It can be so easy to start feeling the winter time blues start to creep in. Being 36 weeks pregnant, I’m not very excited about doing anything very active. I know I need to be more active, but it’s cold outside, I ache when I move and I get out of breath extremely easy due to a baby being all up in my lung capacity. While I do try to be active on a daily basis, it comes in short bursts.
Since I’m not quite as active right now as usual, there are other ways I can choose to stay healthier in the winter months, instead. One of my favorite ways? Drinking green smoothies and eating lots of green salads! Here’s one of my favorite green smoothies!
Orange Strawberry Banana Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients:
2 oranges
5-10 oz of fresh spinach
1 cup of water
1-2 cups of frozen strawberries
2 frozen bananas
Directions:
Peel oranges and place in blender. Blend them up first so that you have lots of juice while blending the greens.
Next, fill up the blender with spinach. (can be fresh or frozen from fresh)
It wasn’t blending well, so I added a cup of water, to get it all swishing around nicely. Next, I added frozen strawberries and bananas. Keep adding whatever fruit you want until your blender container is full, unless of course, you’re not wanting enough to feed your whole family. 🙂
Here is what it looks like at the end:
When I drink this on a regular basis, my digestive system seems to work much better!
Sometimes, I don’t have time to make that healthy smoothie though. (or sometimes I’m plain old lazy). When that happens, I know there’s another way I can choose to be healthy and it also helps my digestion.
I take my InSync Probiotic. I found them at Walgreens.
Why Take a Natural Probiotic?
Probiotics are live microorganisms that are similar to the beneficial microorganisms naturally found in the human gut. These “good bacteria” are used to prevent many different conditions, but particularly those that affect the gut.
Our gut is home to over 500 different kinds of bacteria. These bacteria provide nutrients and help form the immune system. Did you know that up to 10% of an individual’s daily energy needs can be derived from the good bacteria in your gut?
Probiotics can also provide multiple benefits for your immune system. When probiotics are abundant in your body, it’s harder for bacteria that cause illness to stand their ground.
What Can Probiotics Help With?
- Gut Health (i.e.. Digestive issues including diarrhea, constipation, IBS, lactose intolerance, etc.)
- Urinary Issues,
- Yeast Infections
- Thrush
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative Colitis
- If there’s a family history of allergies or eczema, babies receiving probioitics in the first several months of life are less prone to allergies and eczema.
I’ve been taking my Insync Probiotic for about a week now and without going into the gory details (blush) I’m happy to report that my “gut health” feels better than it normally does. It’s been a bit sensitive, being that I’m 36 weeks pregnant and during the past week, I’ve felt considerably less sensitive.
I usually have to be on antibiotics during birth due to Group B Strep and it always causes thrush in my babies after birth. I’m hoping that by being on this probiotic, it will help my body to recover from the good bacteria being stripped away much more quickly and hopefully baby won’t suffer with thrush this time.
Disclaimer: If you are pregnant or nursing be sure to check with your doctor before taking a probiotic. Just because my doctor said it was ok, doesn’t mean yours will. 🙂
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