Eating a balanced and colourful diet is always important to ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need for optimal health. And it’s critical when you’re pregnant because what you eat is the main source of nutrients for your developing baby.
Well crafted smoothies are an easy means of increasing your nutrient intake during pregnancy to help ensure you’re reaching the optimal levels. Craft Smoothie Boxes are popular with pregnant and nursing mums who are seeking a convenient way to boost their intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthy fats, fibre and protein while maintaining variety in their diet. Variety is key - not only so you don't get bored of the same old smoothies, but also to ensure a varied nutrient intake to support gut health and help maximise the diversity of the vitamins and minerals you are getting from your food.
If you're looking for pregnancy smoothie ideas, you're in the right place - this article covers everything from how to make healthy pregnancy smoothies with spinach to pregnancy smoothies for nausea. Whether you're looking for smoothie recipes for your first trimester, second trimester or ideas for third trimester smoothies, this article is designed to give you the inspiration you need to boost your nutrient intake using wholefood smoothies. Keep reading to get our featured recipes for healthy pregnancy smoothies.
To keep you informed with how maximise the benefits of using smoothies for pregnancy, we’ve developed this guide to cover:
Nutrients are the substances found in food that are required by the body to perform its basic functions. Nutrients can typically be broken into two categories:
Macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein, fats
To make smoothies for pregnancy, it is important to understand your nutrient requirements and how to source these from your smoothie ingredients. While all nutrients are important during pregnancy, the following are the key nutrients that your body and baby requires for a healthy pregnancy (and the good news is almost all of them can be obtained from smoothies).
The smoothie recipes for pregnancy in this guide have been designed to support a varied nutrient intake and have been based on the following principles:
With Craft Smoothie, the recipes and ingredients in your Superfood Smoothie Box change each week. This means you get to enjoy a diverse range of seasonal combinations of fresh fruit, vegetables and organic superfoods in your pregnancy smoothies. So you can forget about shopping around for ingredients and relying on pregnancy smoothie powders - we'll deliver everything you need to sustain a nutrient-dense breakfast during pregnancy.
Here's an easy green pregnancy smoothie that's perfect if you want to reap the nutritional benefits of adding more leafy greens to your pregnancy diet without having to chow through salads. Loaded with nutrients, leafy greens like kale or spinach are powerful ingredients in smoothies for pregnancy because they're also high in dietary fibre which helps increase satiety (feeling full or satisfied) and supports regularity which is key during pregnancy. Avocado, mango, lime and vanilla complement the leafy greens as additional sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre to support your digestive health.
1 banana
1/2 a mango
1/2 an avocado
1 handful of spinach
Juice of 1/2 a lime
2 Tbsp of coconut thread or coconut chips
1 Tbsp of cashews
1/2 tsp vanilla bean power or extract
The trick to making iron-rich smoothies for pregnancy is ensuring you include a souce of vitamin C to help your body better absorp the iron. Here's a delicious iron-rich pregancy smoothie recipe that's also loaded with immunity-protecting antioxidants. It includes a good source of plant-based iron, thanks to the combination of hemp seeds, chia seeds and spinach and contains a wholefood source of vitamin C from the combination of blueberries, acai and blackcurrant.
1 banana
1 handful of blueberries
1 handful of kale or spinach
1/2 Tbsp of acai powder
1/2 Tbsp of blackcurrant powder
1 Tbsp of chia seeds
1 Tbsp of hemp seeds
1 cup of liquid (either water, your favourite milk, or coconut water)
1 cup of ice
Some of the richest sources of plant-based protein for pregnancy smoothies include hemp seeds, peanut butter and oats. All Craft Smoothie recipes are gluten free, so we don't include oats in our Superfood Smoothie Boxes, however if you're after a more instant pregnancy smoothie option that's super high in protein, you can check out our Superfood Pouches from Craft Breakfast - which are traditionally served as a porridge or bircher but can also be blended with a banana and your favourite milk for a high fibre, high protein instant superfood smoothie. It's like a pre-made pregnancy smoothie mix - all you need is a banana! If you're gluten free, check out the grain-free range of Keto Superfood Breakfast Pouches.
INGREDIENTS:
1 banana
1 Craft Breakfast Superfood Pouch
1 cup of your favourite milk
1 cup of ice
1 Tbsp of peanut butter or other nut butter (optional)
When you're fighting morning sickness and having difficulty eating food, many Craft Smoothie customers find smoothies to be a safe solution for ensuring you can still get the nutrients you need while you're stomach isn't feeling up to it. This pregnancy smoothie for nausea uses soothing ingredients like ginger, which is one of the best foods you can eat when experiencing nausea, as well as lemon and banana which are considered nausea-reducing fruits. With the addition of superfoods like hemp seeds and almonds, you can feel at ease knowing you're getting a good source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, healthy fats and protein to help fuel your pregnant body.
1 banana
1 apple
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 handful of kale or spinach
1 knob of grated ginger
1 Tbsp of hemp seeds
1 Tbsp of coconut chips
1 Tbsp of almonds
1 cup of liquid (either water, your favourite milk, or coconut water)
1 cup of ice
When it comes to constipation, smoothies are always a good idea. Fresh, high-fibre ingredients like apple, pear and kiwifruit are beneficial for reducing constipation and oat is another effective contribtor to healthy bowel movements. To get the best of both worlds, try the recipe below using a Craft Breakfast Superfood Pouch - you can think of it as a pregnancy smoothie powder, crafted using only wholefood ingredients.
INGREDIENTS:
1 banana
1 kiwifruit, apple or pear
1 Superfood Breakfast Pouch from Craft Breakfast (this contains a range of nuts, seeds and superfoods as well as oats to support healthy digestion)
1 Tbsp of almond butter
1 glass of plant-based milk or water
1 cup of ice
Every pregnancy journey is unique. What does remain constant, however, is the need for our bodies to absorb key nutrients to support a healthy developing baby and nourished mama. During both my pregnancies, I swore by smoothies as the easiest means of creating quick and easy meals with the key nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy. As a mum of two, smoothies have been the single most important part of my diet in terms of satisfying my nutrient intake requirements before, during and after pregnancy. I hope you enjoy trying out these recipes or trying a Craft Smoothie Box to see how easy it can be to support your nutrient intake during this important time.
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