Tasty Recipes for a Healthy Winter Pregnancy

Winters are a time for warm soups, cosy blankets, and merriment. But if you are an expecting mother, you need more protection and nourishment to ensure your baby, and you have a healthy pregnancy. During pregnancy, you need a diet rich in vitamins, iron, calcium, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, and choline. These nutrients and antioxidants protect you from pregnancy risks, infection, and exhaustion.

If you are looking for winter foods that are both healthy and delicious, we have got you covered! Borrowed from traditional dishes popular in different parts of India, these recipes add a delightful twist to your everyday meal! What’s more, it is like a warm and yummy hug that envelops you in the cold, harsh winter!

Healthy and Delicious Winter Recipes for Expectant Mothers

Here’s a list of tasty treats to whip up during the chilly winters to satisfy both mommy and baby!

1. Dry Fruits Laddoo

This delicious sphere is the perfect amalgamation of flavour, nutrients, and texture. Dry fruit laddoos are the ideal guilty pleasure you don’t need to be sorry for! With all-natural sweetening and a high nutrition content, this treat is perfect for your sweet tooth cravings during pregnancy!

Ingredients

• ¼ cup cashews
• ¼ cup almonds
• ¼ cup walnuts or pistachios
• 8-10 dates, deseeded
• 4-5 dried figs
• 5-8 dried apricots

Optional

• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons desiccated coconut
• 10-12 raisins

Instructions

1. On medium to low heat, dry roast your cashews and almonds until they are slightly brown and aromatic.
2. Add the pistachios or walnuts and toast for another minute or two. Take the nuts out of your pan and put it aside to cool.
3. If you use any seeds or desiccated coconut in your laddoo, toast them off and keep them aside.
4. Add apricots, figs, and dates to the pan and stir until slightly warmed up. This increases their shelf life. Ensure you don’t overheat it and diminish its nutrient content. Keep it aside to cool.
5. Once everything has cooled down, add all the nuts and dried fruits into the blender and pulse into a coarse mixture (do not add the seeds if you are using them).
6. Put the mixture into a bowl, add your seeds and shaved coconut, if preferred, and mix well.
7. Divide the mixture into 10-15 portions, depending on the size of laddoos you prefer and roll them into balls.
8. Store it in an airtight box and consume it within 3-4 weeks.

Tip: It is not necessary to use all the ingredients given in this recipe. You can experiment with different nuts and dry fruits available to you (please check their effect on pregnancy, too) to add your twist to the recipe. If you are using peanuts, please make sure you are not allergic to them.

Benefits

1. Dry fruits and nuts are rich in vitamins and minerals that are required during pregnancy, like vitamins E, B, B6, and K, as well as iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, and others.
2. Natural sweetening and no added sugar reduce the risk of excessive weight gain and pregnancy complications.

2. Malabar Spinach Curry

A delicious recipe from the coastal state of Goa, this dish is made from Malabar spinach, also known as Basale Soppu or Vaalchi Bhaji. It contains essential vitamins and minerals that are beneficial during pregnancy. The mild yet aromatic curry base ensures your healthy meal is tasty!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Malabar spinach, removed from the vine and finely chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 6 tablespoons grated coconut
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 Kashmiri red chilli
• 4 black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 cloves/lavang
• 1 tamarind ball
• 1 tablespoon grated jaggery
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Add spinach leaves, chopped tomatoes, and two tablespoons of finely chopped onions to a pressure cooker. Add a cup of water and cook for 3-4 whistles or until it softens. Let the pressure release naturally.
2. Heat a kadhai or deep pan and add in the oil. Once heated, add the remaining chopped onions and fry until they are translucent.
3. Add the garlic and cook until the raw smell disappears.
4. Mix in the red chillies, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and cloves and fry for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the grated coconut to the mixture and fry until it turns light brown.
6. Turn off the gas and let the mixture cool down. Once cooled, add the mixture into a grinder with the tamarind and ½ a cup of water and grind it into a thin gravy.
7. Pour the gravy base back into the kadhai, let it simmer for a few minutes, then add the vegetables from the pressure cooker with some water.
8. Mix in the grated jaggery and salt to taste and simmer on low heat for 8-10 minutes. Serve it hot.

Tip: You can use coconut milk for your gravy base if you can’t find a grated coconut. It also makes the curry milder if you prefer slightly less heat in your food!

Benefits

1. Malabar spinach is highly nutritious and contains vitamins like A, B6, C, and D. It is also high in iron, potassium, protein, magnesium, and calcium, which a pregnant woman requires in higher quantities.
2. It relieves fatigue and regulates blood pressure, boosting your immune system. The iron content combats anaemia.

3. Gujarati Lapsi

Another yummy Indian dessert to satisfy your cravings during pregnancy, this easy-to-prepare dish is made predominantly from broken wheat (daliya), jaggery, nuts, and ghee. Moreover, it is healthy to consume and can be had 3-4 times a week, depending on your nutritional requirements!

