Curious about the best healthy snacks to enjoy during pregnancy for maintaining blood sugar balance, nourishing yourself and your baby, and feeling satisfied? Today I’m sharing my favorite healthy snacks that kept me feeling good during my own pregnancy journey!

Let me start by saying, I’m not typically a snack person. During my pregnancy, I really struggled to incorporate snacks into my diet between meals. It wasn’t until my third trimester that I finally started feeling hungry enough to easily add snacks into my diet. To help keep my blood sugar balanced and keep me fuller for longer, I focused on high-protein, high-fat snacks and stayed away from processed foods and refined carbs. Read on for a rundown of my favorite healthy snacks that became go-to’s in my pregnancy diet.

The Importance of Healthy Snacking During Pregnancy

Before we get into specifics, I want to quickly make the case for including healthy snacks in your prenatal diet. We might live in a culture of over-snacking, but pregnancy brings unique nutritional needs, and with each trimester comes a small increase in calorie requirements. Healthy snacking can help meet these needs by maintaining stable blood sugar levels, providing necessary nutrients, and meeting increased calorie needs for both you and your baby. High-protein and high-fat snacks are particularly beneficial as they help keep your energy levels steady.

My Criteria for Pregnancy Snacks

When selecting snacks to add to my prenatal diet, I focused on:

• High protein content: Essential for baby’s muscle and tissue development.
• Healthy fats: Crucial for baby’s brain development and sustained energy for me.
• Fermented foods: Great for digestive health and easing the digestive discomfort that can often come with pregnancy (1st-trimester bloating, anyone? 😅).
• Healthier options for cravings: Helpful to avoid developing gestational diabetes and other lifestyle-driven pregnancy complications.

My Favorite Healthy Pregnancy Snacks

1. Brown rice cakes with tinned fish and fermented veggies

I have a thing for rice cakes, especially the thin ones. They’re tasty and easy to eat and you can pretty much put anything on them. Bonus points if you can find a multi-grain option that is 100% whole grain. Although I sometimes add peanut butter and jam on top of rice cakes, the savory combo of tinned fish and fermented veggies can’t be beat when it comes to nutritional bang for your buck. Canned sardines or mackerel (my two favorites) add protein and omega-3 fatty acids, both important pregnancy nutrients. And fermented veggies like kimchi or sauerkraut provide beneficial probiotics for gut health. Think improved digestion and less bloating. 

2. Fresh seasonal fruit

I absolutely LOVED eating fresh, seasonal fruit throughout my pregnancy. I went through my third trimester during the hottest part of summer and cold, high-water fruits like melons were often the only thing I felt like eating. Fresh fruit is naturally sweet and packed with vitamins and fiber. I found high-water fruits like melon, watermelon, oranges, and peaches in particular to be a delicious, healthier replacement for dessert at the end of a meal. And they had the bonus benefits of providing extra hydration and cooling me down!

3. Olives and pickles

Olives and pickles were favorite easy snacks since my early weeks of pregnancy. Even before I knew the nutritional reason to eat extra sodium during pregnancy, I found myself gravitating toward salty foods like these. Sodium is important for electrolyte balance during pregnancy, and as our hydration needs go up, so too do our sodium requirements. Living in Portugal, delicious local olives are readily available and I happily stocked up each week at our local farmer’s market. 

4. Sauerkraut and other fermented veggies

I made big batches of sauerkraut during my first trimester when the salty cravings were hitting hard and loved experimenting with different veggie and flavoring combos. Green cabbage with grated carrots and fennel seeds was a favorite, as was red cabbage, shredded beets, ginger root, and caraway seeds. I love that sauerkraut goes so well with a wide variety of foods, making it an easy health food to add to your diet. It’s a great source of probiotics and sodium, making it an excellent pregnancy food.

5. Full-fat yogurt with ayurvedic spiced fruit compote

As I discuss in this blog post, I added full-fat dairy yogurt into my diet specifically for pregnancy. The combo of a few spoonfuls of unsweetened yogurt and spiced fruit compote was a favorite pre-bed snack for me throughout my pregnancy. Full-fat organic yogurt is a good source of healthy fats, calcium, and phosphorus, and stewed dried fruits provide important iron and are a delicious way of keeping your bowels regular.

6. Homemade Snack Cake with Peanut Butter and Cinnamon

I like to bake snack cakes on the weekend to enjoy throughout the week whenever the desire for a sweet treat strikes. My favorite snack cakes are healthier, less sweet cakes that use whole grain flours, unrefined sugar, and olive oil. I love adding seasonal fruit on top as well. I realize that cake might not be what you usually think of as a healthy pregnancy snack but hear me out on this one! Eating a piece of homemade better-for-you cake satisfies sweet cravings while still being a relatively healthy choice. Especially when you pimp it up a bit with a drizzle of natural peanut butter for extra protein and fats and a sprinkle of cinnamon for more balanced blood sugar regulation.

It’s time to get snacking!

Snacking during pregnancy can be a challenge, especially if you’re not used to it. However, incorporating high-protein and high-fat snacks can make a big difference in maintaining your energy levels and ensuring you and your baby get the nutrients you need. I hope these snack ideas inspire you to find your own favorites and make healthy snacking a part of your pregnancy journey.

If you’re expecting and looking for further support, consider applying for 1:1 prenatal nutrition coaching with me. There’s no more important time than during pregnancy to prioritize your nutrition. My prenatal coaching programs provide you with a personalized nutrition program including a prenatal-specific meal plan, custom supplement recommendations, and ongoing support and accountability. Apply here.

Thanks for reading, and happy snacking!