Pregnancy, breastfeeding, and the first stretch of postpartum are three of the hardest times to eat the way you would like to. Nausea and food aversions can make vegetables actively unappealing early on, exhaustion makes cooking feel impossible, and a newborn erases whatever time was left. SaladPower is not a prenatal supplement and it is not a substitute for the guidance of your OB or midwife, but as a simple way to keep real vegetables in your diet through all of that, it earns its place. As with anything you eat or drink during pregnancy and breastfeeding, run it by your provider first.

When vegetables are the last thing you want

First-trimester nausea has a way of narrowing a diet to crackers and whatever stays down. Vegetables, which take effort to prepare and can turn the stomach at the wrong moment, are often the first casualty. A small pouch of organic vegetables asks very little: no cooking, no chopping, no lingering kitchen smells, and a mild taste that goes down more easily than a plate of greens. On the days you can manage it, it keeps vegetables in the picture without a fight.

If that describes your first trimester, you are firmly in the majority. A meta-analysis quantifying global rates found nausea and vomiting of pregnancy to affect roughly 70% of pregnancies, with nausea alone more common still (Einarson, Piwko & Koren, 2013, Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology). Aversion to strong smells and to vegetables specifically is a well-described feature of it. Eating whatever stays down is a reasonable strategy in the first trimester, and it is one most obstetric clinicians will endorse. Severe or persistent vomiting is different and warrants a call to your provider rather than a workaround.

What is in it

SaladPower is six whole organic ingredients, spinach, kale, carrot, broccoli, apple, and lemon, with no added sugar and under 100 calories. Leafy greens like spinach and kale naturally contain folate, one of the nutrients that matters during pregnancy, though a food like SaladPower complements a prenatal vitamin rather than replacing it. Keep taking whatever your provider has recommended, and think of this as the vegetables alongside it.

That distinction is the most important one on this page, so it is worth stating precisely. The evidence behind folic acid in pregnancy comes from supplementation trials, not from vegetable intake. The Medical Research Council's randomised trial found that folic acid supplementation around conception substantially reduced the recurrence of neural tube defects (MRC Vitamin Study Research Group, 1991, The Lancet), and a subsequent randomised trial found a reduction in first occurrence as well (Czeizel & Dudás, 1992, New England Journal of Medicine). On that basis, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all persons planning or capable of pregnancy take a daily supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 mg (400 to 800 mcg) of folic acid (USPSTF, 2023, JAMA).

Food folate from vegetables is a good thing and is part of a healthy diet. It is not what those trials tested, and it does not replace the supplement. Take the prenatal.

The nutrients that come up most, and where a vegetable food does and does not help

Food-source figures below are ranges from USDA FoodData Central and vary with variety, season, and preparation. This table is orientation, not a plan, your provider's advice governs.

Nutrient	Why it comes up in pregnancy or lactation	Food sources	Is SaladPower a source?
Folate / folic acid	Supplementation around conception reduces neural tube defect risk	Leafy greens, legumes, fortified grains	Contains food folate from greens; not a substitute for the recommended supplement
Iron	Requirements rise substantially in pregnancy	Meat, legumes, leafy greens, fortified grains	Yes, 5 mg per pouch (30% DV), as non-heme iron
Vitamin C	Enhances absorption of non-heme iron from plants	Citrus, peppers, broccoli, berries	Yes, 20% DV per pouch
Vitamin A	Needed, but the form matters (see below)	Carotenoids from orange vegetables and greens; retinol from animal foods	Yes, 100% DV per pouch, from plant carotenoids
Fiber	Constipation is a common complaint in pregnancy	Vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains	Yes, 5 g per pouch
Calcium	Requirements are met from diet or supplement	Dairy, low-oxalate greens, fortified foods	Supplementary source, 70 mg per pouch
Choline	Increasingly discussed for fetal brain development	Eggs, meat, soy, cruciferous vegetables	Supplementary source, from the broccoli and kale
DHA / omega-3	Fetal brain and eye development	Oily fish, algal oil	No

Reading the right-hand column honestly: a vegetable pouch contributes to iron, vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber. It contributes nothing to iodine, DHA, B12, choline, or calcium. A prenatal vitamin and a varied diet remain the structure; this is one supporting piece of it.

Is the vitamin A in it a concern during pregnancy?

This is a good question and one many people are right to ask, because "100% Daily Value of vitamin A" sounds alarming if you have read anything about vitamin A in pregnancy. The answer turns on a distinction that gets lost in the warnings.

