7 easy pregnancy lunch ideas

These meals are good for lunchtime as they’re quick to make. Sandwiches and soups are great for taking to work too.

Here are some quick and easy ideas for lunchtime meals. Keep soup hot in a flask and keep sandwiches cool in an insulated bag. Try to have a variety of fruit and vegetables each day as part of a healthy, balanced diet

Pizza, but not as you know it!

Quick and easy 'pitta pizza'. Put chopped tomatoes and other vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms onto a baguette and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Put it under the grill to melt the cheese. Mozzarella and cheddar cheese are great for melting and both are safe to eat during pregnancy. 

Find out more about foods to avoid during pregnancy

Image of a pizza made with a pitta bread with mushrooms on top.

Get your portion of fish

Tinned sardines or mackerel on wholemeal toast with sliced tomato. 

You should aim to eat one portion of oily fish a week, such as salmon, trout, mackerel or herring. Oily fish helps your baby's nervous system to develop. However, you should not eat more than 2 portions of oily fish a week as they may contain pollutants that can harm your baby. 

Image of a plate of sardines on toast with a tomato

An easy way to hit your 5-a-day

Vegetable soup, with a wholemeal bun.

Vegetable soup and a bread roll

A simple classic

Baked beans with some bread or toast on the side.

bowl of baked beans with a french stick roll on the side

Veggie chickpea dahl

Find the recipe for this veggie dish from First Steps Nutrition Trust

chickpea dahl with chapatti

A home-prepped, packed lunch

Perfect for lunch on-the-go! Tuna and sweetcorn pasta, carrot and cucumber sticks, yoghurt, and a carton of orange juice.

 

Image of a packed lunch with a bowl of tuna and sweetcorn pasta, a yoghurt pot, vegetable sticks and a carton of orange juice.

What sandwich fillers can I have? 

Tuna 

Fish is a good source of many vitamins and minerals. However, you should limit how much tuna you eat, because it has more mercury in it than other fish. If you eat too much mercury, it can be harmful to your unborn baby. You should eat no more than 2 tuna steaks (about 140g cooked or 170g raw) or 4 medium-size cans of tuna (about 140g when drained) per week.

Ham and cured meats 

It is safe to eat cold, pre-packed meats such as ham and corned beef. Although the risk is low, you may also prefer to avoid raw cured meat, such as parma ham, chorizo, pepperoni and salami. Cured meats are not cooked, so they may parasites in them that cause toxoplasmosis.

Cheese 

Hard cheeses like cheddar are safe to eat during pregnancy. Find out more about cheeses that are best to avoid

Mayonnaise 

It is safe to eat shop-bought mayonnaise during pregnancy. If the mayonnaise has been freshly made, check that it has been made using Red lion eggs, otherwise it is best to avoid. 

NHS Choices (accessed 27/10/20): Foods to avoid in pregnancy: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/foods-to-avoid-pregnant/

Thanks to Dr Helen Crawley from the First Steps Nutrition Trust for allowing us to use recipes from her guide Eating well for a healthy pregnancy.
 

Review dates
Reviewed: 05 March 2021
Next review: 05 March 2024

This content is currently being reviewed by our team. Updated information will be coming soon.