My Pregnancy Plate - Healthy Eating & Food Safety Guide

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

My Pregnancy Plate provides practical guidance for healthy eating during pregnancy, emphasizing balanced portions of non-starchy vegetables, whole fruits, appropriate proteins, and healthy starches. It recommends physical activity and explains snack choices, including how to manage sweets and support recommended weight gain based on pre-pregnancy BMI. The guide also covers food safety, listing foods to avoid and safe options, and explains DHA intake for fetal brain and eye development, including recommended daily amounts and sources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Healthy food portions

Non-starchy vegetables

Fruits and healthy snacks

Protein and healthy oils

Starchy vegetables and whole grains

Weight gain guidance

Food safety and DHA intake

My Pregnancy Plate Choose large portions of a variety of non-starchy vegetables, such as leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, peppers or cabbage. Choose small amounts of healthy oils (olive and canola) for cooking or to flavor foods. Nuts, seeds and avocados contain healthy fats. Non-starchy vegetables Aim for at least 30 minutes of walking or another physical activity each day. Choose a variety of whole fruits. Limit juice and dried fruits. Fruit is great for snacksand dessert, too. Protein Choose 2 to 3 servings of nonfat or 1% milk or yogurt (cow, soy or almond). A serving is 8 oz. Choose yogurt with less than 15 g of sugar per serving. Drink mainly water, decaf tea or decaf coffee and avoid sugary beverages. Choose protein sources such as poultry, beans, nuts, low-mercury seafood, eggs, tofu or low-fat cheese. Limit red meat and avoid cold cuts and other processed meats. starchy vegetables Choose whole grains, such as whole wheat bread or pasta, brown rice, quinoa or oats and other healthy starches like beans, lentils, sweet potatoes or acorn squash. Limit white bread, white rice and fried potatoes. Healthy snack ideas When you are pregnant, you need about 300 extra calories each day starting in the second trimester. This is not really that much. It equals one large snack or two smaller snacks a day. LARG E S NAC K 1 slice whole wheat bread 1 Tbsp peanut butter 1 medium apple AND 6 oz. low-fat yogurt T W O S MAL L S NAC K S What about sweets? You may be wondering whether there is room for cookies, candy, ice cream or other sweets in your pregnancy diet. You can eat sweets, but not every day. The goal is to use My Pregnancy Plate as your guide for healthy eating, be physically active and satisfy your sweet tooth with an occasional treat. This balance will help you achieve the recommended weight gain below. | Recommended weight gain during pregnancy based on pre-pregnancy weight | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Pre-pregnancy weight | Recommended weight gain | Recommended rate
of weight gain after
first trimester | | Underweight
(BMI <18 .9 kg/m2) | 28–40 lbs | 5.0 lbs/month | | Normal weight
(BMI: 18.9-24.9 kg/m2) | 25–35 lbs | 4.0 lbs/month | | Overweight
(BMI: 25-29.9 kg/m2) | 15–25 lbs | 2.6 lbs/month | | Obese
(BMI > 30 kg/m2) | 11–20 lbs | 2.0 lbs/month | Food safety Here are some tips for safe food handling: • Wash your hands before preparing food and eating. • Wash fresh produce thoroughly before eating. • Cook food thoroughly, especially eggs and foods made with eggs, meat, poultry and seafood. Avoid the following: • Raw fish, especially shellfish and sushi • Unpasteurized milk, juice and soft cheeses such as feta, bleu cheese, brie and queso blanco. Soft cheeses made from pasteurized milk are fine. • Raw sprouts • Herbal supplements and herbal teas, until you check with your provider • Swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark, due to high mercury content Do include a source of DHA. This is a type of fat called “omega-3” that is very important for your baby’s healthy brain and eye development. Omega-3 fat is especially important from 20 weeks of pregnancy until you are done breastfeeding. Experts recommend that pregnant and nursing women get 300 mg of DHA every day. The best sources of DHA are wild albacore tuna (make sure it says “troll-caught”) and wild salmon. These types of fish are safe for pregnant women. If you don’teat fish, you can get DHA by taking fish oil capsules. Take enough to get 300 mg of DHA each day. If you don’t eat animal products, you can take DHA capsules made from algae. [www.ohsuwomenshealth. com/nutrition](www.ohsuwomenshealth. com/nutrition) ©2015 Oregon Health & Science University CWH 3051517 10/15

FAQs

What does My Pregnancy Plate recommend focusing on during pregnancy?

It emphasizes large portions of non-starchy vegetables, small amounts of healthy oils, a variety of whole fruits, suitable proteins, and healthy starches like whole grains and legumes. It also encourages daily physical activity.

How should sweets be handled while pregnant?

Sweets can be eaten, but not every day. The guidance is to use the plate as the main eating guide, stay physically active, and limit sweets to occasional treats to support recommended weight gain.

What food safety tips and DHA recommendations are included?

The guide advises washing hands and produce, cooking foods thoroughly, and avoiding higher-risk items like raw fish, unpasteurized dairy, raw sprouts, and certain high-mercury fish. It also recommends DHA (about 300 mg daily) and provides safe fish sources or alternatives like fish oil or algae-based DHA capsules.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Damian