Maintaining a healthy diet while taking care of a newborn can be hard. Most of what you eat must be done with one hand and inhaled quickly – so snacks like chips, microwave treats, and cookies seem like great choices. Obviously they are not… and when you throw in the fact that you need to consume more calories than a Mom who formula feeds, eating becomes more difficult.
Studies have shown that most healthy breastfeeding women maintain an abundant milk supply while taking in 1800-2200 (or more) calories per day. Consuming less than 1500-1800 calories per day (most women should stay at the high end of this range) may put your milk supply at risk, as may a sudden drop in caloric intake (source: Kelly Mom)
Here are 10 Snack Ideas for Breastfeeding Moms. These are snack ideas I’ve compiled from my own experience (and suggestions from my friends). These snack ideas are great for Moms who are EBF (exclusively breastfeeding) OR any postpartum Mom who wants to eat healthy. Bonus: most snacks can be eaten with one hand!
1. Fruit – bananas, apples, grapes, blueberries, etc. Pre-wash your fruit after you buy it and store your fruit appropriately.
2. Raw veggies with hummus – carrot sticks, celery, cucumbers, peppers are all more delicious dipped in high protein hummus. You can buy premade hummus OR make your own. Here are two of my favorite recipes: Red Pepper Hummus and Two Olive Hummus.
3. Nuts – raw walnuts, cashews, peanuts, or almonds. Almonds are even said to increase milk production.
4. Cheese – sticks, cubes, slices. Some people are turned off by snacking on cheese because of the high fat content, but if you EBF, you NEED the fats! If you are one of us unlucky Mommies who need to eat dairy free, Daiya makes vegan cheese slices and blocks.
5. Edamame – did you know you can buy steamable bags of edamame in the frozen food section? Some even come already sprinkled with sea salt!
6. Graham crackers with peanut butter (or almond/cashew butter) – obviously you’ll need a knife for this snack, but while baby sleeps you can prepare mini graham pb sandwiches ahead of time.
7. Veggies and avocado spread – of course you can eat the avocado on it’s own, but it will be messy! Why not buy pre-made guacamole (or make your own ahead of time) and dip your favorite pre-cut veggies in it? Tired of veggies? You can also eat guac with pita chips, pita bread, or tortilla chips.
8. Yogurt – I can’t eat it, but you can!
9. Lactation Cookies – I am a huge fan of lactation cookies when all I have to do is add a few ingredients. Snappy Snacks makes lactation cookie/brownie mix on Etsy and they are so yummy.
10. Hard boiled eggs – easy to make ahead and even more easy to eat!
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