Every breastfeeding journey is unique, but hunger is a familiar feeling across the board. You sit down to feed your baby, and as you settle into the chair your stomach grumbles. You don’t want to disturb your baby so you can’t exactly head to the kitchen to make yourself a plate of food. The solution is simple though: you need a stash of breastfeeding snacks! Staying full can be a bit of a challenge when you’re breastfeeding, and lots of mums struggle to find the time to sit down to a full meal. But, if you keep your fridge stocked with these simple snacks, you’ll always be ready to fight off hunger pangs when they strike.
Fruits and Vegetables
We know, a bag of carrots doesn’t really sound like a great snack idea, but fruits and veggies are an important part of a good breastfeeding diet. Root vegetables, leafy greens and fruits like papaya are all thought to be good for helping milk production, and they’re easy to turn into finger foods.
Fruits and vegetables are packed with fibre, vitamins and nutrients that are good for you and they’re good for bub. If you don’t mind the healthy stuff then you can try:
- Carrots
- Beets and radishes
- Kale, spinach and other dark, leafy greens
- Edamame
- Apples
- Green papaya
Complex Carbs
Complex carbs are slow-digesting, packed with fibre and they’re great for staying full for longer. Even better, it’s pretty easy to turn complex carbs into an easy snack food that you can eat while breastfeeding. Complex carbs are things like oats, whole-wheat grains, beans and fruits.
There are loads of easy snacks you can make with whole grains. Oat pancakes, granola muffins and whole-wheat mug cakes come to mind, but you don’t even have to put that much effort into it! A simple sandwich made with brown bread and peanut butter might be just what you need to tide you over while breastfeeding.
Nuts and Trail Mix
Speaking of peanut butter, the healthy fats found in nuts are fantastic for your breastfeeding journey. Cashews, peanuts, pistachios - whatever your favourites are, a small container full of nuts is an easy snack to grab on your way to feed your baby. If you’re not a fan of nuts on their own then you can break things up by eating trail mix instead. Trail mix is usually just a combo of nuts, dried fruits, granola (which is made with oats!), seeds and sometimes other yummies like chocolate, so you can’t go wrong.
Dark Chocolate
We couldn’t put together a list of the best snacks for breastfeeding without talking about dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is packed with iron, magnesium and zinc, all of which are great for your body. It’s also known to be good for relaxation and reducing stress, and bub will thank you for that too.
Stick to the darker stuff of around 70% cacao and up if you want the full benefits. Just remember to be mindful of the caffeine in chocolate. Babies don’t process caffeine very well and it can cause a variety of health issues in newborns. Since there can be up to 80mg of caffeine in 100g of dark chocolate (the same amount of caffeine as an instant coffee), make sure you’re adding it to your daily caffeine totals.
Lactation Cookies
We’re guessing you don’t have a lot of time to hang around the kitchen baking snacks and preparing bags of carrots. If you can’t find the time then there’s nothing wrong with getting a little outside help. Luckily, these days there are lots of lactation snacks available, and lactation cookies are our favourite option. They’re packed full of the ingredients we talked about above (nuts, oats, chocolate and more), so they’re the ideal breastfeeding snack. Around here we’re in love with the lactation cookies from Milky Goodness and Pinky’s Boobie Foods, but hunt around to find some that you like.
Get Your Protein Fix
Protein is great fuel for breastfeeding. Plus, high-protein snacks keep you fuller for longer, which can be a bit of a rare feeling when nursing. You could keep it simple with snacks like hard boiled eggs, or get creative with recipes for protein balls, pancakes and baked goods. The sky’s the limit here, but you can try some of these things for a protein fix:
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Yoghurt
- Edamame
- Nuts
- Hummus dips
- Meats and tinned tuna
- Protein balls and snacks
Heading Into Your Breastfeeding Journey? Visit the Mad House Mums Store!
Breastfeeding might feel like an uphill battle, but it doesn’t need to be that way. If you can find a groove and stock up on healthy snacks then the rest is a breeze. And that’s doubly true for mums who invest in breastfeeding clothes Australia from the Mad House Mums store! Our range of nursing clothes has been designed by nursing mums, so we’ve got options that are right for your unique breastfeeding journey. We’ve designed our breastfeeding clothes with an invisible side zip, so you’ve got great access for breastfeeding without missing out on style. Check out our new arrivals to see what we’ve been working on lately which includes our range of breastfeeding tops Australia wide or contact us if you’d like to know more!