Is It Safe To Eat Zucchini When Pregnant? The Benefits & When To Avoid

We’re back with another installment of our Is That Safe series! This week we’re talking about zucchini (or courgettes if you’re in the UK!), so is it safe to eat squash when pregnant? We have all of the info you need, plus we’re sharing the perfect pregnancy-safe zucchini recipe!

Other installments of our Is That Safe series that you might like:

• Is It Safe To Eat Honey During Pregnancy?

• Is It Safe To Have Caffeine During Pregnancy?

• Is It Safe To Eat Cassava, Sushi, Or Camembert During Pregnancy?

Is it safe to eat zucchini when pregnant?

Yes! Zucchini is considered safe to eat when pregnant!

Eating plenty of green, red, orange, yellow, and purple fruits, and vegetables helps you and your baby get a variety of nutrients. Each color group provides different vitamins and minerals. That’s why zucchini is a good choice as part of your pregnancy diet, as it’s packed full of rich nutrients.

The benefits of eating zucchini in pregnancy

There are so many benefits to eating Zucchini during pregnancy & that’s because its a nutrient rich vegetable that contains nutrients that are good to have in your diet during pregnancy:

• Folate

  Folate is the natural form of folic acid — they are both forms of vitamin B9, and are important nutrients to have in your pregnancy diet. Folic acid or folate help to prevent something called neural tube defects (or NTDs) such as spina bifida which affect around 8 in every 1,000 births in the US.

• Potassium

  When you’re pregnant, you’re blood volume expands, and therefore you need slightly more electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chloride, working together). Getting potassium through your diet helps maintain the balance of fluids and electrolytes in your body's cells

• Vitamin C

  To put it simply: Vitamin C protects your cells and helps keep them healthy, do we need to say anymore?

Pregnancy safe zucchini recipe: chili & garlic zoodles

Our Chili & Garlic Zoodles are a deliciously simple alternative to traditional pasta and it's a great way to cut back on empty calories and ramp up the nutritional value of your meal. It's so easy to make and tastes divine with a traditional tomato sauce. Zoodles are made from zucchini (hence the 'Z' in zoodles!), which add a lovely freshness to balance out the heat of the chili and the rich flavor of the garlic.

This recipe serves four and should take less than 15 minutes to make. 

Let us know if you make these Chili & Garlic Zoodles and what you think of them by snapping a pic to Instagram and tagging us @baby2bodyofficial! 

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

• 4 organic zucchini

• 2 crushed garlic cloves

• 1 red chili, de-stemmed and de-seeded, finely chopped

• 1 large bunch fresh curly parsley roughly chopped (approx. 1/2 cup)

• 2 TBSP olive oil

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (pasteurized)

• Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

• A mandolin or spiralizer

Here's how to make it:

1. Place a frying pan on low heat, let the crushed garlic and finely chopped chili infuse the olive oil, without letting the garlic brown too much.

2. Leave the skin on the zucchini but cut the ends off and give them a good wash before peeling them into ‘spaghetti’ with your spiralizer or mandolin.

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and have a strainer at the ready! Once boiling, add the zucchini to the pot for 5-10 seconds and drain, quickly pouring cold water over it so it doesn’t continue to cook. Dry the zoodles as much as possible gently with a paper towel.

4. Add the parsley to the olive oil, garlic, and chili and toss in the zucchini along with a pinch of good sea salt and pepper. Let the zoodles soak up the infused oil flavors and cook up for just a minute or two. 

5. Remove from the heat, top with the grated parmesan, and enjoy immediately! 

Find more pregnancy safe recipes here & let us know what you want to see next in the comments! Can’t wait for more recipe inspo? Check out our app instead.

---