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What to Expect
What to Expect Eating Well When You're Expecting
Eating Well When You're Expecting provides moms-to-be with a realistic approach to navigating healthily and deliciously through the nine months of pregnancy—at home, in the office, over the holidays, in restaurants. Thorough chapters are devoted to nutrition, weight gain, food safety, the postpartum diet, and how to eat when trying to conceive again. And, very exciting, the book comes with 150 contemporary, tasty, and healthy recipes that feed mom and baby well, take little time to prepare, and are gentle on queasy tummies.
Eating Well comes with a light, reader-friendly tone while delivering the most up-to-date information. At the heart of the book are hundreds of pressing questions every mother-to-be Is it true I shouldn’t eat any food cooked with alcohol? Will the caffeine in coffee cross into my baby’s bloodstream? Help!—I’m entering my second trimester, and I’m losing weight, not gaining. Is all sushi off limits? How do I get enough calcium if I’m lactose intolerant? I keep dreaming about a hot fudge sundae—can I indulge? Guess The answer is yes.
Eating Well comes with a light, reader-friendly tone while delivering the most up-to-date information. At the heart of the book are hundreds of pressing questions every mother-to-be Is it true I shouldn’t eat any food cooked with alcohol? Will the caffeine in coffee cross into my baby’s bloodstream? Help!—I’m entering my second trimester, and I’m losing weight, not gaining. Is all sushi off limits? How do I get enough calcium if I’m lactose intolerant? I keep dreaming about a hot fudge sundae—can I indulge? Guess The answer is yes.
470 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
613 people are currently reading
621 people want to read
About the author
Heidi Murkoff
148 books203 followersHeidi Murkoff is the co-author of the What to Expect When You're Expecting series of pregnancy guides. She is also the creator of WhatToExpect.com and founder of the What to Expect Project.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
July 12, 2016
NOTE: This review is done from the perspective of a vegan. So some criticisms of the book might not apply to the average omnivore.
This was a book I found at my local library book sale. For a buck, why the hell not? I clearly knew it wouldn’t be vegan but I figured I could apply the information towards a vegan diet. The book was longer than it really needed to be, and it seemed like there was a lot of repeat information. Don’t eat too much, but more importantly don’t eat too little. The author stresses the role of calcium, which is important but she recommends a dairy overload. I was a little pissed by all her dairy suggestions (aside from my personal opinion that dairy is more cruel than meat) is that she completely ignores the fact that most plant based milks contains just as much calcium as cows milk, many contain more. In her defense that wasn’t the case 10 years ago (which I specifically remember.)
What I found more confusing was her system of tracking nutrition. She stressed the following nutrients: calcium, protein, iron, betacarotene, vitamin d, vitamin b12, and vitamin-c. So to keep track she suggests tracking the servings of food for several different categories: 3 protein, 4 calcium, 3 vitamin c, 3-4 green leafy and yellow fruits/vegetables, 1-2 other vegetables, 6+ whole grains and legumes, iron rich foods (no specified servings), 4 fat/high fat foods. Confused already? I get what the author is doing, dividing fruits and veggies up by how nutritionally dense they are. Plus many of these servings will overlap, for example 1 cup cooked collard greens falls under green leafy veggies, vitamin c, and calcium. Many of the whole grains and legumes also count as half a protein serving. The book gives examples or serving sizes for qualifying foods but since the vegan foods tend to overlap it is kind-of hard to keep track of it all. I personally find it easier to just track the calories on Cronometer, but I know that isn’t always a possibility for people.
Then there are other tips, like how to eat healthy in unhealthy situations, which many vegans already know since they have to know how to eat in non-vegan situations. There is a chapter of foods to avoid, which again mostly doesn’t involve vegans since 90% of the off limit foods are cheese and meats of some sort.
So what are the good parts of the book? Well it was very reassuring to see that healthy eating when pregnant is pretty much the same as eating healthy in general. Yes there are some larger requirements such as iron and calcium. The book also goes over information about eating after giving birth, giving really interesting information about breastfeeding. I was surprised to find out that you need more calories to breastfeed than when you are pregnant!
