Pregnancy is an important time to make sure you’re eating a nutrient-dense, balanced diet to fuel your body and your baby. However, it’s also a time when – especially in those later weeks of the third trimester – your stomach can feel so squashed that the thought of eating an entire plate of nutritious food can be simply nauseating. Enter smoothies.

I’ve accidentally done a bit of a Kylie Jenner over here in that I’m only just writing about the fact that I’m pregnant…with just two weeks to go before baby arrives! Oops. Social media and sharing just isn’t my thing – although I’m excited to eventually share my journey with baby weaning and child-friendly recipes a little later down the line.

I’m thankful to have been blessed with a very straightforward pregnancy. The first trimester I struggled with a real lack of appetite (my keen-eyed Instagram followers probably noticed a dip in posting around this time!), but once I was past that, I’ve really been very fortunate to be able to enjoy this super special time growing my baby without any major symptoms.

There are a lot of tricks and tips you’ll happen upon that are supposed to be great for preparing for labour. Raspberry leaf tea, bouncing on an exercise ball, long walks, spicy food…and dates.

A handful of small studies have shown that dates can help you have a better birth (this article looks more closely at exactly how and what dates can help with labour), and since I’ve loved dates long before I got pregnant, I decided there was no harm in giving it a try.

So, 6 dates a day from 36 weeks onwards. That’s a lot of dates. I’ve enjoyed them a variety of different ways, such as:

• Dates dipped in peanut or almond butter
• Blended and made into energy balls
• Blended into an easy date caramel

And, of course, incorporated into this pregnancy smoothie.

Making this pregnancy smoothie

First things first: if you’re pregnant and considering incorporating 6 dates a day into your diet, please discuss this with your mid-wife or OB first before taking random advice of a fellow pregnant lady on the internet to make sure it’s the correct and safe choice for you.

This vegan pregnancy smoothie has become a real staple for me in these final weeks of pregnancy. It keeps me full, but helps me avoid that stuffed, uncomfortable feeling that’s extremely common when you’ve got a tiny person using your stomach as a punching bag.

This smoothie is really very versatile. The only thing you ‘need’ is the dates – from that point, you can customise and adapt the smoothie to make it suit your tastes.

The base of this smoothie contains:

• Frozen banana (frozen bananas give smoothies a deliciously thick and creamy texture that room-temp bananas simply cannot rival!)
• Almond butter (sub with peanut butter, cashew butter etc)
• Plant-based milk
• Cacao powder
• Vegan protein powder (although you could omit this and just use cacao powder for that chocolate-y taste)

I also through in a bunch of health foods that I have in my cupboards for additional fibre, protein, and micronutrients. This includes:

• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds
• Hemp seeds

If you don’t have these things on hand, they’re definitely not integral for making this smoothie. I have them on hand though, and like knowing that I’ve got a delicious smoothie that’s also packed full of goodness.

Other recipes I loved during my pregnancy!

• Easy Vegan Protein Oats With Stewed Blueberries
• Vegetarian Chicken Fajitas
• Easy Roast Potatoes
• Vegan Banana Brownies