The most difficult time for a woman comes after childbirth: you need to get used to a new role, but a newborn baby is in her arms, and thoughts are only about him. But good sleep and proper nutrition are the key to long-term and full breastfeeding, which is why breakfast for a nursing mother is of great importance. It doesn’t matter how long your baby was born, if you are breastfeeding, you need to eat not only on time and in sufficient quantity, but also with what is useful.
There are many "horror stories" about what moms can eat during lactation. Someone says that apart from low-fat cottage cheese, boiled chicken breast and steamed vegetables, she didn’t eat anything, because the child began to have colic or allergies. Someone, on the contrary, advocates the use of anything: from herring under a fur coat to chocolates, but in small quantities.
Principles of nutrition for breakfast of a nursing mother
We will not indulge in extremes and simply recall the basic principles of breakfast and the diet in general of a nursing mother.
- Stick to the rule of fractional nutrition - 5 - 6 times a day in small portions.
- Consume at least 2.5 liters of fluid per day.
- Increase your diet by 20% of your norm - that's enough.
You should not count calories and think about whether enough protein is eaten at breakfast, whether your baby will get calcium from what, and whether his own teeth will crumble after that. Just remember to get at least 200g of protein per day, even if you don't eat meat.
Scientists have already found out that the milk of a nursing mother who prefers veganism or vegetarianism does not differ in composition from consuming animal protein. The main thing is to avoid products with preservatives, flavors and dyes. And also too fatty, fried and spicy or richly seasoned with spices.
It is also better not to consume exotic fruits, and vegetables are best eaten in not too large quantities and after heat treatment. That is, between fresh apples for breakfast and baked ones, we choose the last option.
Everything is individual: for someone it is better to skip a meal than to eat something “harmful” and this will not affect the amount of milk, but for someone it is better to have a snack with a sausage sandwich, otherwise the baby will also be left without a “breakfast”. Real restrictions for a nursing mother are important in the first month, when the baby is just getting used to it. Then you can track his reactions to specific products.
Now that the principles have been decided, it remains only to choose the most important thing - the time to cook your own food!
We offer simple breakfast recipes for a nursing mother. Some things can be done ahead of time, while others are easy to prepare.
oatmeal smoothie
If you have to get up very early, one of the quickest breakfast options is suitable: oatmeal smoothies.
For him, we need ½ cup of oatmeal, a glass of kefir or milk 2.5% fat and a banana. Blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth and you're done!
It turns out a nutritious, quick and tasty alternative to bored oatmeal. And any mother is a busy person and will appreciate the opportunity not to stand at the stove.
You can make nursing smoothies from pears, plums, kiwi, yellow and green varieties of apples. Everything else, especially red fruits, is best consumed in scanty amounts or completely eliminated.
The basis can be fermented baked milk, natural yogurt, kefir or low-fat milk. The combinations can be anything, most importantly, do not add sour fruits to the last.
sandwiches
Sandwiches are a great addition to breakfast smoothies.
A nursing mother needs yeast-free bread or bread rolls for them, and low-fat cottage cheese is suitable as a spread - it can be prepared in advance in a plastic container with salt and herbs.
For a 200 g pack, we need 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and dill, and a pinch of salt. If the mixture is too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of kefir. We mix everything with a blender or by hand, depending on what consistency you like, and store in the refrigerator.
Homemade liver pate is well suited as a hearty and healthy addition to sandwiches. It is good that it is prepared at any time when there is time - they put the baby to bed or gave it to dad to hold. And this dish is then stored for several days without loss of quality.
Ingredients
- Chicken or beef liver - 400 g
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Carrot - 1 pc.
- Butter - 1 tbsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Spices - optional
Cooking
- We wash the liver and cut into pieces, salt and simmer in a frying pan under the lid until cooked for about 15 - 20 minutes. It is not necessary to overdo it so that it does not become rigid. From a soft liver, the pate will be more tender.
- We clean the vegetables, three carrots, and chop the onion. We put everything in a pan and simmer in butter. We stew, but do not fry, since we do not need any frying!
- Let the ingredients cool and grind everything in batches in a blender bowl. It can be together or separately.
- Then mix again, taste for salt and transfer to a container.
Now the morning of a nursing mother will begin with a breakfast rich in iron, calcium and phosphorus. And you don’t have to spend time on it, because everything is already ready!
But when you want something unusual and tasty, we recommend trying pumpkin "oil". For nursing mothers with a sweet tooth, it is well suited for breakfast, and pumpkin itself is a very healthy product.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin pulp - 500 g
- Applesauce (can be for children) - 1 tbsp.
- Sugar - ⅓ cup
- Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
- Cinnamon optional - on the tip of a knife
Cooking
- Cut the pumpkin pulp into small pieces, boil until tender, drain the water and puree with a blender. The consistency should be completely homogeneous.
- Mix it in a saucepan with applesauce, add sugar and cinnamon.
- We put on a small fire, bring to a boil and cook for about 45 minutes or until thickened. The main thing is to stir the mixture more often so that it does not start to burn.
- Remove from heat, stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice and transfer to a flat plastic container with a lid.
- Let cool and put in the refrigerator.
It turns out a dense mass, very similar in texture to butter. It spreads easily and serves as an excellent substitute for chocolate paste, nut butter and breakfast jams, that is, everything that nursing mothers are strictly forbidden. Well complements toast, pancakes and just bread.
If you have more time in the evening than in the morning, use the Banana Cheesecake recipe without the cookie or biscuit base. In fact, this is the same casserole, only a little tastier and more interesting.
Ingredients
- Curd - 300 g
- Bananas - 3 pcs.
- Sugar - 150 g
- Eggs - 3 pcs.
- Flour - 3 tbsp. l
- Sour cream - 160 g
Cooking
- Grind bananas in a blender and mix with cottage cheese. Then add eggs with sugar and sour cream, beat and add flour. Mix until fluffy, making sure there are no lumps left.
- We take a form with high sides, pour the mixture into it and put it in an oven preheated to 160 degrees for an hour. As you can see, the baking time is correlated with the low temperature of the oven, specifically so that the casserole does not become tough and there is no fried crust.
- Remove from oven, let cool completely and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, a nursing mother is waiting for not just a delicious dessert, but a healthy and nutritious breakfast, which has a lot of protein and potassium, which cottage cheese and banana are so rich in.
Also in the evening you can cook a vegetable casserole.
For her, boil 400 - 500 g of frozen vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, green peas and corn) in salted water, put them in a glass baking dish and pour a mixture of 1 egg, ¾ cup grated cheese and ½ cup yogurt or 10% sour cream. Sprinkle with cheese chips on top.
A vegetable casserole is cooked at 180 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the oven and the height of the sides of the form. The higher they are, the longer it bakes, respectively. If the top starts to brown too much, and the middle is not yet baked, cover it with foil.
This dish is delicious both hot and, importantly, cold, so feel free to eat it for breakfast - the necessary proteins, fats and carbohydrates are there!