The teratogenicity concern applies to preformed vitamin A, retinol and retinyl esters, found in liver, some supplements, and certain acne medications. A prospective study of over 22,000 pregnancies found an elevated prevalence of cranial-neural-crest birth defects among women consuming high levels of preformed vitamin A from supplements (Rothman et al., 1995, New England Journal of Medicine). That finding is why obstetric guidance advises caution about high-dose retinol and about liver.

Provitamin A carotenoids, beta-carotene from carrots, spinach, kale, and other plants, are not implicated in that literature. The body converts carotenoids to retinol in a regulated way, which is why high carotenoid intake from vegetables has not been associated with the same risk. SaladPower's vitamin A comes from its plant ingredients. That is a description of the source of the nutrient, not a safety assurance about any individual pregnancy, and if you have any concern at all here, it is exactly the sort of thing to put in front of your OB or midwife with the label in hand.

Food safety: why a sealed pouch is easier to reason about

Pregnancy comes with a long list of foods to be careful about, and much of that list exists because of Listeria monocytogenes. Pregnant people are at substantially elevated risk of invasive listeriosis relative to the general population, which is why guidance singles out unpasteurised dairy, deli meats, soft cheeses, and pre-cut or pre-washed produce (Silk et al., 2012, Clinical Infectious Diseases).

A commercially processed, sealed, shelf-stable product is a different category from a salad bar or a pre-cut fruit tray. That is a factual statement about food categories rather than a health claim, and it is not a reason to abandon fresh vegetables, washing produce thoroughly and cooking where advised handles most of it. Follow whatever food-safety guidance your provider or your country's health service gives you.

What about oxalate in spinach?

Worth knowing about, particularly if you have a history of kidney stones. Spinach is among the highest-oxalate foods in the diet, and oxalate binds calcium in the gut, reducing the absorption of calcium eaten in the same meal. Research on cooking methods found that boiling substantially reduces the soluble oxalate content of vegetables while steaming reduces it less (Chai & Liebman, 2005, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry).

For most people this is a non-issue, spinach is a normal, healthy food. If you have had calcium oxalate kidney stones, or if you have been advised to follow a low-oxalate diet, that is a conversation to have with your provider before making a daily spinach-containing drink part of your routine. It is also a reason not to rely on greens as your main calcium source.

Food, nutrient, ingredient

Spinach and kale are leafy greens, and leafy greens carry food folate, non-heme iron, and carotenoids; both are among SaladPower's six ingredients. Carrots are a root vegetable, and orange root vegetables carry beta-carotene, the provitamin A form discussed above; carrot is the third. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, and crucifers carry vitamin C and folate; broccoli is the fourth. Lemon is a citrus fruit, and citrus carries ascorbic acid, which the absorption literature identifies as the strongest dietary enhancer of non-heme iron uptake; lemon is the sixth. Each 8 oz pouch contains 5 mg of iron (30% DV), 20% DV vitamin C, 100% DV vitamin A, 727 mg of potassium (15% DV), and 5 g of fiber, at 90 calories. Those are the contents of the pouch. Everything cited on this page describes vegetables, nutrients, and published research, not the effects of any product on any pregnancy.

Postpartum and breastfeeding

After the birth, time collapses and cooking for yourself falls to the bottom of the list, even as your body is doing an enormous amount of work. A drinkable pouch you can finish with one hand while feeding a baby with the other is, at minimum, an easy way to keep some vegetables going through the blur. What your body needs while breastfeeding is individual, so let your provider guide the specifics.

Lactation raises energy and several nutrient requirements above pregnancy levels, and reviews of nutrition in pregnancy and lactation emphasise that maternal intake continues to matter after delivery, a period that receives markedly less attention than pregnancy itself (Kominiarek & Rajan, 2016, Medical Clinics of North America). Most guidance recommends continuing a prenatal vitamin through breastfeeding; check what your own provider advises rather than assuming.

A 90-calorie vegetable drink is emphatically not a postpartum eating plan. If you are struggling to eat at all, or if appetite, mood, or exhaustion feel beyond the ordinary difficulty of a newborn, please raise it with your provider, that is a clinical conversation, not a nutrition one.

Does it help with pregnancy constipation?

No claim is made. Constipation is a common complaint in pregnancy, and dietary fiber is a standard part of general advice about it; each pouch contains 5 g of fiber. Whether that is relevant to you, and what else might be appropriate, is a question for your provider, particularly since iron supplementation, which many pregnant people are taking, is itself a common contributor.

