Smoothie Recipes to Enjoy When Pregnant

There are lots of reasons smoothies might be especially appealing during pregnancy. When you're pregnant, especially during the first trimester, smoothies can be a great meal alternative if you experience nausea and vomiting (often referred to as morning sickness). They're also great for packing nutrient-rich foods into snacks and meals when you're too busy or tired to cook.

These pregnancy smoothie recipes are a great place to start. You can tweak them for flavor and consistency. Plus, you can also experiment with your own concoctions. You may also want to consider talking to a registered dietitian for more ideas and healthy add-ons to your smoothies.

Benefits of Pregnancy Smoothies

Pregnant poeple require a variety of foods from each food group daily, such as grains, fruits, vegetables, protein foods, and dairy (or calcium-rich dairy alternatives such as fortified soy milk).

A smoothie can be a quick and simple way to get several food groups (and important nutrients found in these food groups) into a fast, easy-to-sip snack or meal.

Smoothies are easy to digest

For times when it’s hard to get a meal down due to morning sickness, heartburn, or digestion issues, a smoothie is a viable alternative. Liquids tend to empty from the stomach faster than solids, so a smoothie likely won't feel like it's sitting around in your stomach and weighing you down (because it's not).

This can be helpful during periods of nausea or when you need to reduce symptoms of heartburn. You can also sip it with a straw and drink it slowly—which is really helpful if you're experiencing nausea. Cold foods are generally easier to tolerate when you’re feeling nauseated.

Lindsay Taylor, MA, CNE, and author of The Food Doula Cookbook, is a pre- and postnatal nutrition expert who understands the struggle with food during the first trimester. She relates to the struggle some pregnant people face when they no longer find the same foods appealing that they normally do or only being able to eat one or two things before feeling sick again. Taylor has created smoothies that are easy to drink and packed with nutrients from several food groups. Not to mention, they taste delicious.

Smoothies can be nutrient-rich

Pregnancy smoothies are a fast and easy way to get vegetables, fruit, high-fiber carbohydrates, fat, and protein into your diet.

According to Yaffi Lvova, RDN, of Baby Bloom Nutrition, "If you don't have enough nutrition in a day, your body will sacrifice its own stores to ensure baby's nutrition," she explains.

It's also important to remember that a prenatal multivitamin and an additional calcium supplement can help prevent nutrient gaps.

Smoothies leave you feeling full

Smoothies, loaded with satisfying ingredients, can be a nutritious part of a pregnancy meal plan, either as a small meal on their own or part of a meal or snack. Try pairing smoothies with the following to make it into a meal:

• Whole grain toast topped with nut or seed butter or avocado
• An apple with nut or seed butter
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Oatmeal and fruit

Nutritionist Aundrea Leven at Family First Wellness says that when you're looking for a quick and nutrient-rich option, consider drinking your smoothie with a piece of fruit or nuts. A smoothie that combines high-fiber carbohydrates with protein and some fat is usually the most likely to keep you feeling full longer.

Smoothies provide variety

You can experiment with different fruits and ingredients in a smoothie to create a variety of drinks that taste as sweet or tangy as you like. Use what’s fresh and in season at the market, or pick the favorites you know you can stomach.

Frozen fruits and vegetables are just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts and often more accessible and easier to use if you're not feeling 100%.

For those with an aversion to vegetables, blending them into a smoothie is a clever way to get your greens without tasting them. Use only the leafy parts of kale, Swiss chard, or collard greens. Although the stems contain plenty of fiber and minerals, they sometimes taste bitter.

Soothing Mango Green Smoothie

Taylor developed this sweet mango-based pregnancy smoothie with anti-nausea aids to please the palate and provide nausea relief.

Follow these steps to prepare:

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender.
2. Blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.
3. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed, adding water to thin, ice to cool, more cashews to thicken, or more mango to sweeten. 

Nutrition benefits

If you are struggling with an upset stomach, nausea, or digestive issues, this smoothie is a good one to try.

"The lemon and ginger are helpful to ward off any nausea, and the cashews and hemp hearts [contribute some] protein which is an essential component of blood sugar control, a major player in the nausea game," says Taylor.

Nausea in pregnancy can be caused by hormone changes, which for some pregnant people can be helped by eating regularly to stabilize blood sugar. To help regulate your blood sugar and to potentially reduce the severity of nausea, try to eat a balanced diet that includes foods high in protein and complex carbohydrates.