This is a book I have no plans to keep. It is going to be donated right back to the library. It isn’t totally useless. The book does some reassuring that a vegan/vegetarian diet is obtainable, which is good. But I don’t like how it recommends 3 servings of protein when most of the whole grains are half a serving, so in theory getting 6 whole grain servings would fill the 3 protein serving requirements. Okay it doesn’t work out perfectly that way but I get a little annoyed when the author stresses that we get too much protein in our diet, then puts it down as a requirement in her book. Most people are probably not going to count the whole grains as half a serving and cut down on the meat.
This was a book I found at my local library book sale. For a buck, why the hell not? I clearly knew it wouldn’t be vegan but I figured I could apply the information towards a vegan diet. The book was longer than it really needed to be, and it seemed like there was a lot of repeat information. Don’t eat too much, but more importantly don’t eat too little. The author stresses the role of calcium, which is important but she recommends a dairy overload. I was a little pissed by all her dairy suggestions (aside from my personal opinion that dairy is more cruel than meat) is that she completely ignores the fact that most plant based milks contains just as much calcium as cows milk, many contain more. In her defense that wasn’t the case 10 years ago (which I specifically remember.)
What I found more confusing was her system of tracking nutrition. She stressed the following nutrients: calcium, protein, iron, betacarotene, vitamin d, vitamin b12, and vitamin-c. So to keep track she suggests tracking the servings of food for several different categories: 3 protein, 4 calcium, 3 vitamin c, 3-4 green leafy and yellow fruits/vegetables, 1-2 other vegetables, 6+ whole grains and legumes, iron rich foods (no specified servings), 4 fat/high fat foods. Confused already? I get what the author is doing, dividing fruits and veggies up by how nutritionally dense they are. Plus many of these servings will overlap, for example 1 cup cooked collard greens falls under green leafy veggies, vitamin c, and calcium. Many of the whole grains and legumes also count as half a protein serving. The book gives examples or serving sizes for qualifying foods but since the vegan foods tend to overlap it is kind-of hard to keep track of it all. I personally find it easier to just track the calories on Cronometer, but I know that isn’t always a possibility for people.
Then there are other tips, like how to eat healthy in unhealthy situations, which many vegans already know since they have to know how to eat in non-vegan situations. There is a chapter of foods to avoid, which again mostly doesn’t involve vegans since 90% of the off limit foods are cheese and meats of some sort.
So what are the good parts of the book? Well it was very reassuring to see that healthy eating when pregnant is pretty much the same as eating healthy in general. Yes there are some larger requirements such as iron and calcium. The book also goes over information about eating after giving birth, giving really interesting information about breastfeeding. I was surprised to find out that you need more calories to breastfeed than when you are pregnant!
This is a book I have no plans to keep. It is going to be donated right back to the library. It isn’t totally useless. The book does some reassuring that a vegan/vegetarian diet is obtainable, which is good. But I don’t like how it recommends 3 servings of protein when most of the whole grains are half a serving, so in theory getting 6 whole grain servings would fill the 3 protein serving requirements. Okay it doesn’t work out perfectly that way but I get a little annoyed when the author stresses that we get too much protein in our diet, then puts it down as a requirement in her book. Most people are probably not going to count the whole grains as half a serving and cut down on the meat.
March 4, 2012
If you actually read the book you'll see that even the author acknowledges it is not realistic to eat the way she recommends. It is meant as a GUIDE only, and was a very good one in my opinion. It is easy to navigate and gives great ideas for what to eat. It ends with some awesome recipes that combine a lot of the foods recommended in the book. A must read for any pregnant woman who wishes to eat well.
August 20, 2024
I’ll admit, I planned to read this while trying to conceive to get a head start on eating well, but got pregnant faster than expected and then go sucked into other pregnancy books. So I didn’t really dive into the first informational half until my third trimester, but it was a great refresher. I did enjoy cooking the recipes from the second half of the book, especially at the start of pregnancy. I even tracked the daily dozen for a while, but that wasn’t very sustainable. I truly think that following some of these principals did minimize my morning sickness symptoms (but if you have it worse than I did, some of these recipes probably won’t be practical). Early on, I liked the Egg Bites and Red Pepper and Edamame Peanut Noodles.
A lot of the basics of “the pregnancy diet” and the importance of all the vitamins and minerals are covered in the traditional What to Expect Book, so I’d recommend this jf you’re needing a refresher (perhaps during a second pregnancy) or just want the recipes. There’s some extra info on prepping food that could be helpful — but honestly, some of the advice felt a bit relaxed regarding listeria (or, more likely: the internet has made me far more paranoid than I need to be).
