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Vegan Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe with Berries and Chocolate (My Favorite Pregnancy Breakfast)

Today’s vegan pregnancy smoothie recipe with berries and chocolate has been my favorite plant-based breakfast option during the past few weeks of my pregnancy.

You certainly don’t have to be pregnant to drink it, but it makes a lot of sense to have it every now and then if/when you’re pregnant because of all the nutrition it packs.

Vegan pregnancy smoothie recipe - a healthy and nutritious plant-based breakfast during pregnancy.

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For almost all of my pregnancy, my go-to breakfast during the week has been oatmeal of some sort – overnight oats, steel-cut oatmeal, or these microwaveable packets of oats in maple-brown sugar flavor that I had a craving for early on.

However, around 7 months into my pregnancy oatmeal started giving me heartburn, and I knew that I had to find a different everyday breakfast option.

Cue in this green pregnancy smoothie recipe (okay, it looks brown rather than green because of cocoa powder and berries). As soon as I switched to drinking it 4-5 times a week, I started feeling much better!

The key to making this pregnancy smoothie taste good while packing in lots of nutrients is balancing the green components (kale, green peas, optional cilantro if you’re not averse to it) with just enough sweetness derived from plant-based sources.

Blackstrap molasses, bananas, and frozen berries work great as plant-based sweet components.

Once everything is in the blender, we need to add enough liquid (non-dairy milk or water) to get things moving.

I find the combination of cocoa powder and raspberries from my frozen berry mix especially delicious here.

Adding a little bit of healthy fat ensures better nutrient absorption – however, I don’t recommend using more than 1-2 tablespoons of any fat sources at once as you may end up with a fat bomb first thing in the morning.

This works for just about any pregnancy smoothie recipe you may decide to experiment with at home without ending up with a dud that you’d want to pour down the drain.

Before I proceed, I’d like to address one thing:

Is Chocolate Safe During Pregnancy?

I know there’s some confusion about eating chocolate during pregnancy.

After all, chocolate contains caffeine, and there are a lot of recommendations for pregnant women to cut down on their caffeine intake.

At the same time, high quality dark chocolate is a source of magnesium and iron – nutrients that are beneficial during pregnancy.

Besides, theobromine – a compound naturally occurring in chocolate – is known to widen blood vessels, which helps prevent preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.

So how much chocolate is it safe for pregnant women to eat?

Like with most things, moderation is key.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends limiting daily caffeine consumption during pregnancy to 200 mg (source).

For comparison, one ounce of dark chocolate on average contains 12 mg of caffeine.

Of course it doesn’t mean that it’s OK to eat a whopping 16 ounces of dark chocolate every day (12 mg x 16 ounces = 192 mg caffeine). That would add too much fat and sugar to your diet 😄

But, as you see, a single once of dark chocolate here and there wouldn’t hurt.

Of course, I am not a medical professional, so please talk to your doctor if you have concerns.

Ingredients for a healthy pregnancy smoothie

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Nutrients in Vegan Pregnancy Smoothie with Chocolate and Berries

So what makes this pregnancy smoothie recipe so great? All the nutrients packed in its ingredients, of course!

Lots of iron in blackstrap molasses, pumpkin seeds and kale (a lot of pregnant women struggle from low iron levels, and vegans may be even more susceptible to pregnancy-related anemia);

Magnesium in cocoa powder, kale and cilantro;

Potassium in bananas, cocoa powder and berries;

Folate in kale and cilantro;

– A variety of vitamins in frozen berries, such as vitamins C, K and B6;

Protein in frozen peas, pumpkin seeds and peanut butter (and even more if you add some plant-based protein powder);

Healthy fats in pumpkin seeds and peanut butter to help us absorb all of the nutrients in this smoothie even better;

Fiber! Fiber in everything! Fiber as far as the eye can see! (Quite a lifesaver in the last months of pregnancy 🙂 )

How to make a healthy breakfast smoothie for pregnancy

Vegan Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe Ingredients

2 large kale leaves
1/2 banana, fresh or frozen
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
1/2 Tbsp cacao powder
1/4 cup frozen peas (or canned white beans)
1/2 cup assorted frozen berries (I use a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
1/2 c almond milk
1/2 c water (plus more if needed to thin out the smoothie)

Optional add-ins:

1/2 – 1 scoop protein powder – I like vanilla-flavored protein powder by PlantFusion
Small handful of cilantro
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh or grated dried ginger

How to Make Vegan Pregnancy Smoothie

Add all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. If the smoothie appears too thick, add more water or almond milk. Enjoy!

If you have a high-powered blender like Vitamix, this smoothie comes to a luscious, creamy consistency in about 30 seconds. A regular blender may take longer, and the resulting smoothie may come out a bit grittier, but it’s still going to be just as nutritious.

A little tip on how to make sure you absorb as much nutrients from this smoothie as possible: don’t drink it too fast. There’s a reason why our bodies are designed to chew our food before swallowing.

As we chew, the food gets mixed with saliva, which in turn introduces a lot of enzymes that help our stomach to break it down more efficiently later on.

So take a sip of this smoothie, swish it around in your mouth for a few seconds, and proceed as usual.

Yield: 2 servings

Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe with Berries and Chocolate

Pregnancy Smoothie Recipe with Berries and Chocolate

This pregnancy smoothie recipe with berries and chocolate is ideal for pregnancy thanks to its combination of plant-based ingredients. High in iron, protein and fiber. Healthy fats for maximum nutrient absorption. Dairy free, soy free, gluten free, suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets.

Prep Time 8 minutes
Blending Time 2 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 large kale leaves
  • 1/2 banana, fresh or frozen
  • 1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter
  • 1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
  • 1/2 Tbsp cacao powder
  • 1/4 cup frozen peas (or canned white beans)
  • 1/2 cup assorted frozen berries (I use a mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
  • 1/2 c almond milk
  • 1/2 c water (plus more if needed to thin out the smoothie)

Optional add-ins:

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. If the smoothie appears too thick, add more water or almond milk. Enjoy!

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1 glass

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 290Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 131mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 9gSugar: 11gProtein: 32g

Please note that the provided nutritional information data is approximate.

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Question for you: What are your favorite ingredients to put in your pregnancy smoothie recipe? Please share below!

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author avatar
Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats
Alina first made a switch to a vegan diet in 2013 to optimize her athletic performance as a marathon runner. Eventually she embraced veganism as a way to be kinder to fellow living beings and the environment. Alina hopes that this blog helps its readers on their path to becoming vegan and making this world a better place.

Josh Meckel

Wednesday 20th of September 2017

YUM!!! :)

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