, Happy Pregnancy Cookbook is a collection of delectable recipes and a wealth of information on having a happy and healthy pregnancy. This book begins with the ‘dos and don’ts’ of pregnancy. Stephanie Clarke and Willow Jarosh, the cookbook’s writers, are certified nutritionists and dieticians who provide a wealth of expertise about food and nutrition. This book has recipes that include all the essential nutrients needed to stay healthy throughout pregnancy, making it the perfect book with different food recommendations.
Healthy, Happy Pregnancy Cookbook is a resource for expecting mothers to improve their health in pregnancy and eat a more nutritional diet. The trusted book provides details on foods that can be used as medicine for pregnancy symptoms. In addition, it contains 125 recipes that aid in fulfilling cravings, maintaining excellent health, and assisting mothers in dealing with certain discomforts during pregnancy.
9. Best For Pregnancy Problems:Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide
Veganism is a growing trend and a healthy way of living. SaywardRebhal, a scientist and an avid writer, has written a vegan pregnancy guide with research on vegan and cruelty-free foods to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Her book is a quick and enjoyable read that provides a lot of information regarding pregnancy problems in a fairly casual tone. It provides during those frantic and nervous moments throughout pregnancy.
The book contains the necessary nutrition information, including quick tips for maximizing nutritious meals and easy-to-apply strategies for maintaining excellent health. Readers will feel a sense of togetherness, and it also feels like having a cozy discussion with a supportive friend who has good knowledge of vegan recipes and products. The vegan pregnancy survival guide is upbeat and funny while reading, making it the perfect gift for vegans.
Do remember10. Best For Morning Sickness:Natural Pregnancy Cookbook
The Natural Pregnancy Cookbook contains a wealth of information about eating a nutritional diet during pregnancy, from dealing with morning sickness and mid-day cravings to determining how much food is enough for mother and baby. In addition, it contains recipes that keep both mother and baby healthy during pregnancy.
Natural Pregnancy Cookbook author Dr. Sonali Ruder is a food blogger, chef, and physician who offers her knowledge and experience through this cookbook. The book has over 125 delicious recipes, and you can continue to experiment with new flavors.
11. Best For Diet And Nutrition: The First-Time Mom’s Pregnancy Cookbook
Lauren Manaker, the author of The First-Time Mom’s Pregnancy Cookbook, provides straightforward nutritional suggestions for healthy living mothers and babies. In addition, it contains information about supplements and vitamins. This book is engaging and offers a practical method to dealing with pregnancy and postpartum discomforts. It is chock-full of easy-to-prepare simple dishes that are appropriate for every stage of pregnancy.
The book is specially designed for first-time mothers-to-be, offering a clear perspective to alleviate their fears and stressors. In addition, the book discusses the diet and nutrition required during each trimester and the science behind the foods that are healthy during pregnancy, making it a trusted choice.
How To Choose The Right Pregnancy Cookbooks?
Here are a few things to consider before buying a pregnancy cookbook.
- Dietary needs: Choose a pregnancy cookbook based on your taste and diet. If you are vegan or prefer gluten-free and plant-based diets, find a cookbook that caters to your needs. Some also include recipes and tips to help with morning sickness and nausea during pregnancy.
- Detailed guide: Pregnancy cookbooks with trimester guide, progress tracker, information about vitamins and nutrients, and more make it easy for moms-to-be to keep track of their growth and prenatal journey. Choose a cookbook with the nutritional value of the recipes or that helps in organizing a trimester meal plan.
- Authors: Consider pregnancy cookbooks written by professional nutritionists or nutrition experts, experts in pregnancy nutrition, or doctors as they provide expert commentary and accurate, updated information. They provide the right resources to guide moms-to-be on proper health and development.
- Myths and facts: Choose cookbooks that provide clarity on myths and science behind pregnancy facts; they also include many valuable insights, dos and don’ts of the prenatal phases, and ways to cope with postpartum discomfort.
- Reviews: Check the reviews and testimonials left by other moms to determine if a book is suitable for your pregnancy journey.
Megan Imhoff, writer, mom, and founder of Ish Mom, says, “Remember that the idea of “eating for two” is a myth. The extra calories required in pregnancy maxes out at about 500 in the third trimester. That’s two double-stuffed Oreos.”
During pregnancy, it is essential to maintain a nutritional diet for the mother and the baby. Pregnancy cookbooks have healthy recipes to satisfy your cravings and beat your hunger. In addition, they assist us in overcoming pregnancy discomforts simply by following professional guidance and research.
Why Trust MomJunction?
It is essential to have a proper and balanced nutrition during pregnancy for pregnant women, and a good cookbook can help you understand the ways to stay healthy. Here, Wedetso Chirhah, our experienced writer and reviewer of books, brings you a list of the best pregnancy cookbooks available online that offer helpful information about pregnancy diets and recipes. These books have been chosen after thorough evaluation of their content as well as reader reviews to offer you an unbiased opinion.
Meal planning and following a diet can get quite challenging during pregnancy. The healthy and nutritious recipes in the cookbooks listed here can be helpful for mamas-to-be as they cover a variety of food options, offering something for everyone. They also come with valuable insights for expectant mothers, debunking myths, and offering advice on self-care. Before you buy, make sure the cookbook’s theme meets your preferences and satisfies your cravings as well.
Infographic: Food Safety Tips To Consider During Pregnancy
Being conscious of what you consume can protect you and your baby from foodborne diseases, while also reducing the risk of miscarriage or premature delivery. In addition to eating nutrient-rich homemade meals, it is essential to avoid certain foods. Check out the infographic below to learn about the foods to avoid for a safe pregnancy. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
References
- Christopher N. Cascio et al.; (2015); Self-Affirmation Activates Brain Systems Associated with Self-Related Processing and Reward and is Reinforced by Future Orientation
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283545154_Self-Affirmation_Activates_Brain_Systems_Associated_with_Self-Related_Processing_and_Reward_and_is_Reinforced_by_Future_Orientation - People at Risk: Pregnant Women
https://www.foodsafety.gov/people-at-risk/pregnant-women - Vegetarian or vegan and pregnant
https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/vegetarian-or-vegan-and-pregnant/
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