Labor Prep Smoothie

The Labor Prep Smoothie is perfect for the end of pregnancy. Taylor developed it to be packed with the three most important components of a labor snack—carbohydrates, protein, and fiber.

Recipe for iced raspberry leaf tea:

1. Steep 4 raspberry leaf tea bags in 4 cups (1 liter) of water for about 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 tablespoon of honey and the juice of 1 lemon.
3. Let cool in the fridge until ready to use.

Follow these steps to prepare:

1. Add all ingredients to your high-powered blender.
2. Blend at high speed for a minute or until smooth.

Nutrition benefits

Taylor says this smoothie is a popular choice not only for the big day but the weeks leading up to delivery.

"I love this as an early labor snack because even a few sips here and there—and let’s face it, that might be all you’ll be able to eat—will support your body with an energy boost as [your body] works hard to bring you closer to meeting your baby."

Banana Berry Pregnancy Smoothie

Lvova came up with her pregnancy smoothies with nutrients in mind, choosing each ingredient intentionally.

Follow these steps to prepare:

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender.
2. Blend at high speed for a minute or until smooth.

Nutrition benefits

This smoothie is particularly useful during the first trimester thanks to bananas, which provide potassium, an important electrolyte that will need to be replaced if there has been any vomiting. The addition of berries not only gives the smoothie a sweet and tangy taste, but they are one of the highest fiber fruits and can help minimize constipation. Plus, protein comes in both plant and animal forms in this smoothie recipe. "Hemp hearts are a nice source of plant protein.

"The fat contained in hemp hearts can help support cardiovascular health," says Lvova.

Cow's milk provides choline, which plays an important role in your baby's brain development. Although milk provides choline, eggs, fish, and soybeans are some of the most potent sources.

Maple Peach Smoothie

Lvova used yogurt and milk as the base for this pregnancy smoothie for its calcium benefits.

To prepare follow these steps:

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender.
2. Blend at high speed for a minute or two until smooth.

Nutrition benefits

Flax seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been studied for mood regulation. DHA, one of the omega-3s found in flax in smaller amounts (and larger amounts in fatty fish like salmon) can support brain development.

"The fiber flax seeds provides is also great for supporting healthy bowel patterns," says Lvova.

Calcium is also a star in the Maple Peach Smoothie, and for good reason. It is especially important because this is one of the nutrients that a pregnant person's body will give to a growing baby from their own stores—meaning if you don't get enough during pregnancy, you might wind up with weaker bones.

Shamrock Shake

Give this green smoothie a whirl when you want to pack in lots of vitamins and fiber.

Follow these steps to prepare:

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender.
2. Blend at high speed until smooth.

Nutrition benefits

Avocados contain monounsaturated fatty acids, which create a creamy and rich taste in the smoothie. They are also high in the following nutrients:

• Fiber
• B vitamins (especially folate)
• Vitamin K
• Potassium
• Copper
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin C

Avocados contain healthy fats, which assists the body in absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins. The fiber in avocados can help minimize constipation.

Leven also loves to include nutrient-packed ingredients like spinach and yogurt in her smoothie recipes. "Grass-fed whey and organic yogurt are healthy choices because they contain calcium and protein," says Leven.

Super Smoothie

Leven wants her smoothies to be helpful not only during pregnancy but also during the postpartum period. When new parents are healing, sleep-deprived, and in need of something quick and nutrient-dense, this would be a great option.

To prepare follow these steps:

1. Add all ingredients to your high-powered blender.
2. Blend at high speed until smooth.

Nutrition benefits

It's not always easy to stay hydrated when pregnant and breastfeeding. When you're pregnant, you need more water than you did before because your body is using it to form amniotic fluid, support higher blood volume, carry nutrients, and flush out waste. Water intake is also important during lactation.

This Super Smoothie is a pregnancy power food because it contains the following nutrients:

• Water
• Carbs
• Vitamin C
• Fiber
• Antioxidants
• Plant compounds
• Calcium

"Wheat germ is rich with folate, which is important before conception and during pregnancy," says Leven.

Getting enough folic acid during the first several weeks after conception is crucial because it helps decrease the risk of brain and spinal cord birth defects. Folic acid can be found naturally in some green leafy vegetables, most berries, nuts, beans, and citrus fruits.