Any mother worth her salt is going to be looking for ways to best nourish her family, and that includes the precious little ones still in the womb. There are many opinions out there on what’s best for you and yours , but Nina Planck’s new book, Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby’s First Foods
is by far is the one that I’ve agreed with the most! Her advice in invaluable and her own life experience is both fun, amusing, and touching. This book was written after her first was in the toddler stage and when she was pregnant with twins (whom she carried to full term, had a VBAC delivery with both of them, and who are now being nursed and loved at home).
Many of you will know Nina from her first book, Real Food: What to Eat and Why. There she outlines what “real food” really is and what it’s not. I loved her book for standing up for real (that is, nourishing) foods, and her insightful discussion of recent research. I love the mix of examining research and appreciating real food. She brings a lot to the table (pun intended!).
Her new book brings that same mix of appreciation for traditional foods for fertility, pregnancy, post-partum and feeding your toddler and backing up her claims with research, logic, and humor. She also makes it personal by weaving her own story throughout the book. I think that a book on healthy food could be quite boring, but I have read through this book now one and a half times, and both times I’ve become engrossed! The blend of her story with the research and tips keep me reading all the way through.
Rather than simply sharing what nutrients are important, she shares what foods go along with those nutrients. For example, men need vitamin E, zinc, vitamin c, iron, folate, among other nutrients for good fertility. Women need the same, plus others. She shares what whole foods will give you these nutrients. Because she has some handy charts in the book, listing needed nutrients and foods, I have found it easy to flip to a section and find the info I need (for my next pregnancy, I will probably photocopy some of these charts to keep within easy access).
Most of all, what I appreciate about this book is that she somehow manages to share a lot of information without seeming condemning or overwhelming you. Truthfully, our bodies need a lot of different nutrients just to survive, let alone make a baby! So looking at all of the nutrient needs can seem like a steep order. But she gives such simple, yet clear guidelines that it does seem doable after all. That is a feat in itself!
Just one last note, I recommended her first book to a dear friend, who ended up loving the book. However as a conservative Christian, she was a little nervous about the evolutionary view point that appeared here and there. I think the wonderful thing is that those of us with different viewpoints can still agree on what to eat! You will find a lot of helpful information here, even if you don’t see eye to eye on the origin of Man.
There are a lot of really meaty quotes that I could share with you about how toxins are bad for you and your baby, why certain foods are vital to your health, and so on, but I wanted to share just one quote to show her practical advice as well.
“Slow down and take the long view. You have forty weeks to eat well. It’s better not to think about daily consumption of any nutrient or any food. The fabulous, abundant banquet of good foods in pregnancy books including this one, is just a notion, a list of options to encourage you. No matter what they say, you simply do not need to eat all of these foods every day, and you’ll be miserable if you try. ”
This is the kind of book, filled with practical and reassuring advice along with the meaty information you need to nourish yourself that all of us need! She challenges you to eat well, shares research frankly, but does so without piling excessive worry on you. If you are considering getting pregnant or are, I definitely recommend you get this book! I think that it will be invaluable to any pregnant woman.
And today, we will be giving away two, autographed copies of Real Food for Mother and baby. I am so excited!
To enter, all you need to do, is click on the link below to check out Nina’s site and then come back here to leave a comment saying why you would like a copy of this book. For a second entry, follow Nina on twitter (you will find her twitter link on her site) and then come back here and let me know that you are.
I am thrilled to say that Nina just signed on to be a sponsor with Real Food Media! Like all of the giveaways done with my sponsors I will be receiving a small compensation for hosting this giveaway.
Contest Rules
This contest will end Tuesday, November 17th at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be chosen via random.org, and will be announced on November 19th. The lucky winner will have 48 hours to contact me with his or her full name, address, and phone number. You must live within the United States to enter this contest.
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AmyK
I am in week 11-ish with my 2nd pregnancy and would love to get my hands on this info for me, the baby and my family! Thanks for the opportunity!
lizzykristine
I’ve been wishing our library had a copy of this book! I am just beginning the second trimester with our first baby…. hopefully many years of pregnancy and little ones in our near future. 🙂
Rosita
This book looks like it would be full of great information. I would love to read it in full.
Kate
I just went to Nina’s site and signed up for her Twitter feed — and delighted to do so (thanks for the nudge to make it happen).
