Expand Your Horizons During Pregnancy
You may have certain food aversions when you're pregnant, but often picky eating goes way back to one's own early days. What chance do you have of preventing your kids from being picky eaters if you still turn up your nose at the foods you disliked as a child? Be a little adventurous. Just because you hated the canned beets your mother fed you doesn't mean you still don't like them. Reinvent foods with negative associations by approaching them with fresh eyes and new preparations. A great primer on the ABCs of food, nutrition, and food preparation, says Pari-Keener, is The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition: How to Buy, Store, and Prepare Every Variety of Fresh Food by Sheldon Margen, MD. Start buying new cookbooks or reacquaint yourself with the ones you've got. Make foods you've never made before and find more appealing recipes for foods you assume you dislike but haven't tried for a long time.

What You Should Not Eat During Pregnancy
You may be surprised to hear this, but unless a food is dangerous to your health (like certain fish, for instance) when you are pregnant, no food should be considered forbidden. Remember, telling yourself you can't eat something is only going to make you want it more. The key is diversification and moderation.

An important benefit to bulking up your food knowledge is that you will have the know-how to replace high-sugar, high-fat cravings with more sensible, yet satisfying, alternatives. Here are some suggestions:

You crave: Cake
Choose instead: Graham crackers and a glass of skim milk.

You crave: Soda
Choose instead: Seltzer with a splash of fruit juice

If it's just one of those nights when nothing but cake will do, then, by all means, let them eat cake — just make it a small slice!

Eating for Two?
Don't fall for the old cliche that you are eating for two when you're pregnant. Eating well for one is more like it. Adding the necessary extra calories during pregnancy is almost too easy. Here are some ideas that will add about 300 calories to your daily diet.

• One slice of whole wheat bread with one tablespoon peanut butter. Drink with one cup skim milk.
• Fresh fruit cup: half a cantaloupe with half cup blueberries, a kiwi, half of a banana, a half cup grapes.
• Burrito-size flour tortilla with 1/2 cup canned red or black beans topped with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (add salsa if you like — it's low in calories and big on taste).

Pari-Keener urges pregnant women to think smart about adding calories during mealtime. Here are some commonsense suggestions:

• Have a cup of soup with your sandwich at lunch
• Eat an extra piece of chicken at dinner

The information on this Web site is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your pediatrician or family doctor. Please consult a doctor with any questions or concerns you might have regarding your or your child's condition.

Content courtesy of American Baby.