Sweet Recipes for the Third Trimester of Pregnancy
The third trimester of gestation is a special moment. At this point, the future mother has gained a lot of weight and experiences certain tiredness. Her due date is fast approaching and that’s why it’s also important to stay active and watch your eating habits. These can include some sweet recipes.
Women’s bodies during the third trimester
Once they reach this stage of pregnancy, women face some discomforts related mainly to the volume of their belly. The uterus will have increased so much in size that it will put pressure on the other organs, which might cause heartburn and lack of air.
These changes will also make sleeping at night more and more difficult, increasing the sense of fatigue. The body also tends to retain liquids, which is why the feet swell up easily.
Nutrition
The nutritional needs during the third trimester are similar to the second. It’s necessary to consume more calories (approximately 350 more per day).
Nevertheless, it’s important to find the right balance to avoid an excessive amount of weight gain. This could harm the mother and the baby, and could complicate the birth.
The future mother should keep a balanced diet, consuming enough calories to face this stage, but will have to avoid foods that have large quantities of fat or sugar.
She must consume at least two portions per day of food that contains protein and omega 3 fatty acids, mainly fish, meat and eggs. These are responsible for the formation of muscles and tissue.
Fats are also fundamental in this stage to guarantee good lactation. The best, without a doubt, can be found in nuts. C arbohydrates need to be the main base of nutrition (pastas, rice, bread, potatoes) and dairy products must be included at least 4 times a day.
Sweet recipes for the third trimester
In these last weeks, although sugar isn’t the food that is most encouraged for a pregnant woman, it also isn’t totally prohibited unless there is a health problem that determines it, like gestational diabetes.
Sweets can help keep anxiety about the impending birth under control and make this stage as pleasant as possible, in spite of all the discomfort. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to have a lot of self-control to avoid falling into an excess that could be very harmful.
Ideally, it’s best to find sweet recipes for the third trimester of pregnancy that allow you to combine the desire to eat sugar with the nutritional needs of this stage.
For example, to combat the discomfort of acid reflux, you must eat many small and light portions throughout the day.
Fruits, dairy and nuts are without a doubt the best sweet allies during this stage. Pineapple, for example, is a natural diuretic that helps eliminate liquids. Bananas and nuts contribute magnesium to avoid cramps. Meanwhile, dairy provides the calcium that is necessary at this stage.
All the combinations are allowed: yogurt with apple and nuts (or almonds), banana and milk smoothie, liquid yogurt smoothie with kiwi, cantaloupe or peach, strawberry or passion fruit mousse, fruit salad, etc.
Sweet recipe: banana blueberry muffins
Ingredients:
- 300 g of rye flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 packet of yeast
- 1 whole egg
- 2 bananas, preferably ripe
- 1 Greek yogurt
- Honey and cinnamon to taste
Preparation:
- The first thing that needs to be done is to preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Later, mix the flour, baking soda, yeast and cinnamon in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the crushed bananas, whipped egg, yogurt and honey.
- Then, combine the two mixtures, beating until you have a homogeneous mass. Little by little, add the milk and blueberries.
- Put it in the oven for 20 minutes and then let it cool. It’s an ideal dessert or snack for future moms.
Apple and cinnamon jam
Ingredients:
- 4 green apples
- 1/2 cinnamon stick or a bit of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 onion
- Water, salt and pepper
Preparation:
- The first step is to peel the apples, cut them up and put them in a pot with the cut up onion, water, salt and pepper.
- When the water is hot, add the cinnamon stick. The apples should be soft so that they can be crushed with the same spoon.
- Finally, crush them and it’s ready. It’s an excellent garnish for meat.
Don’t miss out on trying these delicious sweet recipes for the third trimester of pregnancy. You’ll love them!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Jensen T., Abdelmalek MF., Sullivan S., Nadeau KJ., et al., Fructose and sugar: a major mediator of non alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol, 2018. 68 (5): 1063-1075.
- Bennett CJ., Cain SW., Blumfield ML., Monounsaturated fat intake is associated with improved sleep quality in pregnancy. Midwifery, 2019. 78: 64-70.