Kate
And for my second entry…I am 20 weeks pregnant and devoured Nina’s first book. Would love her guidance on what I should be eating now and what baby #2 should be eating when he’s ready for the wild world of (semi-) solid food.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Kate
Lindsay
I have been wanting to get my hands on this, I want to use it to construct a pre-natal plan for my husband and I! *fingers crossed!
Pamela
I love the look of this book. Even if I don’t win, I might pick up a copy.
Rebecca
My husband and I are hoping to start a family in the coming year, and this is the kind of food/nutritional/eating information I’m looking for.
Rebecca
. . . and I just signed up to follow Nina on Twitter!
Amber
Oooh, this book looks great! I have a new baby due next month and I’d love to learn more about “real food” for babies.
Jen (What's Cooking 4 us.com)
enter me!
Pamela O.
I am coming up on week 32 with Baby #3 and would love to have the information in this book readily accessible!
Melissa @CelluliteInvestigation
I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of this book ever since I read her handouts. Very intriguing.
I also follow Nina on Twitter.
Hannah @ One Big Adventure
My sister and I got Nina Planck’s first book from the library and loved it! I’d love to read this one, I know my mom would as well, and find some ideas for what to feed my little brother (who isn’t so little anymore, but has health issues).
Hannah @ One Big Adventure
Following Nina on Twitter and tweeted the giveaway
Charlsie Swadley
I just found out that I am expecting my 6th child and am finding it a little more challenging to get in my normal “pregnancy mode”, perhaps this book would give me the push I need!!!
Kelly
I am hoping for another baby! I ate terribly with my first and would really like this to help me eat healthier before, during and after my next pregnancy, as well as feed my toddler well now!
Thanks for the chance!
Jean
My baby is 6 months old and not responding well to rice cereal. I’d be interested to see what the author’s take is on why meat is a better source of iron than fortified cereal…I wasn’t going to offer meat until 8 or 9 months!
Emily
I would love to read this book! We are going to be trying for baby number 2 soon. After being a vegetarian for 17+ years, my family recently switched to a traditional foods diet about 2 months ago. I would love to have some more guidance and help. This book sounds wonderful! Now with all of this new knowledge, I wish I could go back and have eaten this way when I was pregnant.
esther
I am 28 weeks pregnant with baby #5 so I would love it. I would also like to get a copy to give to my SIL who is new to this whole “real” food concept, I cringe at what she puts in her shopping cart. She too is pregnant and has two other children so maybe if she heard it from someone besides me it might sink in better.
Rachel R.
Oh, I would love to have a copy of this book! I’ve just begun reading Real Food (and discovered that Nina Planck grew up very close to where I live!), and would very much like to read what she has to say about fertility, feeding babies, etc. Conventional modern baby-feeding wisdom makes no sense to me – milk is primarily fat and protein, so when we introduce solids we begin with carbs?!
Rebecca
I have been dying for a copy of this book, and I can’t even take it out from the library because no libraries near me have it. I am nursing a little one who is starting solid food and I think it would be a great resource. Thanks for running the giveaway!
Serena
I’m reading Real Food: What to Eat and Why right now and am loving it! I would love to win a copy of Nina’s newest book so that I have that resource when I get pregnant again. I’m breastfeeding right now, so I could use it now, too!
Lindsay
I am enjoying my first full-term baby –he is now 3 weeks old. I have been wondering the past few days how I would be getting around the “cereal” discussion with the pediatrician, and what to offer instead. THIS BOOK LOOKS LIKE IT HAS MY ANSWERS!!
Serena
I’m now following Nina on Twitter!
Cara
I’ve been hearing a lot about this book lately- it sounds great!
Becky
We have a toddler and are trying for our second baby. I would love to learn more about nourishing food for pregnancy.
Heather Weber
I would love a copy of nina’s book. I am in my first trimester with baby no. 3 after not being pregnant for five years. her book sounds like somethign that would be really helpful to me right now, when food doesn’t sound good and I’m always wondering what to eat.
Lisa @ WellGrounded Life
Pregnant with my third and would love the chance to win this book!
KellyBrz
I’m 14 weeks into my first pregnancy and it’s so hard to know what to eat! I’d love to have a copy of this book.
kyrie
In my experience, eating better while you’re pregnant really *does* lead to a healthier baby! My littlest is just starting on solids and I’d love to see what Nina has to say about that.
