Smoothie Time!
I generally don't eat very well during my first trimester. I have been blessed with minimal vomiting, but the nausea remains that constant, nagging companion you wish you could just shove over some precipice. I know that if I eat more vegetables I’ll probably feel better. The only problem is that even if they’re just sitting in the fridge, nowhere near my plate, salad greens make me gag 95% of the time. I overcame this difficulty in my last pregnancies by simply eating (mostly) rice and beans and toast for the first trimester (We won't mention the Top Ramen, or those gross frozen pizzas that only cost $1.50, right?) As you can see, I was really counting on my prenatal vitamins to supply whatever I wasn’t getting in my diet. This time around, though, I’ve found a great way to combat my greens-aversion. Breakfast smoothies!
I do love a good smoothie. And, thank God, so does my moody, preggo-appetite. Here is the smoothie I make almost every day of the week. It started out just my husband and me drinking it, but now I make 2.5 servings because my one-year-old can down almost a half a pint of green smoothie himself!
The smoothie mixes up to be so creamy and nutty with the peanut butter in there. You could definitely swap almond butter in for peanut, or kale in for spinach: just whatever suits your fancy (and doesn’t make you sick). So, for anyone who’s interested, here is my recipe for breakfast smoothies:
Makes about 1 pint of smoothie:
1 Frozen Banana
1/3 Cup Frozen Spinach
½ Cup Plain, Full-Fat Yogurt
2 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter
1-2 Tablespoons Unflavored Beef Gelatin*
2 Tablespoons of Hemp Seeds (shelled)
Honey to Taste
¾ - 1 Cup of Water
Blend all ingredients together, adding more or less water depending on the consistency you like.
*I use Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin, Kosher. I get it from Amazon and it lasts us about 1 month if we eat 2-3 smoothies per day (for all of us).
Here is some nutritional info on Hemp Seeds that I got from: http://www.purehealingfoods.com/hempHeartsAnalysis.php
((Everything I read here seems to line up with everything else I’ve read about these seeds. I’m not a nutritionist, though, so definitely do your own research and talk to your healthcare provider if you’re expecting.))
“A 42 gram (4 heaping tablespoons) serving of Shelled Hemp Seed contains 240 calorie energy from:
- 15 g. protein
- 15 g. polyunsaturated fats
(11.4 g. omega 6 and 3.6 g. omega 3) - 7 g. mono-unsaturated fats
- 1 g. saturated fats
- 5 g. fiber
- 5 g. carbohydrates
- 2 mg. iron
- 31 mg. calcium
- 8 mg. sodium
- 8 mg. vitamin E
- 956 IU vitamin D
- .42 mg. vitamin C
- .05 mg. vitamin B6
- .14 mg. vitamin B2
- .58 mg. vitamin B1
- 68 IU of vitamin A”
For being tiny seeds, I feel like that’s pretty incredible. Add to that all the protein from the yogurt and the beef gelatin, and I am left feeling full and have plenty of long-lasting energy. Hope you enjoy it!