Overall, I learned a lot from this and would definitely reference it as a manual for subsequent pregnancies. I like that it recommends what to focus on, why it is important for you and/or baby, and gives examples of foods rich in those vitamins and minerals. Big takeaway: broccoli seems to be the MVP.
A lot of the basics of “the pregnancy diet” and the importance of all the vitamins and minerals are covered in the traditional What to Expect Book, so I’d recommend this jf you’re needing a refresher (perhaps during a second pregnancy) or just want the recipes. There’s some extra info on prepping food that could be helpful — but honestly, some of the advice felt a bit relaxed regarding listeria (or, more likely: the internet has made me far more paranoid than I need to be).
Overall, I learned a lot from this and would definitely reference it as a manual for subsequent pregnancies. I like that it recommends what to focus on, why it is important for you and/or baby, and gives examples of foods rich in those vitamins and minerals. Big takeaway: broccoli seems to be the MVP.
April 23, 2022
I have a love/hate with these books. Handy as a reference guide, but definitely not something to follow verbatim. I liked how everything was broken down and I noted some of the recipes to follow. Worth a look from
the library.
the library.
March 31, 2024
Very comprehensive. Although, there is really too much information. Much of the book is skimable.
March 2, 2010
I was really hoping for a good recipe book. Not a 'diet' book that preached at me all the rights and wrongs of eating when you're pregnant.
I know the basic foods to avoid, I know the foods I should eat, I know roughly how much weight I need to gain and how to do it. All I want is some ideas of how to prepare the good, healthy foods, I don't need all the information this book flings at me. I can get most of that from a regular pregnancy book.
That being said, the recipes I did find were pretty good, although I found the ones for muffins and baking had a LOT of ingredients that weren't super easy to find. Not what you want when you're all belly, tire out easily or are so nauseous you just want to get in and out of the store without barfing.
I know the basic foods to avoid, I know the foods I should eat, I know roughly how much weight I need to gain and how to do it. All I want is some ideas of how to prepare the good, healthy foods, I don't need all the information this book flings at me. I can get most of that from a regular pregnancy book.
That being said, the recipes I did find were pretty good, although I found the ones for muffins and baking had a LOT of ingredients that weren't super easy to find. Not what you want when you're all belly, tire out easily or are so nauseous you just want to get in and out of the store without barfing.
January 23, 2021
Waste of Time. It is the basics of just eating healthy, food safety in general with some recipes at the back. Plus, if you are experiencing exhaustion or food aversions, then it adds another layer of challenge. In the end, I am just going to continue as I have done with just eating a regular well-balanced diet (minus a few unsafe foods). My doctor’s advice was much more helpful than this book was.
I did learn what “Ants on a Log” are.... raisins on celery sticks with peanut butter ...haha. I did learn something new.
I did learn what “Ants on a Log” are.... raisins on celery sticks with peanut butter ...haha. I did learn something new.
December 26, 2007
I think this is the worst of all 'what to expect' books. Fist of all it is very complicated and tiring. Secondly the book continuously repeats itself. Lastly and most importantly it is not applicable if you are not alien! Normally I am cruel in my ratings but I don't recommend that series to anyone especially the mom-to-bes'.
January 6, 2010
Great book! A good guide on healthy eating regardless if you are pregnant or not.
July 11, 2022
I gave this book 3 instead of 2 stars because I feel like for those that have never been pregnant before or know nothing about proper health (do’s and donts) during pregnancy, this can be helpful. It provides all initial info which is nice and informative, and was helpful for me.
However, I did not like this book because I felt that for those who understand health already, or know what healthy eating entails, there’s no new information here. I found that it reiterated the message that we should be healthy eaters when pregnant, but it almost sent the message that diets should suddenly change as soon as this happens. When I believe that one should be eating healthy already. Diet doesn’t require anything drastic once pregnancy comes, healthy eating should be a norm for anyone, before and after a baby.
Not saying I’m a perfect health eater myself as is, but didn’t like the message that pregnancy suddenly means you have to be eating different when I just don’t think that’s the case.