Mindy
I am 28 weeks pregnant with my 4th child – but this is the first pregnancy since we’ve started concentrating on Real Food. I’m halfway through a borrowed copy of this book, and am loving it! I’d love to own it. I was so struck by the information on fertility and infertility. People don’t know this stuff! I certainly didn’t…
mary
i would love to learn more before #2 is in planning
Helen V
I would love to have his book for a friend that has been trying to get pregnant for the last 10 years. She has just started changing her diet and I’m sure would love to read this book. Thank you!
tina
There sure are alot give-aways on the Nourishing Traditions blogs these days.
Mistee
My sister-in-law just asked if I knew of any good nutrition books for pregnancy and I couldn’t think of any that followed a “real food” philosophy. She is unexpectedly pregnant with her 5th baby, and her 4th is not yet a year old. She is trying to learn how to feed her family more nutritiously and could use the help from this book. I’d love to give it to her, but can’t afford to buy it right now. Thanks for entering me!
Rachel
This sounds like a great resource. We are considering a third pregnancy and would love the information and encouragement towards eating more Real Food.
Beth
My husband and I are starting to plan when we would like to have children. I would love to have this book and have actually just been thinking the last couple of weeks about what real foods would help create a healthy prenatal environment. Thank you for hosting the giveaway!
jennybear
This sounds like just the book I need right now. I am pregnant with my second and still nursing my 22 month old – so my body is trying to spread the nourishment it get to three different people! I am finding it challenging to get all the calories I need in the form of real nourishing foods everyday and this book sounds like a great resource. But, alas, I live in Canada so I guess I am not eligible for the giveaway(unless having a US shipping address counts?)
I will just have to go and buy a copy – Thanks for letting me know about it!
kara bagley
I am a mother of three little ones and we are wanting more. I am fighting through the jungle of information and feel this is the good stuff. I would love to have this great book to continually reference through my pregnancies.
Whitney
I just checked out her site and added her books to my Wish List! My daughter is 8 months old but I am still trying to figure out what to feed her. I would also like to read the book and change my eating habits for baby #2 in the near future.
Metasequoia
I’d love to give this book to my vegan sister who recently had a baby – *before* she starts feeding the baby!
Thank you, Ma’am!
Elisa
I have been wanting to read this book for awhile now. It would be great to win it! Thanks for the opportunity!
Laura
WOW!!! I’m already sold on whole foods, cutting out processed foods, getting as many local foods as possible into my diet . . . my sister (expecting any time in the next 2-3 weeks) agrees with me, but has used pregnancy as her license to eat, eat, eat (eat cheetos, eat ice cream, eat frozen dinners – you get my drift). She may have missed a few oportunities during the pregnancy, but I would love to be able to give this as a birthday present to little David, when he arrives, for better health. (And, when I have kids, I want to know all of this too!!!)
Christy
I am done having kids now….I have 3 now 🙂 but I support expecting and post natal moms and would love to have this info on hand as one of our resources. I also have a baby who is 7 months so extra ideas on nutritional eating besides breastfeeding would be great!
Becky
I have actually been researching some on this book and have wanted a copy. I have her book real food (what to eat and why) so would love a copy of her fertility foods and baby foods. I have had 2 miscarriages and since my last one I have gone 10 months without getting pregnant so if there any advice I don’t know about to help me get pregnant again, I would love to know it.
Thanks,
Bronwen
I am a mum with three kids and I am always trying to feed them nutritiously. I would love to soak up Nina Planck’s new words of wisdom and integrate even more healthy and nutrient dense foods into all my little ones!
Thanks, Bronwen
Kristi
I just transitioned from being on a Raw Vegan diet, with my entire family (husband, baby and toddler). When we thought we were doing all the right things we stumbled upon Dr. Weston Price’s findings. Now I am trying to integrate more animal foods into our diet and would love to read this book. I think it would give me some much needed guidance!
Andrea
I’d love to read it!!! I have a five months nursing boy and a three year old little girl. It would be great to read it before introducing solids to my baby!
Michelle Rover
My daughter is 5 months, so she’ll be starting solids soon! I’d love to have a copy of this book.