Ingredients

• 1 cup broken wheat (dalia/bulgar wheat/godumai rava)
• 1 cup jaggery
• ½ teaspoon cardamom/elaichi powder
• ¼ cup Sultana raisins
• ¼ cup broken cashews
• 2 tablespoons ghee

Instructions

1. Dissolve the jaggery in 2 cups of hot water – strain to remove any impurities and set aside.
2. Heat one tablespoon of ghee in a pan and add the cashew nuts. Roast until it’s light golden brown, then set aside.
3. Add the remaining ghee on medium heat in a wide pan. Mix in the broken wheat and roast until it turns orangish golden.
4. Pour in the jaggery water and add in the cardamom powder. Stir continuously until all ingredients are combined.
5. Set the heat low and cover the pan with a lid. Let it simmer for 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure that the wheat is tender.
6. Turn off the heat and look for a texture that is not mushy and the grains are separate.
7. Cover the Lapsi and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Once cooled, add in the cashew nuts and raisins and serve.

Tip: To jazz up your dish, try almonds or other preferred nuts. You can also swap the cardamom powder with a tiny pinch of cinnamon, which helps ward off infection and lowers inflammation and blood pressure. Please make sure of peanut allergies before adding them to any recipe.

Benefits

1. The high fibre in broken wheat combats diabetes, lowers cholesterol, and improves digestion. It is also rich in calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, strengthening the bones. This benefits a pregnant woman as the increase in weight during pregnancy strains the joints.
2. The dish is also rich in vitamins like A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, and K, which act as antioxidants to remove free radicals and ensure that you are radiant and healthy during pregnancy.

4. Paushtik Roti

‘Paushtik’ is a Hindi word that translates to healthy, so a ‘paushtik’ roti is essentially made with nutritious ingredients like pulses, cereals, and leafy green veggies. It is a yummy alternative to a plain old chapatti or roti and is soft and easy to eat.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup of gram flour/besan
• ½ cup potato, grated
• ¾ cup spinach, chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons curd or milk
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl with ample warm water and knead it into a soft dough.
2. Portion the dough into 14-15 balls and roll out to roughly about 175 mm in diameter.
3. Use a non-stick flat pan, skillet, or tawa and add ghee or a few drops of oil.
4. Cook the roti on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Tip: Swap out the potatoes and spinach for other leafy greens and veggies of your choice. Add a bit of cumin seeds to aid digestion! You can also use other healthy flour like jowar, bajra, or nachni.

Benefits

1. Paushtik rotis are rich in fibre, which reduces constipation and the risk of diabetes and preeclampsia.  
2. It is also rich in Vitamins A, B, C, and E and minerals like phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and calcium.

5. Tamil Nadu’s Panchamirtham

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A south Indian delicacy that is quick and easy to prepare. It is packed with delicious fruits and dry fruits; it is the perfect treat at any time of the day, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy.  

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 3-4 dates
• 2-3 dried figs
• 10-15 raisins
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon grated jaggery
• 2 teaspoons rock sugar/mishri
• ⅛ teaspoon or a tiny of edible camphor/pacchai karpooram
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom/elaichi powder

Instructions

1. Chop the bananas, raisins, and figs and add the remaining ingredients, barring the ghee and rock sugar.
2. Mash it together or coarsely blend it in a blender.
3. Mix the rock sugar and ghee well and serve.

Tip: Adjust the sweetness by changing the quantity of honey and jaggery in the recipe. Add cinnamon powder or vanilla instead of cardamom powder to turn your panchamirtham into a delicious variation.

Benefits

1. The nutritious ingredients of panchamirtham aid digestion and boost your skin, leaving it glowing.
2. Its vitamin and essential fatty acid content also boosts the heart, and the sugar boosts energy levels.

6. Besan Sheera

Besan Sheera is the perfect recipe for the chilly winter days (and nights!) to warm your body and awaken your taste buds! It is rich in nutrition and wards off colds and infections while boosting your health.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons gram four/besan
• 2 cups of milk, warmed
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom/elaichi powder
• 2 ½ teaspoons jaggery
• 2 teaspoons almonds, chopped or slivered
• 2 teaspoons pistachios, chopped or slivered
• ¼ gm or 1 pinch of saffron

Instructions

1. Add ghee to a saucepan and let it melt, then add in the besan. Mix well, and let the besan roast till it turns golden brown.
2. Slowly add the milk and whisk. Ensure the mixture is soft and smooth, is not dry, and is free of lumps.
3. Add the turmeric, peppercorn powder, cardamom powder, and jaggery, and stir well.
4. Add the saffron and whisk for 5-6 minutes to ensure it has a thick and creamy consistency.
5. Turn off the heat, garnish with chopped nuts and serve hot.

Tip: You can use honey instead of jaggery and switch to nut milk for an even healthier option!

Benefits

1. The turmeric and pepper in a Besan Sheera are anti-inflammatory and protect from catching a cold or runny nose. It also induces a peaceful sleep.
2. The vitamins and calcium in this dish also boost the bone strength of the mother while aiding the growth of the foetus’s brain and spinal cord.

These quick and easy winter recipes are not only quick and easy to prepare, but they are delightful to devour! Additionally, the health benefits found in each recipe aid you during pregnancy so that you have one less thing to worry about regarding your diet and the health and safety of yourself and your baby!

Also Read:

Healthy Breakfast for Pregnancy
Delicious Recipes Salads during Pregnancy 
Healthy Food Recipes for Pregnant Women
Tasty Smoothie Recipes for Pregnant Women
Healthy and Nourishing Soup Recipes to Try in Pregnancy