To help balance blood sugar and decrease nausea (as well as grow a healthy baby), it is important to get protein with meals and snacks throughout the day.  It seems like we are always brainstorming protein ideas with clients, as it is so typical for food not to sound great, or for us all to get in our ruts and get board with the same protein choices. Our team put our heads together to come up with some plant based and vegan protein ideas (if you aren’t vegan, it is easy to add meat, eggs, or dairy, but even people who aren’t normally vegan or vegetarian sometimes aren’t interested in those proteins with appetite changes of pregnancy). Please feel free to add more ideas in the comments below!

Seeds, Nuts & Nut butters:

• Peanut Butter
• Trail mix
• Try almond, cashew, or sunflower seed butter if you aren’t a fan of peanut butter or if you want some variety
• Tahini
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Chia Seeds
• Hemp Seeds

High protein grains can be enjoyed on their own, as a pilaf, in soups or on salads:

• Wild Rice
• Quinoa
• Teff
• Spelt
• Amaranth
• Seitan
• Breads made from sprouted grains (Ezekiel Bread)
• Oatmeal

Soy:

• Edamame
• Tofu
• Tempeh

Beans & Lentils:

• Bean dip
• Add black beans to salsa
• Add beans or lentils on salads
• Mix lentils and beans into soups
• Hummus (check the label to see if it is a higher protein hummus)

Some veggies are have higher protein compared to other veggies:

• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Brussel sprouts
• Sweet potatoes
• Asparagus
• Artichokes
• Snap Peas

Other ideas:

• Nutritional yeast
• Protein powder in a smoothie or added to non-dairy yogurt
• Spirulina
• Non-dairy protein-rich milks

Try to get about 70-90 grams of protein a day during pregnancy. Here are a couple of charts that list grams of protein for various foods:

https://ordinaryvegan.net/veganprotein-2/
https://www.vegkitchen.com/vegan-protein-sources-chart/
https://vegetariannutrition.net/docs/Protein-Vegetarian-Nutrition.pdf