However, I did not like this book because I felt that for those who understand health already, or know what healthy eating entails, there’s no new information here. I found that it reiterated the message that we should be healthy eaters when pregnant, but it almost sent the message that diets should suddenly change as soon as this happens. When I believe that one should be eating healthy already. Diet doesn’t require anything drastic once pregnancy comes, healthy eating should be a norm for anyone, before and after a baby.
Not saying I’m a perfect health eater myself as is, but didn’t like the message that pregnancy suddenly means you have to be eating different when I just don’t think that’s the case.
April 25, 2020
A little judgemental at times but as a recovered anorexic I appreciated that it wasn't just full of preaching the entire way through. I was worried about reading it and triggering myself but I actually learned a few things, confirmed a few things I already knew, and got the validation that there is no real WRONG amount of weight to gain or way to eat while pregnant... it's a book of suggestions on how to eat, not a step-by-step guide that some reviews seem to be seeking for.
January 17, 2024
Nothing revolutionary here and probably my least favorite of the series. In the age of the internet I feel like a lot of the recipes and information found here can be easily web searched. Even with this being my first child a lot of the info is self explanatory or you will run across it with your doctor at some point. I'd say skip this book unless you really are clueless when it comes to pregnancy eating.
April 11, 2020
I'm confused and overwhelmed. This is my first pregnancy and I'm hanging onto anything but this is too much. It's worse than diet books and diet plans. I'm already struggling because I can barely eat anything and I'm losing weight. The advice and plans are unrealistic. I don't think this book is for me.
October 9, 2021
My doctor's office gave me this book and I'm not sure I would have gotten it on my own. The recipes are nice. It takes a lot of stretching to turn pregnancy nutrition advice into a book and you can kind of tell with the way the same points seem to be hammered home in each chapter. Useful information but sometimes a bit condescending in flat attempts at being relatable
January 25, 2022
It's fine I guess? I mostly embrace intuitive eating but gentle nutrition can be part of that and I'm always open to suggestion. There was a lot of padding to get it to book length, and the last third or so is recipes with no pictures, which I never find super engaging. It's pretty prescriptive and diet-culture-flavored but doesn't insist that your every bite be perfect.
October 24, 2019
Not based on recent medicine or science.
Compilation of old wives tales. Needs to reference actual medical journals and studies when making broad claims about the negative impact of foods. May as well read the internet blogs about people's feelings on food.
Compilation of old wives tales. Needs to reference actual medical journals and studies when making broad claims about the negative impact of foods. May as well read the internet blogs about people's feelings on food.
March 12, 2021
I really liked this book. It gave me a lot of information. The only negative is the lack of information regarding a vegetarian diet. There is stuff sprinkled in, but not much. That being said, the majority eats meat so I guess it makes sense.
March 13, 2021
Potvrdila jsem si důležité informace ohledně stravování v těhotenství. Super vysvětleno, jak jsou důležité všechny nutriční živiny i během normálního stavu. Na závěr jsem ocenila recepty, některé určitě využiju.
April 16, 2021
It’s pointless to read this book if you’re already reading “What to expect when you’re expecting”. It felt like I was reading the same information and tips twice.
It makes more sense to read the topics you’re interested in rather than reading the whole book. After all, it’s not a novel, right?
It makes more sense to read the topics you’re interested in rather than reading the whole book. After all, it’s not a novel, right?
April 4, 2024
I find this series informative, but not overly progressive and you have to take some of the recs with a grain of salt. There were some helpful pieces, particularly in relation to dos and don’ts, but not a must-read resource.
March 13, 2019
Informative, but aimed at people who eat junk food and have no knowledge of nutrition basics.
October 8, 2019
I found some really good recipes in here while I was pregnant. Loved the soups especially!
May 5, 2021
So great! I read it and referenced it time and time again during my pregnancy. A must have for any mom.
June 29, 2022
Kindle
Should be a warning: “do not read during first trimester if suffering from nausea” 🤢 🤮
Should be a warning: “do not read during first trimester if suffering from nausea” 🤢 🤮
November 28, 2023
I think this will be a helpful book. Glad to have read it.
January 16, 2024
No me sirvió de mucho porque cae más en la dieta y la restricción que primar la comida sana y la salud. comer lo que quieras en el embarazo mientras sea saludable.
