When you're trying to eat better for conception, you need good nutrition information. Here are some good websites that make it easier to figure out if you're getting enough protein, fat, and keeping down the carbs.

When I was trying to conceive and then when I was pregnant, I aimed for 60 grams of protein a day. I often read that the American diet had plenty of protein, but when I examined my diet, I was barely making 40 grams a day. I used websites like the ones I'm listing to help me get adequate protein. I now try to eat a minimum of 60 grams protein a day, but my goal is 80 grams.

The first good website is Self Nutrition Data, https://nutritiondata.self.com. It is a part of the Self magazine website, and it has absolutely fantastic graphs of the nutrition information that make it easy to read. It also, quite handily, gives you portion options. Some other books and websites only discuss one size of portion, so then you have to do the math, and when you're trying to calculate a whole meal, it's exhausting. For a raw apple without the skin, for example, there are 6 options, including a small, medium or large apple.

The other reason I like the Self website is that it also includes calculators on how much you need to eat in terms of calories and protein. It puts everything I need in one website. And, if you want to, you can track your eating online. I think they did a really good job in putting together this tool.

Another great website is Diet Facts, www.dietfacts.com. This is very useful when you eat out. It includes information from 518 restaurants, like Great Harvest Bread Company and Chick-fil-A. The information, though, comes from the restaurants, so not all of them include ingredients. I like to read the ingredients in addition to the nutrition label because I don't eat corn syrup. But it's still a very helpful website.

Between these two websites and advice from your obstetrician, you'll be armed with the information you need to examine your diet and know what you're eating, at home or out.