If you are reading this article, you either decided to give breastfeeding a change or you are thinking about it.
Honestly, when I did my research about what to eat and what to avid when breastfeeding, it looked like I will be left only with chicken, pasta, eggs and greek yogurt on my plate. Thats was definitely not what I was going to do! As much as eating healthy is important as is to have high energy balanced diet. Now you both need food variety plus mom’s energy intake should increase by 1/5 a day (300-500kcal). So look at the facts I listed below, but don’t stress yourself too much over it. Stick to ‘safe foods’ to you diet and monitor when you add any exotic fruits
Despite your best efforts, each baby is different and can react differently to what you are eating therefore, I recommend to take a note of what you ate that day when your baby cried unstoppably, had diarrhoea or colic. Baby’s usually react on their food after cca 6 hours.
Safe to eat when breastfeeding
- 1-3 portions of protein a day. Low fat diary products like mozzarella and Bio eggs, lean meat, greek yogurt.
- 5-6 carbohydrate portions per day. Cereals and oat flakes, whole grains pastry and bread, pasta or couscous, brown rice.
- Increase of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids from fish and suitable vegetable oils. Good are salmon, herring, sardines, trout, anchovies, cod fish. Nuts are a good source of minerals, healthy fatty acids and omega-3 acids, rich in selenium and zinc.
- 3-5 servings of fresh vegetables and 2-4 servings of fresh fruit. Safe are bananas, avocado, grapes, dates and peeled apples, carrots, beetroot and rucola.
- 2-3 l of suitable liquids – unsweetened, weak mineral water, almond milk, white coffee, water-diluted fruit juices not 100% juices. Absolute miracle which even helps lactation are herbal teas, especially: anise, alfalfa leaf, nettle leaf, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, red raspberry leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion leaf.
Here are some of my tips on Bio stores in France: Bien, Naturalia and online La Fourche there you can find some tea, white coffee and big range of pasta, flours and rice.
No No food when breastfeeding
- Potential allergens. These are exotic fruits like citruses, peanuts, soya, and cow milk.
- Fish with high content of mercury like marcel, tuna.
- Bloating foods. This is all of the pulses, onions, garlic, celery, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, pears, paprika, spinach, thyme and tomatoes (last one is debatable).
- Spices. Chilli, curry, cinnamon are no go. They are known to irritate stomach of mother and the baby causing diarrhea.
- Not pasteurized, raw foods meaning soft cheeses mainly, whole milk, raw eggs and meat, sushi, mayonese, ice cream due to listeriosis or salmonella.
No special category for alcohol drinks, this is still no no as it will change the smell of milk and prevents its release. If you cannot imagine your life without sugar, just make sure you replace white sugar with better alternative like stevia or honey. Also white flour and products from it don’t have biological value and they decreases level of vitamin B.
Top breakfast, brunch ideas
- Overnight oats, add to the bowl oats, chia seeds, yogurt, maple sirup or honey and stir, add toppings of your choice (nuts, fruits, peanut butter)
- Coconut milk pancakes or banana pancakes with blueberries, walnuts and maple sirup
- Farmhouse grain bread, homemade beet hummus, sliced avocado, dukkah (or pine nuts), feta, pomegranates & egg
- Smoothie with Medjool dates, vanilla flavour, fresh spinach, strawberries, coconut flakes, almond milk and pinch of protein powder
- For drink white coffee, coconut juice or herbal tea
Top lunch ideas
- Pumpkin soup with light cream and pumpkin seeds or coconut carrot soup
- Quinoa salad with feta or mozzarella, black olives, Bio cherry tomatoes and mint leaves
- Stewed veggies, salmon on butter, cooked potatoes with parsley or brown rice
- Baked chicken and basil with beetroot basil salad
- Blueberry muffins from oat flour or buckwheat flour, with protein powder and honey
- Drink herbal tea, grape juice
Top dinner ideas
- Baked chicken legs with oregano, red vinegar, olive oil, pitted green olives, capers, bay leaves and bay leaves
- Pasta with homemade green pesto, with mini mozzarellas or chicken pieces
- Caesar salad with sunflower bread
- Fruit bowl from frozen or fresh fruits (bananas, honeydew, berries, later you can try add fruits like açai or mango) greek yogurt, mix of chia seeds, goji, cashews and other
- Herbal tea for drink
Bon appétit maman!