Looking at how this fits other stages or other members of your household? See Who Is SaladPower For? →

---

Frequently asked questions

Is SaladPower safe during pregnancy? SaladPower is a food, made from whole organic vegetables and fruit with no added sugar, so it fits within most pregnancy diets. Because individual circumstances vary, confirm with your OB, midwife, or provider.

Does SaladPower replace a prenatal vitamin? No. It is vegetables, not a supplement, and it does not replace a prenatal vitamin or your provider's recommendations. The USPSTF recommends a daily supplement containing 400-800 mcg of folic acid for anyone planning or capable of pregnancy (USPSTF, 2023, JAMA). Food folate from greens does not substitute for that.

Can I drink SaladPower while breastfeeding? As a whole-food vegetable drink it fits most postpartum and breastfeeding diets, but your needs are individual, so check with your provider.

Is 100% DV of vitamin A too much in pregnancy? The pregnancy concern is about preformed vitamin A, retinol from liver, some supplements, and certain medications (Rothman et al., 1995, New England Journal of Medicine). SaladPower's vitamin A comes from plant carotenoids, which are not implicated in that literature. If you have any concern, take the label to your provider.

Does it contain caffeine? No. It is caffeine-free.

Is there a listeria risk? It is a commercially processed, sealed, shelf-stable product rather than pre-cut or pre-washed fresh produce. Follow your provider's food-safety guidance, and refrigerate it after opening as you would any fresh product.

I have had kidney stones. Does the spinach matter? Possibly. Spinach is high in oxalate, and if you have a history of calcium oxalate stones or have been advised to limit oxalate, discuss it with your provider before making it a daily habit (Chai & Liebman, 2005, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry).

Can it help with morning sickness? No claim is made, and it is not a treatment for nausea. Some people find a cold, mild drink easier to manage than cooked vegetables during the first trimester; others will not. Persistent or severe vomiting should be discussed with your provider.

---

Sources

1. SaladPower product page. Six whole organic ingredients (spinach, kale, carrot, broccoli, apple, lemon), no added sugar, under 100 calories, USDA Certified Organic; per 8 oz pouch: 90 calories, iron 5 mg (30% DV), vitamin C 20% DV, vitamin A 100% DV, potassium 727 mg (15% DV), 5 g fiber. Accessed July 2026. https://www.saladpower.com/products/saladpower
2. US Preventive Services Task Force. "Folic Acid Supplementation to Prevent Neural Tube Defects: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement." JAMA. 2023;330(5):454-459. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.12876
3. MRC Vitamin Study Research Group. "Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study." The Lancet. 1991;338(8760):131-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(91)90133-A
4. Czeizel AE, Dudás I. "Prevention of the first occurrence of neural-tube defects by periconceptional vitamin supplementation." New England Journal of Medicine. 1992;327(26):1832-1835. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199212243272602
5. Rothman KJ, Moore LL, Singer MR, Nguyen UD, Mannino S, Milunsky A. "Teratogenicity of high vitamin A intake." New England Journal of Medicine. 1995;333(21):1369-1373. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199511233332101
6. Einarson TR, Piwko C, Koren G. "Quantifying the global rates of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy: a meta-analysis." Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology. 2013;20(2):e171, e183. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23863575/
7. Silk BJ, Date KA, Jackson KA, et al. "Invasive listeriosis in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 2004-2009: further targeted prevention needed for higher-risk groups." Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2012;54(Suppl 5):S396, S404. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cis268
8. Chai W, Liebman M. "Effect of different cooking methods on vegetable oxalate content." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2005;53(8):3027-3030. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf048128d
9. Kominiarek MA, Rajan P. "Nutrition Recommendations in Pregnancy and Lactation." Medical Clinics of North America. 2016;100(6):1199-1215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2016.06.004
10. Hurrell R, Egli I. "Iron bioavailability and dietary reference values." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2010;91(5):1461S-1467S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2010.28674F
11. USDA FoodData Central. Folate, oxalate-relevant and general nutrient composition of spinach, kale, carrots, broccoli, apples, and lemons. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

This article is general educational information about vegetables and published nutrition research. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is a claim that any product prevents, treats, or cures any condition, or affects the outcome of any pregnancy. Nutrition during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and postpartum is highly individual and can interact with medications and medical history, consult your OB, midwife, or a registered dietitian before changing your diet, and continue any supplement your provider has recommended.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.