Pantry Flip! For a Clear and Calm Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most important times in life to look at your foods in your life and assess if it is best for you and your future kiddies. This will help your future baby but also your whole family if they are keen to get on board the pregnancy nutrition bandwagon, which straight and simple nagging will help with of course!

Number 1 healthy eating tip/hack

It can’t be eaten if it is not in the fridge or pantry!

Things to remove and swap out:

• Plastics – plastics have been shown to disrupt hormones, are neurotoxic, and disrupt the good bacteria in our gut. Use beeswax wraps instead of cling wrap, jars and glass containers instead of plastic storage containers. Remember! Do not heat plastic as this just speeds up the process of chemicals leaching into the food.

• Packaged foods – if it's in a packet it usually has other non-foods things in it. Who wants to feed their child or themselves something that is a food-like product? I always try to imagine what my cells are saying to me when I eat those foods – probably not nice things!!

• Preservatives and numbers – following on from packaged foods are numbers. Again, these are food-like products that are made in a lab. Not in the ground or even outside. Check out The Chemical Maze book to see what kinds of preservatives and numbers might be affecting you and your family. Side effects of preservatives and numbers can be things like brain fog, fatigue, hyperactivity, headaches, rashes, digestive upsets, insomnia.
• Need vs Want - if you haven’t used something within the last 4 weeks – get rid of it, you probably won’t use it in the next 4 weeks. Do you really need 5 different wooden spoons or 10 different sized mixing bowls? Donate some to charity or a friend in need. A clear pantry equals a clear mind (isn't that what they say?)

Things TO DO:

• Buy in bulk – save money + save the earth = super mama. Buying your flour, nuts and seeds, muesli, cacao powder, rice and pasta from a bulk food store will save money and packaging.

• Include lots of herbs and spices - turmeric, basil, himalayan salt, ginger, cumin, black pepper, etc. Spice racks can be a great idea for storage and look super cute.

• Fill - your fridge and pantry with lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, fermented foods and berries. Cut things up like carrot and celery sticks, pineapple, strawberries, melons, prep a basic salad and pop them in glass containers in the fridge for easy access and snacks.

• Store - your fruits and vegetables correctly to ensure they last. Beeswax wrap to cover open avocados and lemons, wrap cauli and broccoli with a damp cloth to store for longer.

• Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables - Pesticides are used to make non-seasonal fruit grow better. Try to avoid these as much as possible.