May 16, 2024
Good tips and things to keep in mind. I also appreciate the recipes at the back and how they break down the "Daily Dozen" components.
May 23, 2025
I feel as ready as I can be thanks to this book! So many good tid bits of knowledge and I love how the book was laid out.
January 2, 2017
This was a really dense book- waaaay more than just a cookbook. The first two thirds of the book is tons of nutritional advice for eating during pregnancy and postpartum. There's advice for how much to eat of different "super foods," and charts that you can duplicate to track your own eating. It felt overwhelming to me, personally. Especially during the first trimester, when I was so sick. It kinda became a survival thing for me.... if egg sandwiches were all I could stomach, I ate egg sandwiches three times a day. (I did that a couple of times. And tons of pretzels. And no kale.) But if you have the time to track what you eat, this book would be super helpful. It's laid out in a common sense way, with an index and appendices that make navigating easy. And there was also advice for the gluten intolerant and vegetarian/vegan expectant moms! It's hard to say whether I'd recommend this. It's just not for everyone. I did try some of the recipes included in the book, and have reviewed them below.
Recipes I Tried:
Lemon Carrots with Rosemary: Recipe worked as written, for the most part (had to cook the carrots a little longer than stated, but not bad), but it just wasn't to our tastes.
That's Italian Green Beans: I found this dish to be too watery. Not a fan of soggy green beans.
Turkey Bolognese Sauce: Meh. VERY chunky. Hubby thought it was ok; I wasn't a fan. (And that's really saying something- I'm a very adventurous eater.)
Whole Wheat Penne With Chicken and Skillet Tomato Sauce: Good. Not the simplest dish to make (involves chopping multiple vegetables), but not so labor-intensive I wouldn't make it again. Tastes good, too.
Alotta Broccoli With Chicken and Penne: Kind of bland, but I "punched it up" by adding some extra grated Parmesan. It is also true to it's name: it has a LOT of broccoli in the original recipe. I decreased the amount of broccoli and increased the amount of chicken. I love broccoli, but I'm nursing now and if I eat too many dark green veggies Little One gets gassy.
Quinoa Pearls with Wild Mushrooms: I thought this one was delicious; the hubby did not. Turns out he's not into the texture of quinoa. His opinion didn't change when I told him how good quinoa was for him. But it was actually easy to make, but looked "fancy." I like that. Keeping this recipe in my back pocket for entertaining or pot lucks!
Spicy Mushroom Rice: I thought this one was fantastic too; the hubby said it was "ok." I'm definitely adding it to our regular rotation of recipes because I thought I thought it was so yummy and because it was super easy.
Recipes I Tried:
Lemon Carrots with Rosemary: Recipe worked as written, for the most part (had to cook the carrots a little longer than stated, but not bad), but it just wasn't to our tastes.
That's Italian Green Beans: I found this dish to be too watery. Not a fan of soggy green beans.
Turkey Bolognese Sauce: Meh. VERY chunky. Hubby thought it was ok; I wasn't a fan. (And that's really saying something- I'm a very adventurous eater.)
Whole Wheat Penne With Chicken and Skillet Tomato Sauce: Good. Not the simplest dish to make (involves chopping multiple vegetables), but not so labor-intensive I wouldn't make it again. Tastes good, too.
Alotta Broccoli With Chicken and Penne: Kind of bland, but I "punched it up" by adding some extra grated Parmesan. It is also true to it's name: it has a LOT of broccoli in the original recipe. I decreased the amount of broccoli and increased the amount of chicken. I love broccoli, but I'm nursing now and if I eat too many dark green veggies Little One gets gassy.
Quinoa Pearls with Wild Mushrooms: I thought this one was delicious; the hubby did not. Turns out he's not into the texture of quinoa. His opinion didn't change when I told him how good quinoa was for him. But it was actually easy to make, but looked "fancy." I like that. Keeping this recipe in my back pocket for entertaining or pot lucks!
Spicy Mushroom Rice: I thought this one was fantastic too; the hubby said it was "ok." I'm definitely adding it to our regular rotation of recipes because I thought I thought it was so yummy and because it was super easy.
February 26, 2020
This had a little too much rigidity to it for me. I use it as a best case scenario and what I would ideally like to do, but I don’t buy into the guilt that is associated with eating something that is a treat once in a while.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews