I have a bit of a juicing obsession at the moment (oh, you noticed?!) and I have had quite a few people asking me for healthy juicing options to boost your immune system and general nutritional health during pregnancy and breastfeeding, so I thought I would put together 5 of my top juices for a healthy pregnancy! Enjoy!
First trimester favourite: Best for beating morning sickness (something I had with both boys, albeit just a little with Toby) –
- 3 apples
- 3-4 stalks of celery
- a good knob of ginger, at least 1/2 inch or more if you can stomach it.
Ok, ginger is known as the super food for juicers, and it is also known (along with apples) to be a wonderful root for morning sickness. In fact a lot of people are told to try eating ginger biscuits when pregnant and suffering, but this is all round healthier and so much more nutritious for you and your precious cargo! Its so easy to do as well, just juice the whole lot and that is it!
Health booster: The one for the whole of your pregnancy –
- 1 small handful of spinach
- 1 (peeled) quarter of pineapple
- 4 spears of asparagus
- 1 apple
- 1 handful of peas
- 1 handful of sunflower seeds
- 1/2 a ripe avocado (peeled)
- ice cubes
Avocado, asparagus and pineapple are all known to be exceptionally good for you during pregnancy, and sunflower seeds contain about 37% of your recommended daily intake of folic acid. For this one you need to juice the spinach, pineapple, asparagus, apple and peas, and then blend the avocado and sunflower seeds in a blender (these aren’t suitable for a juicer), finally add everything to the blender and then enjoy!
Third Trimester 36 weeks +: Encourage birth and your milk production –
- 1 Small Pineapple
- 1 Lime (peeled)
- 1 Mango (peeled and pitted)
- Handfull of Basil
- 3 tbsp bio-live yoghurt
We all know that pineapple has some fantastic enzymes and is really good for us, its also known to help encourage baby to get a move on and make an appearance, but very few people know that Basil is also really great for milk production. To make this just juice the pineapple and the lime (try to keep the white pith of as much as possible as this is the most nutritious), then add the mayo, basil and yoghurt to this juice, pop it all in the blender and off you go! Best time to have this… with your feet up!
Encouraging lactation: The breastfeeding one –
- 2 carrots
- 1 medium raw beetroot
- 1/2 medium size fennel
- 1/4 lemon
Carrots are seriously good for helping your body produce breastmilk, and beetroots have some of the most nutrition juice around. This is also a great immune system boosting drink, so I would recommend it whether you are breastfeeding or not! All the ingredients can be placed in the juicer, no fuss at all!
I hope you try out these juices during your pregnancy, they are definately going to give you a good health boost, just remember these are not complete meals but designed as supplements! Enjoy!
Harriet x
