RDAs for Pregnancy and a raw diet- it can be done!

Not that I totally agree with the RDAs for pregnancy, but here’s the back story:

I went about 80% raw when I was about 4 months pregnant with my son, a little over 3 years ago (I have been vegan for 5 years). It was great. But I fell off the wagon shortly after he was born and I’m just getting back on. Right now I’m in the late stages of becoming a gestational surrogate. I will be pregnant in about a month if the first transfer is successful. I just started on green smoothies a couple weeks ago, and if I try to eat any cooked food anymore I feel very sick. I really want to stay raw through this pregnancy, but since it isn’t my baby, I HAVE to follow my Dr.’s recommendations and do some things I wouldn’t do in my own pregnancy. It’s a compromise I’ve chosen to make in order to help an amazing couple become parents.

Anyhoo, I figure if I want to eat raw I have to make sure my argument is airtight so the doctor simply can’t object. So I’ve been manipulating my diet to meet the RDAs for pregnancy and here’s what I came up with:

Big green smoothie/pudding #1: lambsquarters, blueberries, chia seeds Big green smoothie #2: kale, apples, lemon Lunch: Salad- red leaf lettuce, tomato, lemon juice, 1/2 an avocado, ground flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, nutritional yeast, a whole bunch of lentil sprouts Big green smoothie #3: spinach, pears, ginger 4 dates an orange

So that’s it! This day’s menu has 2100 calories and exceeds the recommendations for calcium, iron, all vitamins and minerals, and even the frickin’ 70 grams of protein. The only thing it’s low in is selenium, but I figure I can eat a handful of brazil nuts a week and knock that one out easily. It’s more fat and protein than I care for, but I will probably end up craving more fat and protein in my 2nd and 3rd trimesters anyway. I didn’t think it could be done, but it can. Just wanted to share. :)

Comments

  • Hi Viriditas, Thanks for posting that. I find it interesting… take it as kind of a puzzle to see if RDA’s can be met on raw, and how to get the best levels of nutrients. Did you run your diet through a computer program to check levels of nutrients, or do it by calculating it yourself? Did you check for B12?

    Wow I hope your pregnancy goes great. That is such a gift to give someone by being a gestational surrogate!

  • osoniye- thank you. I’m very excited about this surrogacy! When I was younger I never thought it was something I’d want to do, but I was wrong. :)

    I used the cron-o-meter software and I changed my nutritional targets to the RDA for pregnancy. For B12 I just added a little nutritional yeast to my salad. A pretty small compromise, I think. For vitamin D I made a custom food called “sunlight.” :)

  • I meet the RDAs easily, without manipulating my diet in any way. Good work.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Thanks you for sharing!

  • southernloversouthernlover Raw Newbie

    I need help with this… just found out I’m preggo a couple weeks ago, and doubting a lot. I never hear anything about Graham’s daughter, but I sure would love to know more about her, and what exactly his wife ate while pregnant. (I know, I know, 80-10-10, but more detailed.) Did she get regular check-ups, and did the baby progress fine? Also, can I even go straight to 80-10-10 now? (Been eating junk out of fear.) Everyone says I can’t because of detox… ?

  • gaegae

    Hi beautifull people! I have a 6 month baby….and it is time to introduce food… i am giving to him breast milk and i am going on that till he was 2 years…but now I need to begin with other food….and I want to know if somebody have information on that….which kind life food is better to introduce firts….the quantity….and all that!! Thank for all the information you can bring me!!!

  • southernloversouthernlover Raw Newbie

    Junk food as in cooked food. (Not pepperoni pizza and ice cream, lol.) Some beans, brown rice, and occasionally some fish. Not feeling good on it, though. It’s scary, though, I am having a hard time trusting when I don’t know enough about this lifestyle to make educated choices concerning my baby. Anyway, it will work out.

  • Viriditas, I’m so interested to hear your experience with maintaining your levels without assistance and under such scrutiny! I do hope you might share them with us, partly for the purely selfish reason of hoping to copy you if and when I manage to persuade my other half!

    This is such a senstive subject that I hesitate to post, but, I came across the following article some time ago, and it’s something that I’ve always remembered to bear in mind if and when I do have children. I hope you won’t be offended by me linking to it.

    http://www.shazzie.com/raw/articles/raw_vegan_c…

    For me, it sort of ties in with something I read here earlier today which was in the thread about the idea of eating fish if you live in Scandinavia. I think it was Kevlar (but please forgive me if it wasn’t, I’m afraid I have a terrible memory) who said that we have to remember that the soil we use is degraded to the point where we can’t be sure that we are replicating the exact vitamins and minerals that we need. As someone who becomes deficient easily myself (2 green smoothies daily and still my iron intake won’t keep up with me!) it’s something that I’m particularly cautious about.

    all best, Vx

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