According to healthcare professionals, pregnant women should aim to drink about 2.3 litres of water a day. While getting enough water during your pregnancy is important, for both you and your baby, you might find yourself craving something different from time to time.
Instead of turning to fizzy drinks or fruit juices packed full of added sugar, you should aim for some of the healthier alternatives available to you.
In this week’s blog post, we look at some healthy and nutritious beverages for you to explore during your pregnancy. Not only will these drinks help keep you refreshed and hydrated, but they’re packed full of important vitamins and nutrients too. Take a look.
Freshly Squeezed Fruit Juices
One of the simplest – but, in many ways, most nutritious – options available to pregnant women is freshly squeezed fruit juice. By squeezing the juice freshly yourself at home, or going to a juice bar where they’ll make the juice fresh in front of you, you get all the beneficial nutrients and vitamins. Some obvious favourites include orange, apple and pineapple juice. Other highly nutritious and refreshing options include watermelon, sweet lime and cranberry.
Smoothies
Let’s be honest – smoothies are delicious. Even if they weren’t packed full of vitamins and nutrients, they’d still be high on our list of favourite drinks. You can create all kinds of smoothies using a combination of fruits and ingredients. By mixing some milk in with the fruits, you get the added advantage of boosting your calcium and protein intake for the day.
Veggies Juices
Admittedly, vegetable juices sound a lot less appealing that smoothies and fruit juices, but you can create some tasty and extremely nurtirious combinations. Some popular favourites include carrot juice, tomato juice, and beetroot juice. For a super healthy blast of nutrients and anti-oxidants, add some dark leafy greens to your juice. For example, spinach, kale and broccoli are excellent.
If you’re feeling a little underwhelmed by the taste, try adding some fruit juices to the mix. You’ll be surprised at what some fresh orange, lime or apple juice can do when combined with some of these veggies.
Frozen Fruit Water
A really simple but surprisingly tasty way to improve your water is to add frozen fruit to it. In lieu of ice cubes, try freezing a piece of orange, plum, kiwi or strawberry and adding it to some mineral water. This will give it a pleasant hint of fruit – putting a colourful spin on what would otherwise be just a glass of water.
Coconut Water
Not only is coconut water full of potassium and naturally low in fat and sugar, but it’s also great for combatting dehydration and boosting your energy. For anyone struggling with pregnancy-related fatigue, this makes coconut water a virtual God-send.
Fruit Mocktails
Got a birthday party coming up? Maybe an anniversary, a wedding or a night out with your pals? Whatever the case, it’s normal to feel a little left out when everyone’s drinking alcohol – but you’re left clutching a mineral water? That’s where the fruit mocktails can come in handy. They’re also vitamin-rich and nutritious.
Needless to say, some fruit mocktails use overly sugary ingredients, such as lemonade or fizzy drinks. When deciding on a fruit mocktail, go for those that use fresh fruit juice and carbonated water and other healthy ingredients.
