Are you a breastfeeding mom? Then it’s completely normal to have mixed emotions considering the health of yourself as a mummy and your kid. Since kids would only consume breast milk, mothers need to have healthy and nutritious food. It is at times normal to crave foods, but make sure to take in limits considering the health of your baby.
We all might have heard the best benefits of breastfeeding for a baby, but the super part is that your body is healthy too! While you can connect more with your newborn baby, there is also a low risk of diseases like diabetes and other heart diseases. It is also proven that women lose weight while breastfeeding by burning off some calories for the baby!
Having nutrient-rich foods would help in making your baby’s milk supply way better and more perishable. There are a few superfoods specially designed for mommas like garlic, nuts, seeds, etc., which will help in enhancing the milk supply.
Here Is A Simple Diet For New Moms, Which Can Help In Making Your Milk Supply Flow And Healthy:
Before 8 AM – Make sure to do oil pulling before you brush so that the oral care would be way more healthy. Brush your teeth, have a glass of warm water and eat your overnight soaked Almonds (Powerhouse of Essential Nutrients) and Raisins (Relieves you from Constipation issues).
9 AM – 10 AM – Have your breakfast. You can have Fresh Cut Fruits, Idly/Dosa with Garlic Chutney (Garlic is best to include in all of your meals for improving your milk supply), Eggs, Chila, or Adai(Made of soaked rice with soaked toor dal, urad dal, and green gram).
11 AM – Any Soup like Vegetable soup, Chicken soup, or Mutton Soup. I prefer vegetable soup with veggies like Carrot, Beetroot, Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower.
“Hydration is not only through water, but water filled up with taste and vitamins like soups”, says Nutritionist Jeevitha. You can even have any kind of seasonal fruit juice without added sugar and ice.
12 PM – 1 PM – Lunch (Try to include at least 2 veggies in your diet)
Main Dish: Portion of rice, veg curry/chicken curry along with some dal. I try to add homemade ghee to my main dish.
Side Dish: Sabji with veggies, or you can include fish or chicken.
Dessert: A cup of Thick Curd with some brown sugar or jaggery when I crave to eat something sweet.
4 PM – Milk with Rusk. If you are a coffee/ tea person, include them occasionally, and then you can have some snacks like Ulundu Vada, Veggie Cutlet, etc.
7 PM – 8 PM – You should finish your dinner within this time. You can have steamed foods like Idli, Idiyappam, or Upma.
10 PM – Warm milk with some crushed garlic. If you do not like garlic flavour in milk, you can add chopped or crushed garlic to your main or side dishes.
Foods to Include during Your Breastfeeding Period:
1. Green Leafy Vegetables:
Include varieties of spinach, broccoli, cucumber, moringa (The best food and must-have food during breastfeeding), and everything in green. It helps in improving the vitamins and minerals in your body. You can even make a salad with the veggies by sprinkling some salt and pepper on top.
2. Garlic:
One of the most common ingredients which you can see in all three meals so that you are generating way more milk for the baby’s health. You can include them in your sabzis, cutlets, or even in milk. “Garlic is the magical ingredient which can transform any dish into something mouthwatering,” says Nutritionist Jeevitha.
3. Ragi:
This finger millet is one of the best nutritious foods that you can give to your body and even the babies. Include them at least once in two to three days. It is even said that women who regularly have Ragi in their diet have good health. You can make dosa with ragi flour or porridge and have it according to your taste.
4. Dals:
Since dals have a good amount of protein, it is important to have them once in a day or at least once in two days. You can include any dal in your diet in a sprouted form, veggies, or even make some interesting dishes with it!
5. Turmeric:
As Nutritionist Jeevitha said, “Make use of turmeric as it is – natural and organic, instead of popping as a supplement pill.” Since turmeric has anti-bacterial and healing properties, you should add them to your diet for healing internal wounds, and at the same time, it helps in weight loss too! You can have them in your cooking or with plain milk to make it golden milk.
Also, it is important to avoid unhealthy and junk foods for a while to make your body heal with healthy and nutritious foods. Even though you cannot exercise, make sure to walk for 20 – 30 minutes every day in fresh air to calm your mind and be peaceful.
Conclusion:
Being a mom is not at all an easy task. It includes a lot of sacrifices, but you will feel happy with them by the end of the day. Since it’s a new phase in life, it takes some time to adapt yourself to the role and take up the responsibilities. So, don’t forget to love and take care of yourself in this beautiful journey of life.
