Introduction

What would life be without great food? I love food and am always happy to prepare, share and enjoy meals with family and friends. Eating local, flavourful and healthy meals became even more of a priority when I found out I was expecting a baby. Like many women, I wanted to eat what would be best for my baby and steer clear of any foods or drinks that could cause harm or increase risk. But I couldn’t always keep track of what foods were to be avoided and was often confused by advice or the most recent recommendations for nutrition during pregnancy. I also worried that I would inadvertently eat something I wasn’t supposed to have, especially at restaurants. I felt much happier and comfortable making meals at home and having a fun dinner party instead of an expensive meal out. And some days I could barely manage to eat at all, as the “morning” sickness lasted all day. I’ve heard from many other women who felt the same way.

I put together this collection of fun, relatively simple but gourmet recipes for all the other pregnant gals out there who also want to keep eating well without confusion. I am incredibly thankful to Dr. Jan Christilaw, who has reviewed the recipes and given them all a stamp of approval for expectant women. I hope this book will save you time, energy and stress in deciding what to eat, as I know you’ve got other important things to do. You don’t need any special training to make these gourmet meals, just high-quality ingredients and the time to prepare the dishes. You can certainly continue eating these meals after your baby is born — you’ll want to make the recipes for your children and family for years to come. There are lots of good food movies to watch if you need extra inspiration — a few of my favourites are Like Water for Chocolate, Eat Drink Man Woman, Chocolat, Babette’s Feast, Ratatouille and Julie & Julia. You’ll be in the mood to whip up a feast after watching any one of them. I hope you also get your partner and friends in the kitchen to cook with (or for!) you. Put on some music, shift into a creative and playful frame of mind, and have fun in the kitchen. Cooking can be such great entertainment — and the eating part that follows is pretty good, too. Enjoy!

Where Can I Get The Book?

The Gourmet Pregnancy is available online at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, at Chapters Indigo locations across Canada, Borders locations in the US, plus online on their websites.

View sample pages from the book