Are you curious about whether or not prenatal smoothies can benefit your pregnancy? Perhaps you know that prenatal nutrition is vitally important but are not sure whether or not smoothies can fit into a healthy pregnancy diet plan or not. In this post, you will learn whether or not you should be drinking smoothies regularly while pregnant, how to make a prenatal smoothie, ingredients to avoid when creating a smoothie while pregnant, and more.
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Are Smoothies Safe and Healthy to Drink While Pregnant?
I love that you have taken the time to research whether or not smoothies are a good idea to drink during your pregnancy and have found your way here.
While there is an outdated list of foods to avoid that your OB may have given you at your confirmation of pregnancy appointment, there’s a good chance that you haven’t heard too much about what to eat and what to avoid eating while pregnant. More often than not, mothers-to-be are encouraged to give into their pregnancy food cravings without a second thought. But is that really ok?
Even the WHO tells us that a healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition. We KNOW that what we eat day to day is vitally important to our health, why would it be any different during pregnancy?
Actually, there is no more important time in your life to know what nutrients to eat and when, how much of each you need, and the best way to source them. After all, it is now proven in countless scientific studies that what we eat while pregnant has the power to alter our babies’ epigenetics.
Essentially “turning on” good genes and “turning off” bad genes if you eat right during your gestation. The only up-to-date prenatal nutrition plan that will teach you ALL of that (and so much more about prenatal health so you can give your baby the absolute best chance possible at a healthy life) is The Perfect Pregnancy Plan.
Would you believe that this revolutionary prenatal diet plan highly promotes including prenatal smoothies in your pregnancy diet? It does! The Perfect Pregnancy Plan quite often mentions how to make the perfect prenatal smoothie to boost your and your growing baby’s health.
Smoothies can be a wonderfully healthy choice to include in your prenatal diet plan, but not all smoothies are nearly created equal.
Prenatal Smoothies Should Be Specially Designed for Pregnancy
When selecting a smoothie recipe to enjoy during your pregnancy including healthy ingredients is important. You also want to be aware of the macros within the smoothie you are creating.
If you order a smoothie while out at a restaurant or smoothie bar there is a good chance it is loaded with sugar and carbs while containing very little fiber, proteins, or healthy fats.
While having a smoothie like this once in a while when out with friends or your significant other isn’t horrible for you or your baby, it should be considered a treat (like having a slice of cake).
Both blood sugar spikes (like you get from eating carbs or added sugars especially when they aren’t consumed with fiber or fats) as well as higher than average but lower than diabetic or prediabetic blood sugar levels in pregnant mothers have been shown to have multiple negative effects on the baby’s growth in utero.
So sugar and carbs are something you want to eat with caution and definitely in moderation while pregnant to have the healthiest baby possible.
Make sure your smoothie fits into those guidelines.
There are quite a few smoothie recipes designed with pregnant women in mind, there are even some smoothies that help with morning sickness!
How to Make a Smoothie to Benefit Your Pregnancy
The best way to make a smoothie that will benefit your health and your baby’s health while pregnant is to be sure you include more than just fruit in your smoothie.
It’s a great idea to add vegetables.
Cooked spinach packs a powerful punch of vitamins that is phenomenal to include in your prenatal diet every day. You don’t need to add much to a smoothie to reap the nutritional benefits. A tablespoon is sufficient.
If you can’t stomach cooked spinach in your smoothies while pregnant (especially in the first trimester), cooked cauliflower, cooked beets, or raw spinach are great smoothie additions as well. You want to focus on the nutritional density of your diet while pregnant. Meaning, you want to include foods high in nutrition but low in calories in comparison.
Add fruits for flavor and antioxidants.
It’s ok if your smoothie is packed with lots of healthy fruits. Just try not to add too many carbohydrate-loaded fruits in a single smoothie. Berries are a great choice that pack a lot of flavor, nutrients, and fiber into your smoothies while also being low in carbohydrates. Bananas and mangoes really add a perfect texture to smoothies but are very high in carbs so when including them, try to pair with fruits and vegetables if you’re dealing with gestational diabetes.
Add in some protein.
Remember, it’s the goal to not only make your prenatal smoothies nutritious but also filling as well. So add a scoop of pregnancy-safe protein powder, some cashews, peanut butter, chia seeds, or another favorite plant or dairy-based protein source to every prenatal smoothie you make.
Ingredients to Avoid in Prenatal Smoothies
When you are creating a smoothie at home it’s really easy to use fresh (or frozen) clean ingredients. You will want to look out for unsafe additives in anything packaged that you choose to add in.
Whether it be yogurt (these can be loaded with sugar and yucky chemicals) or even protein powder. Though all protein powders are marketed as health foods, most are a far cry from it. Be sure you learn how to choose a safe protein powder for pregnancy.
Wrapping Up How Smoothies Can Be Beneficial During Pregnancy
As you can see, smoothies can be extremely beneficial during pregnancy. They can pack a lot of nutrition into a single glass, they are fast to prepare, and they are often sweet and so tasty that they can help calm cravings you may have for unhealthy sugary treats.
Enjoying pregnancy smoothies regularly can make it easier to stay on a healthy pregnancy diet plan. The Perfect Pregnancy Plan has a bunch of prenatal smoothie recipes in it and can help you be informed on all the most up-to-date prenatal nutrition advice around, including even more information about creating the perfect pregnancy smoothie.
Now you know how to create a healthy prenatal smoothie and I hope you decide to include them into your pregnancy diet from now on.