What to Eat When You're Expecting | Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, ...

What to Eat When You're Expecting | Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, ... | HORRIBLE recipes, unrealistic expectations!

books:

What to Eat When Y...

	What to Eat When You're Expecting Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, ... Workman Publishing Company, 1986 - 349 pages average customer review:based on 90 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

You are what you eat, and your baby is too. Not surprisingly, a pregnant womanís chances of giving birth to a healthy infant are dramatically improved when she's on an excellent diet. From the authors of the bestselling What to Expect When Youíre Expecting and What to Expect the First Year, together with over 15 million copies in print, here is the definitive guide to nourishing both the unborn child and the mother-to-be.

What to East When You're Expecting suggests a "Daily Dozen" diet comprised of wholesome unprocessed foods. Allowing for a weight gain of 20 to 30 pounds, its easy-to-follow plan uses a simple system to monitor servings from 12 food groups that promote fetal development and maternal well-being.

In addition to 100 recipes, the book suggests the best foods to eat at home, in restaurants, even at the office or when traveling. It is sympathetic to the modern womanís particular concerns and time pressures, and offers special counsel to vegetarians, special warnings to those who drink, smoke, or fast, and special encouragement to all who plan to breastfeed. Over 823,000 copies in print.

for more information click here

goes WAY overboard

I generally like the "What to Expect..." books, despite the sometimes preachy tone, but this one just goes too far. I made it about halfway through this book and then just put it down in disgust. It was making me afraid to eat anything for fear that it was not a "perfect" food.

Certainly it's good to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and dairy products, and to limit processed foods and artificial additives, whether you're pregnant or not. If you're looking for encouragement to do that and some recipes you can use, this book may have some value.

However, if you're like me and tend to be strict with yourself and/or go overboard, this is probably not the book for you. If you take this book literally, you should avoid ALL refined sugar for the entire 9 months you are pregnant. That means not a single piece of candy, cake, Christmas cookie, nothing at all. Plus they seem to assume that you will cook home cooked meals out of fresh ingredients (no convenience foods) every day and oh by the way, bake a couple of times a week. In my experience this is not realistic for most modern pregnant women who generally have full time jobs and/or other young children.

I found the whole thing to be depressing and discouraging, so I just put it away and followed my doctor's dietary guidelines, which were nowhere near this strict. Although I probably would have gained less weight had I followed this book, I had a happy, healthy pregnancy and didn't stress so much about what I was eating. I see no evidence that my daughter would have been better off had I eliminated the occasional chocolate or cookie from my diet and been miserably obsessed with every bite that crossed my lips.

I don't recommend this book unless you are already committed to following a sugar-free, all whole grain diet and are looking for encouragement, or are just looking for some healthy recipes and are able to take the rest of it with a grain of salt.

for more information click here

HORRIBLE recipes, unrealistic expectations!

Yes, it is completely true what the other reviewers have pointed out - this book has RIDICULOUS standards that no human being could possibly live up to. When I first purchased this book (luckily second-hand so I didn't pay full price) I was very excited about having a wealth of knowledge and recipes at my fingertips. But as soon as I started reading it, it just made me feel so guilty and horrible about everything I ate before I knew I was pregnant, and also what I was expected to do now that I know. Talk about ruining the experience! I even tried some of the recipes in the book - the veggie soup was bogus and "FUDGE BROWNIES"??? Give me a break, those were the most disgusting things I have ever tried to eat. They were not chocolately in the least but rather tasted like some kind of fig bars. Just listen to your body and your doctor's advice and skip this piece of trash!

for more information click here