4 Meal-Prep Ideas for Breastfeeding Moms

First and foremost, before you start writing out your grocery list and planning your meals, you should be aware of the best foods to eat when breastfeeding, and what foods to avoid while breastfeeding. Thankfully, it’s not super complicated.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to eat a well-balanced diet of at least 1,800 calories made up of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. By doing so, you’ll not only be maintaining a healthy lifestyle for yourself, but a steady milk supply as well.

• 2-3 servings of lean protein (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts and seeds)
• 2 servings of any fruit
• 3 servings of vegetables
• Whole grains (such as wheat breads, pasta, cereal and oatmeal)
• Plenty of water

What are the best foods for lactation?
According to Marina Lane, a registered dietition and creator of The Lactation Nutritionist, the following foods are considered “lactation superfoods” and will help to boost your milk supply.

• Oats (including oatmeal and oat milk)
• Ginger
• Barley
• Lean meat

What are some foods to avoid during breastfeeding?
When you’re pregnant, there are a long list of things you can and can’t consume, but (thankfully) there’s no set “breastfeeding diet” that you need to adhere to. Though you may want to limit the following items, you don’t need to avoid them entirely. Consult your doctor if you suspect your baby has a food allergy.

• Alcohol
• Caffeine

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia advises to “wait 2-3 hours after each serving [of alcohol] (12 oz. beer, 6 oz. wine, 1.5 oz. liquor) before breastfeeding/pumping. Alcohol does not stay in your milk. It is removed as your blood alcohol levels go down. When you are sober, the alcohol is gone from your milk. If you are feeling the effects of alcohol and your breasts are full, you may need to ‘pump and dump.'”

Caffeine you need to be less concerned with. While it is passed through your milk, it does not effect most babies. However, “if your baby isn’t sleeping well or is irritable, you may want to limit or avoid caffeine. Newborns may be more sensitive to caffeine than older babies.”

It’s a common misconception that meal planning and prepping takes a lot of time and requires tons of forethought. While some certainly do put a lot of time and effort into it, for busy moms that’s just not realistic. Meal prep should make your life easier, not harder.

Lane says meal prep can benefit the entire family. “A meal plan will help you plan out kid-friendly meals, and give your children some predictability. It will also model good eating habits to them for the future,” she wrote.

By batch-cooking meals or ingredients ahead of time, you:

Save money
Think of all the times you were hungry and decided to order-in or forgot to use the fresh produce you bought and ended up tossing it.

Eat healthier
Planning your meals when you’re not in a rush and relying on take-out means you generally make more mindful, healthier choices.

Avoid getting hangry
No one is at their best when they’re not only tired (which, less face it, is unavoidable in motherhood) but also hungry. If you’ve already taken the time to have snacks and meals at the ready, you’re less likely to let Hangry Mom take over.

Meal-Prep Ideas for Breastfeeding Moms

Meal-prep is not one-size fits all. It’s about looking at your week and where you tend to struggle and simplifying. For some, that means prepping lunches they can bring to work so they don’t have to make them each morning. For others, it’s making large batches of food the whole family can eat. Here are some meal-prep ideas to incorporate into your meal planning.

1. Make a plan of attack.
Keeping in mind the best foods for breastfeeding we mentioned above, as well as the daily suggested servings, set aside some time to make a list of meals that will help you maintain a balanced diet. Be realistic with yourself. Just because the list says oatmeal is great for breastfeeding, if you know you’re never going to eat it … don’t bother. Find those nutrients in other foods you do like.

In addition, if you’re cooking for a partner or other little ones, you’ll want to plan for that as well. Even if you only meal prep for yourself or only for your family, you’ll at least be cutting the work in half during the week.

2. Wash and pre-chop your vegetables.
After you get home from the grocery store (or whenever you have time set aside for meal prep) wash and chop the vegetables you know you’ll use that week. Sort them into food storage bags or containers and place either in the fridge or freezer. Even if you’re not cooking the entire meal ahead of time, you’re saving yourself time later.

Food blogger and mom-of-three Sheri Silver is a big fan of this tactic, and offers the following advice. “When planning meals for the week, try to double up on ingredients, so that you’re only prepping once,” she previously told Mom.com. “For example, it’s almost a given that I’ll be making at least two dishes that call for chopped onions (one of my least favorite tasks). I’ll chop them all up and put half in a ziploc bag for later in the week. Same goes for carrots, parsley, broccoli and garlic.

3. Assemble snacks.
When you’re breastfeeding, you don’t have a ton of mobility to put together snacks. It’s easy to grab a bag of chips or cookies and lose track of time (and portion size). Putting together pre-portioned snacks (for yourself and/or family) will not only make it easy to grab something quick, but keep you mindful of how much you’re consuming. Great snacks to have on hand include: fruit, cut up vegetables like celery and carrots, cheese sticks, and nuts.

4. Batch-cook the basics.
There are many staples that you can batch-cook that will save you time throughout the week. This includes:

• Salads
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Chicken (and other lean meats)
• Soup
• Lentils (and other beans)
• Oatmeal and granola bars
• Sauces

Remember, each meal should include: 1 lean protein, 1 vegetable, 1 starch. Make a list of your favorite foods in these categories and mix and match throughout the week to avoid boredom.

Ignore what you see on Pinterest, meal prep doesn’t have to look picture-perfect — it just needs to work for you. That being said, if you don’t already have the best containers for meal-prep, now would be a good time to invest in them. Containers come in all shapes, sizes and materials, so check out the best ones for your needs and family size.

Ideally, you want to make sure that your containers are airtight, leak-proof, and BPA-free. They should also be microwave and dishwasher safe.

Lastly, when it comes to the containers for meal prep, you also want to think about size. Having a variety of sizes that would work for everything from large-batched meals to individual cut veggies and sauces, will ensure you have the right container for every eventual need.