cooking for a pregnant lady

For breakfast - egg custard. You can make it days ahead and keep it in the fridge. It's light and nutritious. Heat the oven to 300 F. Beat 5 eggs really well in a big bowl and add 4 cups of milk. Stir in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. You need a large shallow pan, like a roaster or a lasagna pan. Put ceramic bowls or ramekins (even coffee mugs will work) in the larger pan to see how many can fit in without crowding too much. Put the custard mixture in the various small containers, filling them to 1" from the top. Sprinkle a tiny bit of ground nutmeg or cinnamon on the tops. Put the large pan in the oven, then place the small custard-filled containers in the large pan. Carefully pour water into the large pan, as deep as possible without floating the small containers around. Gently shove the whole thing into the oven for 1.5 to 2 hours. Cool then chill, covered with plastic wrap.

You can be as circumspect about diet as you want to be as long as what you are eating is healthy and complete. You could completely avoid caffeine but a cup of coffee/tea a day is probably just fine, esp after the first trimester. Likewise with a bit of alcohol on a special occasion.

I'm sure there's this whole perfect diet out there, and you should be aware of what it is, but her cravings and tolerances are going to dictate the menu. Just have a wide variety of healthy food on hand. I got lucky and lost my sweet tooth for the first seven months, although it's now come back with a vengeance. Heartburn will likely be a problem later in the pregnancy, so avoid foods that trigger that.

Pregnancy is not a licence to eat whatever you want, but neither is it a reason to stop enjoying food. I think a lot of women find themselves building healthier diets that stay with them after pregnancy--you're always thinking of what's best for the baby, and you're craving new things.

That's all rather rambling, sorry.

Concrete suggestions:

Make sure she always carries food with her--trail mix might be best, but it could be fruit, a protein bar, something like that. It's remarkable how quickly you can become insanely hungry. Maybe carry two just in case, one sweet, one salty.

Ginger calms nausea. Ginger altoids, candied ginger, ginger snaps.

I started craving dairy when I had never been much for it before. Yogurt, cottage cheese with fruit, milk, etc. I got organic products because I'm kind of a hippie that way, I don't know if it's really all that important.

Any morning sickness yet? is it in the morning? They say to keep crackers or something else easy to digest on the bedside table--nibbling before you even get up can settle the stomach. I never had it so bad, certainly never threw up, but it helped to keep my stomach full. If she's sensitive to smells, she'll be glad if you can do the cooking. Let her pick the menu. She'll probably do just fine unless she's the sort who wants ice cream for every meal. And if it's the only thing she can keep down, let her go with that. Otherwise maybe push some sorbet or custard to get a little variety in there. ;)

Ginger is a good tip -- ginger tea, just cut ginger root in boiling water, is a great stomach calmative.

The freakiest thing I experienced: I can't really enjoy Japanese rice as much as before. I didn't enjoy it as much as before. Weird. It's better now.

Caffeine is okay as long as you don't overdo it. I think the best thing is not to drink it after/during a mean as it tends to break important nutrients (?). If you have a cup of coffeee per day, that's fine. Keep in mind: green tea also contains caffeine. I only realized this after a week. Since I was hooked on the drink, I quit cold turkey. I miss it terribly. :-(

If she eats enough veggies, fruits and so on, she''ll be fine. Some say you have to eat five fruits and veggies per day. Another thing, which I sometimes neglect, is having enough fluids. In the beginning I did try to drink lots of fresh orange juice every day to have enough vitamin C. Also take care of iron intake, some women get aneamic during their pregnancy. (I don't, because I already take iron supplements.)

There are some crazy theories that abound: nutmeg for example shoudln't be consumed in large amounts. Whatever. :-) Heck my mum still smoked (a little) during pregnancy and I came out fine (depending on how you look at it hah!).

Has she started taking antenatal (?) pills already?

If she has morning sickness: best thing is to keep dry cookies with you. It really helps.

My friend told me that in Japan they still eat it! Crazy huh?

also the concept of breakfast must be introduced to this home, and we're having trouble with it...

Breakfast is healthy ,but don't worry too much about it. If she skips it, it won't hurt the baby. As long as she has her necessary vitamin intake, she'll be fine. :-)

Well, by anyone really, unless you want visions and puking - it's hallucinogenic.

My second pregnancy is different: I don't mind steamed rice at all but I don't feel the need (hah!) for crisps. I do like my (almost) daily dose of strawberries with whipped cream. heh Still eat too much sugar though. But that is unrelated to the pregnancy I fear. I also drink some caffeinated (?) drinks. One latte per day. In Japan I did stay clear of sushi even though my parents dropped hints. But I stood my ground. My Japanese friend, a cook whose wife delivered recently, said everything was fine (even sushi) but said I should avoid eggplants. Did I? First time around, yeah maybe, but now I do eat it now and again.