Pregnancy, it sure is an incredible journey. For all you mum’s, mama-to-be’s and dad’s I’m sure you understand the amazing rollercoaster ride that pregnancy brings before the arrival of the sweet bundle of joy. Currently, I am blissfully enjoying the journey seeing my belly change week to week waiting for that almighty big pop to the ultimate pregger’s bump. I am now in the second trimester at 21 weeks pregnant and feeling so ridiculously excited about our little one.
To date pregnancy has been great, I can’t make too many complaints about changes in my body. The first trimester was great, I only suffered with nausea for two weeks and only had sporadic days of energy dips. As I started to wrap up the first trimester and head into the second trimester I had some weakness in my hips and became itchy on my shins. Both of these issues I have heard can happen to some women, the hip weakness due to the ligaments softening ready for the big day of birth, and the itchy legs from the extra blood flow. My right hip affected my right hamstring which caused both areas to be very painful for a week but the areas are recovering and feeling much better now thankfully. The itchy legs are starting to become a thing of a past which is very fortunate as my husband was starting to fear my badly scratched not so sexy legs. Aside from these two issues, everything else is fantastic. My appetite is super and energy is great, the only problem with food is on some days at some meals I struggle to eat as much as normal and may become bloated as obviously little baby duckling is taking up more space.
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18 weeks pregnant!
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20 weeks pregnant – baby is about 10 inches long WOW!!
Exercise: Walking the dogs everyday as normal, this is quite a few miles in total but I don’t track the distance. Due to the problem with my right hip and hamstring I’ve had to slow my walking pace but still doing the distance and feeling good. I stopped doing vinyasa yoga towards the end of the first trimester and have been doing prenatal yoga since. Previously I did yoga 4 times a week, now I do prenatal yoga 1 to 2 times a week, but the session is longer than my original vinyasa. I have recently started doing exercises on a birth ball to help with my hips and I am loving it, I am doing these exercises whenever I feel like, usually about 2 to 3 times a week.
Food: Still eating my usual way (plantbased (vegan), high carb, high raw and high calories) and feeling great. Some days I eat about the same amount as I would have done pre-pregnancy, other days I eat more, it depends on how much baby duckling lets me fit in. I haven’t had any weird cravings. Certain foods I have desired more since being pregnant include: oranges, clementines, satsumas, tomatoes, pasta (I use gluten free), big salads, raw carrots, raw celery, avocado and olives. These are foods I ate before being pregnant but desire them more regularly now.
Health: No major pregnancy symptoms. I’ve had a few bursts of being a bit more emotional but fortunately for my husband this isn’t every day. Energy is great, blood results are great, urine samples are great, appetite is great and sleep is good too (10+ hours in bed seems the norm these days). Hopefully my little fruity baby is growing at a healthy rate!
Overall: Absolutely loving every second of this journey and can’t believe little one is due in 4 months – WOW!!!
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So, the recipe. Generally, I am not a smoothie kinda person, I prefer to eat the solid food, however this is a smoothie that I have come to love and enjoy it a few times a week at lunchtime. This smoothie is packed with amazing nutrients from all of the wonderful ingredients and provides plenty of energy due to the delicious calories, vitamins and minerals. It is bursting with iron and folate, two nutrients which are important during pregnancy to keep the red blood cells healthy and abundant, and to ensure healthy development of the growing baby.
Bananas – Bananas are a great source of vitamin B6, C, manganese, fibre and potassium. They are an excellent source of carbohydrates making them fantastic for energy and health. Also, due to the fibre and carbohydrate content they are great for digestion. Potassium is an important component of the cell and body fluids that helps to control heart rate and blood pressure.
Berries – Any mix of berries such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, redcurrants and cherries provide an array of nutrients such as vitamin C, manganese, folate, fibre, biotin, copper and iodine.
Acai – The acai berry is packed with antioxidants. It has many polyphenols such as resveratrol which helps with inflammation, is rich in medium chain fatty acids like oleic acid (omega-9) and linoleic acid (omega-6), and has a super high ORAC (measure of antioxidant capacity). The berry contains minerals and vitamins such as vitamin C, iron, magnesium and potassium.
Barley Grass Juice Powder – It’s made from the juice extracted from barley grass, the juice then being dried into a powder at low heat so as not to damage nutrients. I use Daily Green Boost which is organic and raw meaning the quality is exceptional. It is LOADED with vitamins, minerals and enzymes (take a look here for more info), such as vitamins A, B, C, E, calcium, iron and many amino acids. It’s a great way to get a tonne of nutrients into the body!
Blackstrap Molasses – Blackstrap molasses is highly nutritious and is created as a byproduct of refining raw cane sugar into fine table sugar. It is packed with nutrition such as calcium, iron and magnesium. This is a great food source for increasing iron and calcium during pregnancy!
Here’s the recipe for the Pregnancy Smoothie.
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DAIRY FREE | GLUTEN FREE | REFINED SUGAR FREE | EGG FREE | NUT FREE | LOW FAT | VEGAN
Pregnancy Smoothie
Ingredients
Servings: 1
- 5 to 7 ripe bananas
- 250g frozen berries
- 1 to 3 tsp acai powder (I use either 4 Organic Burst capsules or 1 tbsp of powder)
- 1 tbsp barley grass juice powder (I use Daily Green Boost)
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses (use more if you desire)
- Water
Method
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz until combined, creamy and smooth. Add as much water as you prefer for the desired consistency.
- Once ready pour into a big glass and drink up.
- Enjoy!
FEEL GOOD WITH FOOD…AND CARBS!