Zero-waste recipes for pregnant mothers offer simple yet nutritious recipes. Motherhood is a transforming journey, and an eco-friendly food habit can help the habit of loving the environment. Overall, It is an empowering journey for a mother so profound that right food choices can produce a healthy future for the new life.

Zero-waste, the term is self-explanatory. The prevention of actions that emit waste is a burning concern in the current world. According to UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024,  one-fifth of the food produced worldwide is wasted or lost yearly. Sixty percent of this wasted food happens to be from the household level. Clearly, we are throwing away as much food as we eat. This value of the wasted food is around $1 trillion.

Responding to this crisis, we share simple, healthy, and easy recipes for pregnant mothers to prevent and reduce food waste. Zero-waste recipes are recipes that use up all the ingredients leaving no portion of the ingredients unused or wasted. Thus, dishes prepared are fresh and groceries are not left for rotting in the freezer.

6 Healthy Zero-Waste Recipes for Pregnant Mothers

Remember when you are pregnant, your baby eats exactly what you eat. Besides, pregnancy complications and weight gain should be in check as well. Comprehending all that, pregnancy meals should be delicious and packed with nutrients. The recipes given below are zero-waste as well as loaded with nutrients.

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How to Plan Your Meal to Avoid Food Waste?

People often do not plan their meals well. Instead, they prefer planning a meal menu with ingredients from scratch or new ingredients without checking their pantry. This leads to the most of food waste in the household. In contrast, these zero-waste recipes for pregnant mothers will take care of your leftover edible vegetables in freeze. While teaching you how to use the portions of food we usually throw away, these simple, healthy and easy recipes will clear out your fridge and let you be creative with food preps.

A. All in Vegetable Dal

Dal is a staple food in many Asian households. Although it is a lentil soup, you can chop and add any vegetables, or spices you want, even an egg. Dal with rice is a balanced meal for a pregnant mother. A smidgen of that powerful mix of Indian herbs available at home will improve the taste too.

1. Take two types of dal and wash it well. Soak them for an hour. Pressure cook the dal with salt and turmeric. 3 whistles are enough. Turn off the stove and let it cool for a bit.
2. Set a pan on the stove, add the vegetables of and beans available at home. Afterwards, keep it stirring until the vegetables and beans are cooked well and soft.
3. This is the part where you can get creative. Add some ghee or vegetable oil in a fry pan. Add bay leaf, cumin seeds, chopped onions, and garlic cloves. Fry them until they turn golden. Add some sliced tomatos and red chili powder, coriander powder and fry it a bit. Add half cup of water to mix all the ingredients well. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until everything become mushy together.
4. Add the cooked vegetables and dal to this preparation. Cook it together for 2 minutes and season it with cilantro and green chili. At the end, check the salt if needed.

B. Veg and Meat Soup

Soup is a one-pot solution to your leftover meat and vegetables. Sometimes specially in winter, a big bowl of chicken or beef stock boiling on the stove. You can add vegetables, roots, and spices as you like. Along with fresh vegetables, you can add pickled and roasted ones too. For example, pickled cucumber or tomato will be a great flavor enhancer.

C. Sweet & Sour Watermelon Rind

Chef Natasha shared a unique recipe of watermelon rind. Save the skin after you eat your melon, Cook it well until it is softened and the texture is smooth. It goes well into any savory recipe. If you are curious about trying watermelon rind instead of throwing them off, try this delicious sweet and sour dish.

1. Chop the rind of the watermelon roughly. Get some sliced onion, small pineapple pieces, crushed garlic, and pepper.
2. Add sesame oil to a pan. Add garlic with salt and keep stirring it until it softens.
3. Add maple syrup, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, and some rice vinegar. Mix all of it well. Add corn flour to it. Ensure no lumps are created.
4. Add this mixture of sweet and sour sauce to the pan. Stir the sauce until it coats every piece of added vegetables and fruits. Simmer it for another five minutes.

D. Asparagus Ends Soup

Usually, we chop off the hard ends of any root vegetables. However, asparagus root is edible if you know this recipe for turning it into a delicious soup.

1. Save up the wooden ends after using asparagus for other dishes. Boil them well until their tender and not stringy. Dice some celery, onion, and leek and blend them with cooked asparagus stems.
2. When the puree is ready. Add a small amount of cream and some parsley or blanched herbs for color and softness. You can add a few drops of oil.
3. Use a stock of broccoli and potato to enrich the soup with creaminess. This is optional, however, this creamy quality makes the soup feel comforting despite being a soup of scrap items.

E. Maple Mustard Baked Fish Sheet Pan Dinner

One pan dinner is time-saving. Moreover, it ensures the balanced nutrition necessary for pregnant women. Simple species and rich flavors is what it offers.

1. Put on your stove and place a large bowl on it, Add olive oil, and mustard, lemon zest and juice, salt & pepper and a bit of garlic powder. Mix it well until it is cooked a bit.
2. Get a baking tray. Toss in any green vegetables i.e. asparagus, snap peas, Dijon mustard, and add a few fish fillets coated in vinegar. Bake them for 15 minutes or until the fish and vegetables are tender enough to eat.
3. Meanwhile, boil up the brown rice to eat with the dish.

F. Turkey Pot Pie

What about festival time? Turkey is the staple item. After dinner night, the next day morning you can make a pot pie with leftover turkey and other kinds of stuff. This no-waste recipe is super comforting for the mother and nutritious for her unborn baby. The recipe emphasizes on making it flavorful and healthy at once.

Step 1

1. Gather your leftover turkey gravy, vegetables mashed potatoes or whatever you have for side dishes.
2. Melt a spoonful of unsalted butter with extra virgin oil. Add chopped onion, button mushroom, ground pepper, and a bit of salt. Cook until everything is tender.
3. Add thinly sliced leftover vegetables to the pan along with finely chopped turkey parts. Add a bit of fresh thyme. Fry it well for a few minutes.
4. Add the turkey gravy and bring it to a boil. Ensure the stove is in medium heat. Cook to thicken the gravy for a bit. Season it with salt and pepper. Spread some fresh herbs on the top. Pour it into a glass pie dish and let it cook for about 30 minutes.

Step 2

1. Roll out a pie crust disk on a plain surface. Lightly brush a watery egg. Pinch few dough rim to seal the crust on all sides. Chill it for 10 minutes.
2. Fill the pie with the turkey and vegetable filling. Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling about 35 minutes. Serve it with any sauce you like.

These recommended healthy zero-waste recipes for pregnant mothers may not look very appealing. Nonetheless, they taste superb if you try them.   

Summing up, eco-conscious people have been working towards making the world with less waste in every way possible. Food preparation is part of that strategy. Processing homemade recipes with no waste endorses the need for a waste-free world for our upcoming future. Subsequently, we offer some recipes and tips to eliminate food waste. A gesture towards healthily loving our planet.