201 Organic Smoothies and Juices for a Healthy Pregnancy: Nutrient-Rich Recipes for Your Pregnancy Diet (19 page)

Let’s face it, pregnancy can be exhausting. Fortunately, the vitamin C found in the lemon and banana used in this recipe helps your body absorb all the iron in this drink that comes from the blackberries. Efficient iron absorption is essential for carrying oxygen to your cells to ensure your baby is receiving the nutrients you’re providing, especially during pregnancy.

YIELDS: 1
¹
⁄
₄
CUPS

2 Granny Smith apples

1 pint blackberries

1 lemon

1 banana

Juice apples, blackberries, and lemon. Add banana to juice and stir well before serving.

Both raspberries and strawberries are rich in vitamin C, which provides an abundance of antioxidants to protect you and your baby from free radicals that are trying to cause damage. This keeps both you and your baby-to-be’s immune systems strong and helps you reach your optimal health during pregnancy. Try this mix of strawberries and raspberries for a really rich drink that is easy to make.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

2 cups strawberries, hulls intact

1 pint raspberries

Juice berries. Stir before serving.

Helps boost energy levels

Let’s face it, the increased stress on your body over the next nine months may put you into a state of fatigue. Fortunately, the pineapples and tangerines used in this delicious juice are both good sources of iron and vitamin C, which can improve your stamina and circulation to increase your energy levels.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

1 cup pineapple, peeled

1 tangerine, peeled

Juice pineapple and tangerine. Stir.

Pineapples and cucumbers are both good for treating edema, the accumulation of fluid beneath the skin. Pineapples stimulate the kidneys to remove excess water from the body and the high water content in cucumbers will help you avoid dehydration, another common way to develop edema.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

1 English cucumber, peeled

1 cup pineapple, peeled

Juice cucumber and pineapple. Stir. Garnish with cube of pineapple on a stick.

Helps boost energy levels

B vitamins are well known to increase your energy levels, which are hard to sustain during pregnancy. Vitamin B is the key to this energy-boosting juice, and the magnesium in the cauliflower and beet greens will also keep you on your feet… and off the couch!

YIELDS: 1 CUP

1 cup cauliflower

4 spears broccoli

2 beet greens

Juice cauliflower, broccoli, and beet greens separately. Stir together.

If you’ve ever been down with the flu while pregnant, you know how hard it is to be sick without running to the pharmacy and grabbing the first over-the-counter cold and flu remedy that you can find. The good news is that the vitamin C found in this recipe is just the thing to get you through a bout of the common cold or flu without medication. This juice may also keep you from catching a cold in the first place… and prevention is better than a cure anyway!

YIELDS: 1 CUP

¹
⁄
₂
pink grapefruit, rind removed

¹
⁄
₂
white grapefruit, rind removed

Juice grapefruits. Stir.

Good for strengthening your immune system

You know that citrus fruits contain vitamin C, but you may not have heard that broccoli and kale are particularly good sources of this super vitamin as well. In addition to protecting you and your baby from free radicals that may cause harm, vitamin C repairs tissues, support the growth of your baby’s bones, helps your body fight infections, and promotes healthy skin throughout your pregnancy. Sounds like a super vitamin!

YIELDS: 1 CUP

2 leaves kale

1 beet top and greens

1 fistful spinach

¹
⁄
₂
cup broccoli florets

Juice ingredients in order listed. Stir.

Spinach is rich in iron and vitamins A, C, and E, all of which help protect your baby from infection and your cells from damage. Spinach is also good for calcium absorption and it helps cleanse the intestinal tract and relieve constipation, an unfortunate pregnancy side effect. It also has a higher protein content than other leafy greens.

YIELDS:
³
⁄
₄
CUP

1 cup spinach leaves, washed and dried

1 red apple

¹
⁄
₄
lemon, rind intact

1 stalk celery

Juice spinach, apple, lemon, and celery. Stir.

Good for your baby’s bones and development

This juice is not only important for your baby’s development, but also for you. Butternut squash is a great source of vitamin A, which is crucial during pregnancy and helps with your baby’s bone growth, eye development, skin health, and infection resistance.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

2 Gala apples, cored

¹
⁄
₂
butternut squash, peeled and cut into pieces

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Juice apples and squash. Stir in pumpkin pie spice.

Good for your digestive system

The cucumbers used in this recipe are 90 percent water. Their high water content keeps the inside of the cucumber much cooler than the surrounding atmosphere and makes it a good diuretic, which works to flush toxins from your body that may cause cramping or bloating in your digestion system during pregnancy. The high water content in cucumbers will also keep you hydrated throughout your pregnancy, which is required to assist every action needed for developing a healthy baby.

YIELDS: 1
¹
⁄
₂
CUPS

1 pink grapefruit, peeled

1 orange, peeled

¹
⁄
₄
" slice ginger

1 cucumber, peeled

Juice grapefruit, orange, ginger, and cucumber. Stir.

Good for your digestive system

Your intestines may suffer from all that is happening during pregnancy, as in their new arrangement, they are pushed up and toward the sides as the uterus grows. The parsley juice used in this recipe is rich in beta-carotene and vitamins A and C, which are good for repairing any damage that has been done to your digestive system. In addition, carrots promote the healing of the intestine membranes.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

4 carrots, peeled

1 stalk celery

¹
⁄
₄
cup Italian parsley

Juice carrots, celery, and parsley. Stir.

Good for morning sickness

The ginger used in this recipe contains compounds called ginerols, which act like anti-nausea medications and help block serotonin receptors in the stomach. Chances are, a drink that helps alleviate morning sickness will come in handy at some point during your pregnancy, probably within the first trimester when most women suffer from nausea and stomach pain.

YIELDS:
¹
⁄
₂
CUP

2 apples, cored

1 carrot, peeled

¹
⁄
₄
" slice ginger

Juice apples, carrot, and ginger. Stir.