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Raw vegetables such as carrots, celery and peppers are a great way to ensure you are including lots of vitamins in your pregnancy diet, but it can get boring! Dips, which are also packed with lots of prenatal nutrients are a great way to keep it interesting, and enjoy a healthy pregnancy diet. Here are some quick and easy to follow recipes. Aubergine Dip (Eggplant!) Apparently there are some cultures that suggest that aubergine is one of the foods to avoid when pregnant but there don't seem to be any scientific studies to support this idea. Whilst it's not exactly crammed with essential nutrients for pregnant women it's nevertheless very delicious and a classic addition to a Mediterranean style mezze. Serve it with fresh raw veg for extra pregnancy healthy nutrition. It's a FittaMamma favourite! 1 large aubergine 2 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves crushed 2 tbsps chopped fresh coriander Juice of ½ lemon ½ tsp cayenne pepper Salt and freshly ground black pepper Preheat the oven to 200oC/ 400oF. Place the aubergine on a baking sheet and cook for 30-45 mins until the skin is blackened and the flesh is soft. When the aubergine is cool, scoop out the flesh and mash it with a fork to form a puree - using a fork creates a nicer texture than blending it. Stir in all the other ingredients and mix well. Garnish with coriander and serve with fresh crisp salad vegetables and warm flatbread Butternut Squash Dip Low in calories and high in nutrients butter nut squash is a winner as far as we're concerned - scoring top marks for pregnancy healthy nutrition. It's packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 - and is especially good as part of your pregnancy diet as it contains folate, essential for your baby's healthy neural development. This yummy dip is great with carrot, cucumber and celery sticks - or eat it with bread. We've even spread it on toast! 1 medium butternut squash 2 tbsp tahini Juice of half a lemon 1 large clove of garlic Salt and pepper to taste ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika (optional) Drizzle of olive oil Split the squash in half and take out the seeds. Drizzle a little olive oil over and roast in the oven at 1800 until completely soft (about 40 mins). Remove the skin, roughly chop the flesh and blitz in a food processor with the tahini, lemon juice and garlic until the mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and the smoked paprika which gives it a wonderful warm smoky flavour - but if you don't have any it's good without too! If the mixture is too thick thin it down slightly by adding some olive oil. Healthy dips are really easy food for pregnant women - this one will keep in the fridge for several days and is ideal for lunch or snacking. Alexandra McCabe is a founder of FittaMamma, the healthy pregnancy experts. FittaMamma is a free resource to help women enjoy an active pregnancy with workout videos, recipes and step by step yoga guides. Read here for tips on what to eat when you're pregnant and how to enjoy a healthy prenatal diet
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