5 Superfood Smoothies for Your Pregnancy
A friend once told me that when you’re pregnant you feel all the same things you felt before, but in the extreme. And she was right. When I’m tired, I’m terribly tired. When I have to pee, I have to pee NOW. And when I want a piece of cheesecake, I mean I want it this very second even though it’s ten A.M. thank you very much.
To balance out my less-than-stellar habits, I eat at least one pregnancy superfood every day. And, as I’ve learned in my health journey, everything tastes better in smoothie form. So here we go, five pregnancy superfoods in delicious smoothies!
Avocado
How it helps: Omega-3 fats help with the baby’s brain development. Today, my uterus. Tomorrow, Harvard!
- 1 frozen banana
- ⅓ cup frozen mango
- ½ an avocado
- ½ cup almond milk
- A smidge of honey
Spinach
How it helps: Leafy greens in general contain many of the antioxidants and nutrients that every human – fully grown or still developing – need to be healthy. They also have a great supply of fiber, folate, calcium and vitamin A. This particular smoothie (which I LOVE) also has blueberries, another powerful antioxidant. I’m strong to the finich, ’cause I eats me Spinach, I’m Popeye the sailor man!
- Handful of baby spinach
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
- 3 mint leaves
- 1 cup almond milk
Prunes
How it helps: While it may seem that being pregnant means you get a cute bump and an excuse to not do any extra labor, there are a ton of less-than-pretty side effects. One of these is the slowing down of the digestive system. Prunes, filled to the brim with fiber, can help get things moving in the right direction. I’ve had 3 dates so far this week. I prefer prunes though.
- ⅔ cup prunes
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
- ¾ cup apple juice
- ½ cup crushed ice
Walnuts
How it helps: Walnuts are basically the roundhouse kick of pregnancy superfoods. They have omega-3s (just like avocados), fiber (just like prunes), and a variety of vitamins and minerals (just like spinach.) Even further, these tasty little buggers also have protein and magnesium. What more could a girl want from some nuts?
- 1 cup frozen sliced peaches
- 1/2 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts
Yogurt
How it helps: Believe it or not, plain yogurt has more calcium than milk. That, combined with the fact is has protein, B vitamins, zinc, and a mighty fine flavor make it the perfect smoothie component. Keeping your calcium level high (expecting mothers need 3 servings a day) lowers the risk of preterm delivery, low birth rate, and can also save you some health issues down the road, like osteoporosis. Why did the yogurt go to the art museum?
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup strawberries
- ½ cup cranberries
- ½ cup almond milk
