201 Organic Smoothies and Juices for a Healthy Pregnancy: Nutrient-Rich Recipes for Your Pregnancy Diet (16 page)

Look for fresh green grapes that have a pale color for this refreshing drink. The abundance of minerals found in grapes helps to detoxify the liver and strengthens your digestive system to help ensure you’re absorbing as many nutrients as you can during your pregnancy.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

1
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⁄
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cups green seedless grapes

2 limes, peeled

Juice grapes and limes.

Good for healthy skin and hair

It’s important to feel your best both inside and out, especially while you’re pregnant, and the cucumber in this delicious drink provides a multitude of skin benefits. Cucumber contains silica, a trace mineral that helps provide strength to the connective tissues of the skin, which can help with swelling of the eyes and water retention. Cucumbers are also high in vitamins A and C and folic acid.

YIELDS: 2 CUPS

1 cup pineapple, peeled and cut into chunks

1 mango, pitted

1 cucumber, peeled

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⁄
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lemon, rind intact

Juice pineapple first, then mango and cucumber. Cut lemon into thin slices and juice last. Stir well before serving.

Some studies have shown that apple consumption during pregnancy reduces risk for childhood wheezing and asthma. Note: Apple seeds may not be juiced because they contain cyanide, which is poisonous. Make sure you remove the seeds from the apple before placing it through the juicer.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

2 red Gala apples, cored

1 cup green seedless grapes

Juice apples first, then juice grapes. Stir well before serving.

While apples are key players in maintaining a healthy digestive system during your pregnancy, pesticides should not be invited to the game. Unfortunately, the placement of apples on the “Dirty Dozen” list put out yearly by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) makes it especially important to purchase organic apples, whose skins won’t have come into contact with anything dangerous.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

2 red Gala apples, cored

2 Granny Smith apples, cored

¹
⁄
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lemon, rind intact

Juice apples first. Cut lemon into thin slices and then juice them. Stir.

Good for healthy skin and hair

Celery is rich in silica that can balance the tone and firmness of your skin during pregnancy. It also helps your skin retain water and stay hydrated, which will keep you glowing throughout your pregnancy. Let’s drink to good health—and beautiful skin!

YIELDS: 1
¹
⁄
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CUPS

1 Granny Smith apple, cored

2 stalks celery

Juice apples and celery. Stir well.

Good for healthy skin and hair

This juice will make you feel you’re taking care of your inner and outer beauty, from skin and hair to supporting your baby’s lungs and overall growth. The apples used in this recipe are packed with vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C and A, folate, potassium, and iron that play an important role in the development of healthy glowing skin.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

3 Granny Smith apples, cored

1 lemon, peeled

1 banana, peeled

Juice apples and lemon. Add banana and blend in a blender until smooth.

Good news! Cherries are an excellent source of vitamin C, which plays a role in the production of collagen. Collagen plays a part in your skin’s ability to rebound after stretching, which is great because, as you’ve noticed, your body’s shape is rapidly changing throughout your pregnancy.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

1 cup cherries, pitted

1
¹
⁄
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cups strawberries

1 pint raspberries

Juice cherries, strawberries, and raspberries.

This juice contains folate, which helps prevent neurological birth defects in your baby. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that women who take the recommended daily dose of folic acid starting at least one month before they conceive and during the first trimester reduce their baby’s risk of neural tube defects by 50–70 percent. Folate is also responsible for the genetic map of your baby. The recommendation from experts is to have 400mcg of folic acid per day.

YIELDS: 1
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CUPS

2 red apples, cored

2 carrots, peeled

4 large kale leaves

1 cup spinach

Juice apples, carrots, kale, and spinach. Stir.

All beets are full of folic acid, vitamin C, and potassium, but red beets also provide vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and fiber. Thanks to the humble beet, this delicious juice will assist in the development of your baby’s heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, and bones, and his circulatory, respiratory, and central nervous systems.

YIELDS: 1 CUP

4 carrots, peeled

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" slice gingerroot

1 beet, rinsed

Juice carrots, ginger, and beet. Stir.

This juice contains vitamin C that boosts both your and your baby’s immune systems. The antioxidants that come from vitamin C are so tough that it’s like hiring bodyguards to protect your and your baby’s immune system. And, when it comes to protecting your baby-to-be, a little hired muscle can’t hurt, right?

YIELDS: 1
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CUPS

2 red Gala apples, cored

1
¹
⁄
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cups strawberries, hulls intact

¹
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lime, rind intact

Cut apples into thin slices. Juice apples first and then strawberries. Cut lime into thin slices and juice. Stir well.

Sleep patterns can change dramatically throughout your pregnancy due to hormonal changes and discomfort. Thankfully, cherries contain melatonin, a hormone that helps control your sleep and wake cycles, and their addition in this delicious juice will keep you calm and help you sleep. Enjoy it while you can!

YIELDS: 1
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CUPS

1 cucumber, peeled

2 cups red sweet cherries, pitted

2 stalks celery, leaves intact

Juice cucumber, cherries, and celery. Stir.

The ingredients in this delicious juice are packed full of magnesium, which helps build and repair your tissues throughout pregnancy. In fact, a severe magnesium deficiency can lead to preeclampsia, high blood pressure during pregnancy, that affects 5 percent of all pregnant women and may lead to poor fetal growth or preterm labor. So, cheers to this Papaya Delight and to a healthy baby!

YIELDS: 1
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CUPS

1 cup pineapple, peeled

7 large strawberries, hulls intact

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papaya, seeds removed

Juice pineapple, strawberries, and papaya.