3 Recipes Rich In Calcium For The First Trimester Of Pregnancy

If you are thinking about ways to incorporate calcium into your daily diet, here are some alternatives. Remember to always consult your doctor about the specific requirements that you and your baby may present at this stage.

Surely, one of the first options that come to mind when listing key nutrients is calcium. This element is also vital during pregnancy, both for the mother and the baby.

Calcium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body, so it is necessary to ensure its contribution regularly in the diet. For you to incorporate it, we present 3 recipes rich in calcium for the first trimester of pregnancy.

The importance of calcium in pregnancy

Calcium is an extremely important nutrient throughout life for one essential aspect: it helps build and strengthen bones, according to a publication in Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine . It is also essential for other processes, such as cell signaling, muscle function, blood clotting, and other nerve functions.

In pregnancy, it is necessary to contribute precisely to these tasks, with the particularity that the child’s body will achieve it through what the mother provides. Therefore, it is important to meet the calcium requirements so that both can go through this stage in a satisfactory way for their development.

What foods can you get calcium from?

In any of the stages of pregnancy, the mother can obtain the calcium that she so badly needs from the following foods that we are going to discuss:

• Soy.
• Eggs.
• Fish.
• Almonds, walnuts and other dried fruits
• Milk and other dairy like cheese and yogurt.
• Fruits: orange, olives, kumquats, figs, kiwi, raspberries.
• Vegetables: broccoli, parsley, cabbage, spinach, kale, seaweed.

With regard to the appropriate dose, the general recommendations are around 1000 milligrams daily. However, this will depend exclusively on the body of each mother and the implementation of certain habits that can improve its absorption.

Therefore, it should be the doctor who evaluates the dose, according to the tests performed during each period of pregnancy. It may be necessary to add supplements, since the needs are not always met by diet alone. Specifically in the mother, calcium will help her maintain bone health, prevent future diseases such as osteoporosis, and reduce the risk of postpartum depression.

However, it is also necessary to guarantee the supply of vitamin D, as this nutrient enhances the absorption of calcium at the intestinal level, according to a study published in the journal  JAMA. Ingesting the two elements together reduces the risk of bone fractures.

Recipes rich in calcium for the first trimester of pregnancy are a nutritious proposal that does not neglect the good taste. It is worth trying them and looking for the variants that the mother likes the most.

3 calcium-rich recipes for the first trimester of pregnancy

1. Textured soy with zucchini

Ingredients

• Salt.
• Fresh garlic
• 1/2 onion.
• 1 zucchini.
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• Crushed tomato (1/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Textured soybeans (approx. 1 cup).
• Oregano (1 tablespoon is enough).

Preparation

1. Place the soybeans in a bowl of water for 20 minutes or more.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in a frying pan with oil.
3. After 3 minutes, add the zucchini cut into small pieces to the pan.
4. Drain the soybeans and add to the other preparation. Also include the crushed tomato, salt, pepper and oregano.
5. Mix all the ingredients and cook for 2 more minutes.

This recipe raises two possibilities for its consumption: it can be added to pasta or eaten with a salad of other vegetables, such as spinach, for example. Herein lies the secret of calcium-rich recipes for the first trimester of pregnancy: they allow various adaptations.

2. Creamy spinach

Ingredients

• Salt.
• Pepper.
• 1 liter of milk.
• 500 grams of spinach.
• 50 grams of butter.
• 3 tablespoons of flour.
• 75 grams of grated Parmesan cheese.

Preparation

1. Heat salted water in a pot and add the spinach when it comes to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes; then drain and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan; add flour and stir until a paste is left. Then add milk and stir to absorb.
3. When it is the thickness you prefer, add the spinach and stir to integrate everything well.
4. Season to taste.
5. Place in a baking dish with the Parmesan cheese on top.
6. Cook for 5 minutes until gratin.

3. Kale stuffed with vegetables with almonds

Ingredients

• Salt.
• 1 col.
• Pepper.
• 3 onions.
• Olive oil.
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3 carrots
• 20 grams of almonds.
• 350 milliliters of meat broth.
• 1 tablespoon of flour.
• 50 grams of grated Emmental cheese.

Preparation

1. Wash and steam 6 cabbage leaves. Then cut in half and discard the stem.
2. Peel the onions and carrots, grate them and cook them in a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil; season to taste while stirring. The heat should be low and the pan covered.
3. Let cool and add the cheese; mix well.
4. Take the cabbage leaves and fill them with vegetables and cheese. Afterwards, they will have to be rolled up and placed on a tray.
5. For the almond sauce: brown the sliced ​​garlic in a pan over low heat. Then add the almonds. Pass everything to the processor and blend with a little broth.
6. In the pan where the broth was browned, add the almonds, flour and broth; cook and stir until a textured sauce is left.
7. Heat the cabbage in the microwave until the cheese melts; finally serve.

Includes recipes rich in calcium in the diet during the first trimester of pregnancy

In the first trimester of pregnancy, you should try to eat healthy and light to alleviate the discomfort you may feel. Remember that your body is just getting used to the process it will have to face: these recipes rich in calcium for the first trimester of pregnancy will contribute a lot in this process.