add it up.

I don't usually make a habit of counting calories, grams of protein, calcium, iron, etc. In the past, I've kept track of my daily food intake using Fitday just to make sure I was meeting my dietary needs.
The main things I learned when logging food (besides that I occasionally eat too much) was that as long as I kept my diet varied and included fruit, veggies, beans, nuts and grains, then I more than met my nutritional goals. So my mantra has simply been, "Eat! Enjoy!". Now that I'm growing a lil' vegan, I've found myself in need of keeping track a little better.

So, my new nutritional needs mainly consist of doubling my protein intake, and making sure I'm getting enough calcium. Eating enough protein has never been a problem before, and I refuse to become a vegan stereotype while pregnant! Getting more protein than usual just takes a little more planning on my part.

Main meals have been fairly well balanced, it's the snacks in between that I'm working on to make sure they fill me up with what I need, not just fill me up. Here are some of my higher-protein snack options so far. I would love to hear suggestions for more protein rich snacks!

Peanut butter on toast
Hummus on wheat crackers
Bagels (they average about 7g protein!)
Walnuts, cashews, almonds
Primal Strips
Tofurky sammich (yes, as a snack. I'm hungry all the time!)
Soy yogurt
Sunflower seeds
Smoothie with rice protein
Tofu "egg" salad
Tempeh "chicken" salad


As far as the calcium-rich foods, I'm incorporating as much for these foods as possible:

Kale
Chard
Collard greens
Enriched vegan milks
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Almonds
Soy yogurt

When I told the midwife that I don't eat dairy, I was expecting a lecture. But she didn't give two shits about it. She just told me to eat plenty of greens and maybe take the occasional Tums. I like her.

I'm good on meal planning, but I need quality snack advice, folks! I would love for you to weigh in on this, if you can.

Thanks!