How To Eat Healthy As A Busy Mama - Plus An On The Go Recipe For You & Baby!

Let’s jump straight in: the more healthy habits you can build into your daily lifestyle, the easier it will be to keep up your routine for pregnancy and for the future. That includes routines around your fitness, your mental wellbeing, and your nutrition. But all that is easier said than done, that’s why all month we’re bringing you Baby2Body On The Go — a new series bringing you our top tips and resources to help you find the time to prioritize all of these things without even thinking about it and stay on track to achieving your goals. 

We want to start by saying that when it comes to creating a healthy routine, it’s important to give yourself some grace. As women, we’re all way too hard on ourselves when it comes to diet especially. It’s not about perfection all the time: it’s about the overall picture. Having a healthy routine is great, but if you want dessert, eat dessert. If you want to have ice cream with your kids, have it!

Today, we’re sharing some ways you can start building healthier eating into your daily routine, why it’s so important, plus a recipe that works for mama & baby!

Why is healthy eating so important for a healthy lifestyle?

We want to use some words from our resident nutritionist, Emma Hanton, to answer this one: “Food and nutrition is the foundation of our health. Every area of our health is tied to our nutrition. Food cannot cure everything by any means, but it can certainly help. Having that healthy foundation at your core lays the groundwork for your overall health.” A healthy diet can help you build a healthier routine overall because you feel better mentally & physically.

What can I do to make healthy eating an easier part of my routine?

We sound like a broken record, but we can’t say it enough: Batch cook your food! Batch cooking allows you to prep healthier meals ahead of time, making it that much easier to eat well over time, even when you’re tired and busy. Start small by doubling up portions when you cook dinner and freezing half for a busy night in the future.

If you’re pregnant, then during the last couple of months of your try batch cooking some meals and stocking up your freezer. You’re going to be so tired and have your hands full. Having easy meals that you can defrost and eat will make a huge difference. Here’s a recipe we shared earlier this month, a perfect batch-cooked snack: 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars!

If you’ve tried batch cooking and it’s not for you, then you can also try following a Baby2Body meal plan so you know what to cook & what to buy for each day of the week (keeping too much temptation out of the house can really help!). If you’re a mama, try making recipes that can be used for mama & baby (that’s half the amount of food to prepare!), here’s one we love:

Recipe for mama & baby: Peanut butter & jelly oatmeal

This peanut butter & jelly oatmeal recipe is perfect to whip up for breakfast - it takes just 10 minutes & can be easily adapted to serve to baby as well (see baby-safe recipe below!).

Not a fan of peanut butter? Try almond or sunflower seed butter instead.  

Here’s what you need:

• 1 TBSP strawberry chia jam 

• 1 TBSP all-natural peanut butter

• ½ cup of oats 

• 1 cup milk 

• 1banana 

• 1 TBSP ground flaxseed 

Here's how to make it:

1. Add the oats and milk (of your choice) to a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes until the oats have thickened to your desired consistency.

2. Meanwhile, mash the banana in a bowl with a fork.

3. When the oatmeal is done, stir in the banana and ground flaxseed. 

4. Serve in a bowl and top with jam and peanut butter.

Servings: 1
Calories: 541
Fat: 19g
Carbs: 78g (14g Fiber, 30g Sugar)
Protein: 20g

Baby-safe version:

Appropriate from 7-8 months of age

1. Follow steps 1-3

2. Let the banana oatmeal mixture cool slightly and serve!

What recipe do you want to see next? Let us know in the comments.

This month in the Baby2Body app, we’ll be sharing a quick On The Go plan each week with three quick activities: one for your mental health and wellbeing, one for your physical health, and one for your nutritional health - all of them will take less than 5 minutes, so you can do them anytime, anywhere.  

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