Superfoods During Pregnancy | What to Expect

Superfoods During Pregnancy | What to Expect | Mallorie Owens

Eating healthy and making sure I'm giving baby all the proper nutrients was extremely important to me this pregnancy. I've always eaten really healthy, but what I eat seemed to carry so much more weight when I was pregnant with Iris. I like to think that watching what I ate did some good, my midwives even raved about how healthy my placenta and the umbilical cord looked when she was born!

Superfoods During Pregnancy | What to Expect | Mallorie Owens

What to Expect® When You're Expecting is now in a brand new 5th edition with a fresh perspective, up-to-the-minute information and advice, including information on a few of my favorite superfoods and whether they're healthy while pregnant. Most of them are a bit unknown and should be checked with your healthcare provider, but my midwives okayed most of them!

I didn't eat these superfoods in surplus though, usually just when I made my pregnancy smoothie, which includes flaxmeal and chia seeds. This is something that you have to go with your gut on and use in moderation during pregnancy, but since I ate so much of them when trying to conceive I felt good about eating them in small quantities while I was pregnant.

My little sister-in-law made the "you are so loved" canvas...isn't it cute? I'll be sharing more nursery pictures soon!

My little sister-in-law made the "you are so loved" canvas...isn't it cute? I'll be sharing more nursery pictures soon!

The book answers every imaginable question expecting parents could ask and offers solutions for every pregnancy and postpartum symptom. I'm loving the chapter on postpartum information right now and Dave's been watching me like a hawk for Baby Blues/Postpartum Depression, but I've been lucky and feeling really great so far.

Superfoods During Pregnancy | What to Expect | Mallorie Owens

Also, all medical coverage is completely updated, including everything expectant moms need to know about the Zika virus. As if pregnant women need anything else to worry about, now we have to avoid mosquito bites, which is next to impossible if your blood is as tasty (apparently) as mine! But, it's nice to know all the facts and all we can do is our best at steering clear of situations that might put us as risk.

Did you read What to Expect While You're Expecting when you were pregnant? If so, what information did you find most helpful?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

 MALLORIE

Fertility and Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe.

This smoothie is easy and delicious for anyone, doesn't matter if you're trying to conceive, already pregnant, or just a dude that wants a smoothie. The frozen bananas and protein powder make it taste like a milkshake, instead of the protein and nutrient packed smoothie that it is. I call it my fertility and pregnancy smoothie because pretty much all of the ingredients are known to be beneficial when trying to conceive or for pregnant women.

I made this Fertility and Pregnancy Smoothie recipe pretty much every morning for breakfast after we'd been trying to conceive for a long time and now I love having it as a healthy snack in pregnancy. I've made a few changes to the recipe during pregnancy (as noted below), but will go back to the original once she's born. I know it will be a great boost while I'm breastfeeding!

I'm not a nutritionist (just someone who loves studying foods and their effects on our bodies and health), so I can't say whether this made a difference in my fertility for sure, but I can say that it's a great way to start the day and delicious too! I keep cut up over ripe bananas in a container in the freezer so they're ready to go for smoothies...or banana bread. ;)

MORE SMOOTHIE RECIPES

Fertility and Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe | Mallorie Owens

Ingredients ≫≫
4 Dates, chopped (great for fertility and softening cervix at the end of pregnancy!)
Almond Milk (to taste)
1 Frozen Banana
1-2 Tbsp Chia Seeds (I vary day to day)
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1 scoop Protein Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Flaxmeal
1 tsp Maca Root Powder (I stopped adding this once pregnant, no studies whether it's safe or not.)

Directions ≫≫

Pulse the dates with a bit of almond milk, until it's nice and smooth. Throw the rest of the ingredients and pulse until smooth. After a few pulses I usually push everything down again and add a bit more almond milk. Pulse and blend until smooth.

See? Easy and delicious...enjoy!

Also, in case anyone is wondering, I use this Vitamix to make my smoothies. I love my it sooo much, we put off ordering one forever because of the price tag but I use it several times every single day and my only regret is not getting one sooner! And for the protein powder, I use this organic blend from Costco.

♡ MALLORIE