Snacks for Nursing Mothers

by tedgar | More from this Blogger

10 Oct 2009 11:42 PM

When you have a nursing newborn, you can feel hungry all of the time. Yet there's no time too cook anything, it seems. Here are some snack ideas for nursing moms. You can combine a lot of these to make a lunch, have them at a nursing station, or take them on a walk.

• Pasta

Pasta contains a lot of energy, usually in the form of carbohydrates and protein. Pre-cook tortellinis and raviolis. and freeze them in little containers.

• Smoothies

I find smoothies to be a pain to make. However, if you make enough you can snack on it all day. Add mixed berries, seasonal fruit, yogurt, a dash of honey, and some almond butter or greens powder. This is a perfect way to take liquid vitamins, too. Mix all of them together in a blender, and you have a snack and a meal in the fridge for the day.

• Crackers and dips

Combine crackers with antipasto, cheese, nut butters, or cream cheese. Crackers are notoriously bad for your teeth, so choose a time when you're going to brush soon anyway, or have them with a water chaser.

• Chopped vegetables and dip

Buy or pre-make a large container of yogurt dip with spices. At a time you're your baby is in a carrier or napping, chop vegetables and keep them in a container in the fridge. This is an easy way to make sure that you get your greens.

• Fruit salad

I love fruit salad and rarely think to make it. Put it together with nuts, yogurt or cottage cheese, and you have a fruit and protein combination. Add ground flax for extra fiber and a nutritional punch.

• Soups

Fall is here, and with it comes soup weather! With all of the ingredients that need to be processed, making soup can seem like a lot of work. The trick is to make a lot of soup at once. Use the soup for dinner, then divide it up into tiny packages that are just the right size for lunches or snacks.

• Mixed nuts, fruit and seeds

For a high calorie snack, buy or make a combination of nuts, dried fruit and seeds. This is good when you've been sitting on the couch nursing all day and you can't make it up to get a full meal. Remember to keep some water nearby, since you need to get the sticky fruit off your teeth.

• Liquids

The best liquid is water, of course. In lieu of that, choose a good green juice, milk, or milk alternative. You'll need to replenish your fluids!

It can be hard to meet your own nutritional needs when you have a hungry newborn. However, eating a good diet helps support your own health and that of your new baby. Having nutritious snacks on hand helps make the day easier ... and a whole lot tastier!

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Tricia Edgar is a mom of one lovely daughter. Before her daughter was born, she decided to be guided by the needs of her child, and this led her to attachment parenting philosophies.

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