All that you eat before and during your pregnancy is largely responsible for not only your health but your baby's too! This is why right before you conceive, till the time you are traveling through your pregnancy, you should eat a well-balanced healthy diet.

Live for today and eat healthy, eat as much as you need and best of all eat food that you enjoy. This is a time for you and yourself - and your baby. We want to ensure that this is a happy period. Remember," You are only pregnant and not a patient". So go ahead and enjoy these special 9 months.....

The Fresh Feast (Cooking Right)

"Pick and choose all you want,
Don't freeze if you please,
Fresh vegetables is the way,
Boil, steam and sauté,
So why not eat it every day."
Now that you are more acquainted with the RDA, it would be beneficial for you to follow these few tips to preserve the nutrients present in the food during your cooking process.

1. Buy only the freshest fruits and vegetables available in the market. Seasonal fruits are the most nutritious as they ripen without the usage of additional chemicals and are more reasonably priced.

2. Refrigerating food for long period results in the loss of vital nutrients. So buy in small quantities and cook for the day!

3. As far as possible, eat vegetables and fruits unpeeled so that your body receives the right amount of fibre and nutrients. Vegetables and fruits like cucumber, potatoes and carrots have vital nutrients right under the peel which we lose out on if we peel them. Remember to scrub these vegetables thoroughly before you eat them as they may contain a thin film of mud and pesticides. However, in case of tough skinned vegetables like turnips or yam (suran) whose skins are inedible, scrub them thoroughly and then gently scrape a thin layer off using a knife or a peeler.

4. Soaking vegetables in water for a longer period of time will make them lose many valuable, water-soluble vitamins like vitamin B and vitamin C.

5. Vegetables should be cooked carefully so that they retain most of their nutrients during the cooking process. Therefore, it is better to sauté or steam vegetables rather than to boil them. If you do boil the vegetables, use the minimum quantity of water and cook only until the vegetables become tender. Whenever possible, cook food in large pieces as vegetables cut into small pieces lose more nutrients. Preferably, cover your foods while cooking to preserve the volatile nutrients.

6. Preparing a fresh salad or raita just before meals is the best habit to adopt. Squeezing lemon on salads is great as it contains vitamin C, which helps in the absorption of iron. Eat salads like Energy Salad and Tossed Salad, since they will surely refresh you.

7. Do include a large amount of sprouts in your diet as sprouting aids in easy digestion. Sprouting destroys the anti nutritional factors like phytates that are present in legumes. They are called anti nutritional factors as they hamper the absorption of vital nutrients like iron and calcium from the food. These complex substances (phytates) are broken down to simpler forms when you sprout them, making them more easier to digest. Sprouted legumes have higher vitamin C, iron and calcium levels than those that are not sprouted. Sprouted Bengal gram (chana) and sprouted green gram (moong) are excellent sources of vitamin C. So, here's to happy sprouting!! Try Sprout and Fruit Bhel or Sprout Pulao.

8. Avoid using soda bi-carbonate while cooking as it destroys most of the essential nutrients present in the food.