As your pregnancy goes on, you might get stumped when it comes to finding foods that are good for you and baby that actually taste good. Between your cravings and insatiable appetite, finding food that sounds good isn't always an easy feat. You've also got your growing babe to think about. The phrase, "eating for two" is true in the sense that what you ingest, your baby does too, highlighting the importance of a balanced diet. Finding the one food you need to eat during your third trimester can be tricky, especially when you're hoping to eat as healthy as possible.
In the third trimester, nutrition is especially important. According to Fit Pregnancy, the third trimester is a key period for the development of your baby's metabolism. As your baby is developing connections in their brain with their own metabolic processes, you're probably hungrier than ever but, because of the lack of room, you can't comfortably eat as much as you could earlier on in your pregnancy. Therefore, it's even more important that the food you eat packs a nutritional punch.
It will come as no surprise that salads are the perfect option for tackling the third trimester nutritional needs in a light and easy to eat way. Salads are great for their versatility — you can add in-season fruits and veggies, swap out meats, add things like nuts and chia seeds for added good fat, and so much more. The 12 superfoods salad recipe from Averie Cookies is one that is hard to beat in terms of nutrition and, if you don't like an ingredient or two, can easily be tweaked and adapted to fit your third trimester cravings.
The salad starts with a base of kale and quinoa, both pregnancy superfoods. Kale is loaded with calcium, fiber, and vitamins A and C, all of which are essential during pregnancy, as Mom Junction noted. Similarly, quinoa is a gluten-free whole grain that is a great source of fiber and protein.
From there, the superfood salad adds blueberries, grapes, cherries and a mixture of nuts which are loaded with good fats essential for your baby's growth.
To top it all off, the homemade greek dressing is made with olive oil, greek yogurt, a pinch of sugar and spices. Olive oil, according to the Dr. Axe website, is a powerhouse for your entire body, making it a superfood when it comes to pregnancy.
The great thing about this salad is that if you prefer spinach over kale, strawberries to blueberries, avocado oil to olive oil (or any other swap,) you can easily just grab the ingredients you prefer and mix them all up in the perfect nutrition-packed salad of your dreams. Your growing baby (and their ever developing metabolism) will thank you for it too.
