Pregnancy nutrition

Everyone has an opinion about what you should be eating. Very few of them are dietitians.

Pregnancy comes with a great deal of advice and not much of it is consistent. This is calm, practical, trimester-by-trimester guidance — enough of what you and your baby need, worked around the nausea, the fatigue and the food you can actually face today.

A nourishing, balanced meal suitable for pregnancy
Sound familiar?

If any of this sounds like you

Nothing stays down

You know what you're supposed to eat. Right now you'd settle for something that doesn't come straight back.

Buried in conflicting advice

Every website, relative and forum contradicts the last, and you've stopped knowing who to believe.

Worried you're falling short

You want to be confident you're getting what matters, without turning every meal into an anxiety.

Exhausted and cooking anyway

You're flattened by the first trimester and still need to feed yourself and possibly other people.

Managing something alongside it

Blood sugar, blood pressure or gut symptoms in pregnancy, and you'd like proper joined-up guidance.

Planning ahead

You're trying to conceive or thinking about the next one and want to start from a good place.

A family sharing a nourishing meal at a table
Not 'eating for two'

Pregnancy raises what you need far more than how much you eat.

The old “eating for two” line is one of the least useful things anyone will tell you. What actually rises sharply is your requirement for specific nutrients — iron, folate, calcium, iodine and others — while the extra energy you need is far more modest than people assume, and doesn't arrive at all in the first trimester.

That's why quality matters more than quantity here. We make the food you can manage do more work, which is a very different problem in a first trimester of nausea than it is in a third trimester of heartburn and no room.

We also work with what your body will tolerate on the day. There is no point handing you a beautiful plan built on food you cannot currently look at.

How I work with you

Four things that make the difference

Trimester by trimester

Your plan changes as your pregnancy does — nausea and aversions early, steady building in the middle, small and frequent near the end.

The nutrients that matter

Deliberate cover for iron, folate, calcium, iodine and the rest, alongside whatever your doctor or midwife has prescribed.

Nausea and aversions, handled

Practical strategies for the weeks when very little appeals, so you're still getting something useful in.

Daily accountability

Someone to ask in real time through the app, on the day it matters rather than at your next appointment.

Preparing simple, nourishing food at home
What you get

What's included

  • An eating plan matched to your trimester
  • Nutrient cover planned around your prescribed supplements
  • Practical strategies for nausea, aversions and heartburn
  • Clear guidance on foods to be careful with in pregnancy
  • Simple, low-effort meals for the exhausted weeks
  • Daily check-ins and live chat through the free app
The best pregnancy plan is the one you can actually face on the day you have to eat it.
Lee Jaffe — Registered Dietitian, RD(SA)
Common questions

Pregnancy Nutrition, answered

Do I need to eat more?

Less than most people assume, and not at all in the first trimester. Your requirement for particular nutrients rises considerably more than your energy needs do, which is why the focus is on making the food you can manage count rather than simply adding volume.

What about supplements?

Pregnancy supplements are usually prescribed and monitored by your doctor or midwife, and I work around what you've been given rather than over the top of it. My side is making sure your eating supports it and fills the gaps that food is better at filling. Bring your prescription list to the first consultation.

I can't keep anything down. Is it even worth seeing you?

That's often exactly when it helps most. When very little is tolerated, what you do manage matters much more — and there are practical strategies around timing, texture, temperature and food choice that make a real difference. If your sickness is severe, please also speak to your doctor, because that needs medical management alongside.

Which foods should I avoid in pregnancy?

There's a well-established list around food safety in pregnancy, and we'll go through it properly and practically at your consultation — including how it applies to South African products and eating out here, which generic overseas advice tends to gloss over.

Can you help with blood sugar in pregnancy?

Blood-sugar management in pregnancy is closely monitored by your medical team, and dietary care is a central part of it. I work alongside them on the eating side. Bring your results and their guidance and we'll build around it.

Can we do this online?

Yes — and it's often easier when you're exhausted or unwell. I consult online across South Africa and in person in Sea Point, with the same plan, app access and daily support.

Calm, practical, evidence-based

Nourish your pregnancy — without the noise.

Start with the free 2-minute assessment for a personalised next step, or book a free 15-minute discovery call. Online across South Africa, or in person in Sea Point.