The founders of start-up Smart Meals on healthy nutrition during pregnancy

Everyone knows the feeling of not having time to prepare fresh, healthy meals every time. Daniel and Jeffrey addressed this problem and founded Smart Meals. They deliver boxes of their freshly prepared meals to your home, which is a daily relief, especially for busy moms.

Dear Jeffrey and Daniel, you launched your startup Smart Meals in February 2020. Tell us briefly how the idea came about. What is your mission?

As a former professional athlete, Jeffrey always knew he had to pay close attention to his diet to achieve his desired performance. However, it wasn't always easy for him to find the extra time to eat between sports, university, and work. Therefore, it made sense for him to prepare his meals for the week as best he could on selected days and times. This is called meal prepping, a term that is gradually gaining more and more traction here as well.

As Jeffrey showed up everywhere with his prepared meals, he was increasingly asked by teammates and colleagues if he could cook for them, as they were also interested in eating healthy and delicious meals but were simply too lazy.

So Jeffrey came up with the idea that this might be a good opportunity to build a business model that could truly help people not only live healthier lives in their everyday lives, but also actually free up more time for them. This was the birth of Smart Meals. As a nutrition coach, Daniel ensures that the nutritional values ​​in the meals are optimized.

Many people want to eat healthily, but in their stressful everyday lives they may not have the time or the patience to think about what they could cook, shopping, cooking, washing up, etc. So the decision often falls on something that is as quick as possible, but is not necessarily good for their health.

This is exactly where we want to help people. We deliver not only healthy but also delicious meals. This way, they don't have to worry about shopping, cooking, etc. on their busy days, but can simply use the time to take a breather and relax, since we've taken care of the other tasks for them.

You deal with the topic of nutrition on a daily basis. It's especially important to eat a balanced and healthy diet during pregnancy. Which foods provide the most vitamins and nutrients during this extraordinary time?

During pregnancy, there are certain basic rules that should be followed to keep the mother and baby healthy. These include:

• Consume an adequate amount of calories (but not too many)
• Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals
• Eating the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats
• Avoid pathogens and toxins from food as much as possible

However, following these basic rules can be a bit challenging, even if you're not pregnant. Pregnancy can actually make healthy eating more difficult, as cravings, nausea, food aversions, and fatigue all have a major impact on eating behavior.

Calories during pregnancy

Even if you're "fit for two" during pregnancy, you shouldn't take it too literally. It's important to maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy—not too much, not too little.

Most women actually do not need any extra calories in the first trimester if they have been eating well enough to maintain their weight.

During the second and third trimesters, however, calorie needs change. This change naturally varies from mother to mother, but studies suggest an additional 350-450 calories per day is a good starting point. It's best to discuss the individual amount with your doctor or nutritionist.

Macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates and fats

Meals should provide a balanced macronutrient balance. All three macronutrients provide calories and serve important functions to keep mother and baby healthy.

protein

Protein is the most important of the three macronutrients; it's essentially the building block of our body. Every cell, our enzymes and hormones, our immune system—virtually every reaction in the body—requires protein.

Protein is also needed for fetal development and increases the chances of the baby being born with a good weight.

Mothers who eat enough protein during pregnancy also reduce the likelihood of excessive weight gain and anemia.

Recommendations:

• turkey
• Chicken
• eggs
• tofu
• Lean beef
• Fish (Please note the safety instructions later)

Fat

Certain fats are also very important during pregnancy. Omega 3 fats, in particular, are essential for brain and eye development.

However, it is very important to choose the right sources of fat. Most fats should come from so-called unsaturated fatty acids, which we find in nuts, olive oil, or oily fish like salmon. Fried foods and very fatty meats, on the other hand, should be limited to 1-2 times a week. Processed meats such as sausage, trans fats like margarine, and highly heated oils should be avoided completely.

Recommendations:

• Olive oil
• Nuts
• Seeds and kernels
• avocado

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for mother and baby. Some carbohydrates also contain vitamins and other healthy nutrients important for fetal development.

How many carbohydrates you eat also depends partly on personal preference. Some people tolerate carbohydrates better, especially when dealing with morning sickness. Others may cope better with more fat.

Regardless of preference, the more active the mother, the more carbohydrates should be consumed.

Recommendations:

• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Rice (brown)
• Quinoa
• Whole grain products

Vitamins, minerals and trace elements

Folic acid

Most people should already know that folic acid is important during pregnancy. Among other things, folic acid helps prevent birth defects. What is less well known is that only a small portion of folic acid is converted to folinic acid, the active form.

So when taking folic acid, make sure it is the active form, which is called folate or 5 MTHF.

Good food sources include nuts, green leafy vegetables, broccoli and cauliflower, and eggs.

iron

A woman's iron needs can almost double during pregnancy. More iron is needed to increase blood volume and transport more oxygen to the baby.

Iron deficiency can lead to abnormal brain development, which can later cause learning and behavioral problems.

When it comes to your diet, you should make sure to eat foods rich in vitamin C, such as peppers, broccoli, and kale, as vitamin C improves iron absorption from the diet.

On the other hand, you should reduce your intake of foods high in calcium, such as milk and cheese, as they reduce iron absorption.

Foods that contain a lot of iron: red meat, eggs, fish, tofu, beans and lentils (although care should be taken to prepare them correctly).

Vitamin D

When it comes to health, vitamin D is essential, as it's essential for virtually every cell. It's essential for the brain and nervous system, the immune system, detoxification, and even cancer prevention, among other things.

A vitamin D deficiency brings with it a number of risks for mother and baby, which is why it makes sense to consider taking additional vitamin D through dietary supplements.

Ideally, you should have your vitamin D levels checked before pregnancy so that you can build up your levels early on.

Foods that should be avoided during pregnancy

During pregnancy, women are more susceptible to pathogens because their immune systems are less active. Therefore, certain foods that were safe before pregnancy can become very dangerous.

Pathogens such as Listeria and Salmonella increase the risk of miscarriage, blindness, heart disease and kidney defects.

To prevent these risks, you should avoid the following foods:

• Raw seafood
• Raw sprouts
• Unpasteurized milk, juices or cheese
• cold cuts
• Soft cheeses such as Brie, Feta and Camembert
• Prepared salads with seafood
• tuna

Meat, chicken, eggs and fish should all be cooked thoroughly before eating.

What are your top tips for moms to stay healthy through the winter?

Our top tips for moms:

1. Enough exercise: A good guideline here is about 10,000 steps per day
2. Maintain a balanced diet as described above
3. Plenty of sleep: According to current scientific knowledge, we need 8-9 hours of good sleep

Bonus: Take vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc

Will Smart Meals also offer sweets or desserts in the future?

We're working with our chefs to develop healthy desserts and snacks. Here, too, we place particular emphasis on ensuring that everything is healthy, but above all, delicious. In our opinion, dessert shouldn't taste too healthy.

What are your future plans?

First, we want to establish ourselves in the market and grow as organically and sustainably as possible. Ultimately, we're working toward becoming the largest provider of ready-made meals in Germany in a few years and helping as many people as possible in their everyday lives.