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Expert Q&A
Question:
I seriously dislike and cannot stand to eat fruits or vegetables. I enjoy drinking fruit juices with the exception of pineapple juice. I have just found out that I am pregnant and am concerned about proper fetal development. I am an extremely healthy person and I have not ever liked fruits or vegetables. What can I do, besides taking the vitamin supplement, to help ensure the proper development of my baby?
Answer:

In order to figure out how to make this work for you and your baby, we will need to do a bit of detective work in a moment because it is simply not possible to maximize a healthy diet if two major food groups are basically being excluded. Although this may not be what you hoped to hear, please don't be discouraged, because there are things you can do to make a difference.

It goes without saying that eating a healthy variety of foods from all of the other food groups is essential. Also, definitely take a prenatal supplement recommended by your doctor, but you simply cannot rely on that supplement to cover all of what you are missing by omitting vegetables and whole fruits from your diet. Remember, when you isolate a vitamin or mineral and put it in pill form, you miss out on all of the wonderful properties of various foods that we have yet to identify as beneficial for health. Fruits and vegetables also are high in fiber; juices are low unless they contain lots of pulp. A small serving or two of fruit juice per day, preferably something like orange juice, is fine but don't go overboard (especially if you develop gestational diabetes).

I have a feeling that you may not be giving yourself enough credit for "likes" (versus "dislikes") in the fruit and vegetable department. Lets start with fruits. You may not like them by themselves, but try blending them in the form of a smoothie (use frozen raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and orange juice -- all are high in folate-- and add plain or flavored yogurt, maybe half of a banana or mango, then blend). You can also bake muffins, breads, etc., with applesauce, mashed bananas, raisins, prune puree; see a low fat cookbook or magazine for substitutions suggestions.

On to vegetables. . . These are just examples, so think of a few of your own too. You may dislike tomatoes, but tomato spaghetti sauce is just fine (this can count as a couple of vegetable servings). I like to cut up other vegetables or grate veggies in my sauce (e.g. grated zucchini, carrot, red bell pepper, mushrooms). Soups are also another terrific way to eat veggies because there is so much to disguise them (try adding broccoli, cauliflower, chopped spinach, carrots); soups canbe pureed too, and substituting evaporated low-fat or nonfat milk canbe great in a cream of vegetable soup or chowder. Here are a few last ditch efforts. Salsa is a vegetable; choose mild so you can eat a lot. Maybe Chinese stir fry, like beef and broccoli, is appealing. Lastly, think about various forms of veggies too, from raw (e.g. even lettuce has good qualities) to steamed (e.g., asparagus -- very high infolate!) to juiced (e.g., V8) to grilled (yum, like corn, eggplant, summer squash).

Best wishes, and remember, you have the power to teach yourself to like new things. Just take small steps, and choose the easiest thing first.

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