Happy First Day of Summer! What better day to share this refreshing smoothie with a tropical blast of nutrition!?
In all seriousness, I’m glad to share this smoothie with y’all today. This smoothie single-handedly provided fruits and vegetables for me during some particularly rough first trimester days. It’s sweet, vibrant, cold (hot foods always seemed to send my nausea and food aversions into overdrive), and best of all – you can’t taste the spinach!
It boasts some great nutritional info for any mama-to-be:
- 1/2 cup mango (as used in this recipe) provides 50% of the daily need for vitamin C, which is helpful for aiding iron absorption, like with the iron found in spinach
- Spinach is packed with tons of nutrients and minerals important in pregnancy: folate, calcium, iron, and more!
- Pineapple has high amounts of vitamin C, manganese and thiamin. Thiamin is a B vitamin involved in energy production, and I’ve needed all the help I can get with that! 😉
- Pregnancy myth-buster: as always, consult your doctor, but you typically don’t need to completely avoid pineapple in your pregnancy because of concern with bromelain and uterine contractions, as it would take 7-8 whole pineapples to get that much bromelain in your system at once!
If you’re trying this smoothie and are struggling with some pregnancy-induced nausea, you could also try adding a small amount of fresh ginger, lemon, or fresh mint, all of which have natural anti-nausea properties and would taste delicious with these ingredients.
Truth be told, this smoothie is delicious and nutritious for everyone, not just pregnant mamas. It works for busy professionals, picky toddlers, hungry husbands, college students longing for spring break, and more! As with any smoothie recipe, the measurements are approximations and you can do what works best for you! Sometimes I was feeling more of one fruit over another, so I would do more or less mango or pineapple accordingly. Depending on what texture smoothie I wanted for the day I could adjust the amount of coconut water and/ or ice I added. Basically – have fun with it! Do what tastes good to you and most of all, be well!
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh spinach packed
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
- 1/2 cup frozen mango
- 3/4-1 cup coconut water
- 1/2-1 cup ice cubes
- Optional add ins: flax seed chia seed, hemp seed, ginger, mint, lemon
Instructions
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Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth! 🙂
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