It’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetables month! Aren’t you excited? I mean who knew they could dedicate an entire month to apples and carrots? Who comes up with these special days and months one wonders. Or maybe you’re wondering how I know these things? Wasn’t it just yesterday I did a post finding a way to link breastfeeding with World No Tobacco Day? Who ever heard of that? Well, one of my favorite sites is Bloggers Unite and they have a list of special days for almost every day of the year. If you’re ever stuck for a blog post, go check them out for some information and blog for a cause!
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables month is all about promoting eating well, eating organic when possible, and growing your own vegetables or shopping locally for the best produce. I am dedicating today’s post and my June Foodie Friday posts to fresh fruit and vegetable recipes. So I hope you will check them out.
The Recommended Breastfeeding Diet
Keeping it simple here, if you are a breastfeeding mom, you should eat a healthy diet and concentrate on whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables and foods that provide good sources of protein, iron, and calcium. Some sources say 2500 to 2800 calories a day, especially if you are exclusively breastfeeding, but this will vary among women, based on weight, body shape and level of activity. As well you should drink 8-10 glasses of water per day.
I have found it easiest to get my nutritional requirements met by eating five smaller meals per day or giving myself permission to snack a lot and eat a regular sized breakfast and supper Then I would just try to choose healthy snacks throughout the day. This keeps my blood sugar levels up and gives me the energy I need to run after the kids and breastfeed on demand. But of course I’m no saint. I have my weaknesses like everyone else. Ice cream and baked goods top my list, but it is recommended you keep high sugar or salty snacks to a minimum.
My Monday Musing question is how much effort have you put into your diet as a breastfeeding mom? Did you carry over the diligence that many women have during pregnancy or did you return to your normal diet? How much emphasis do you put on fresh, organic, locally or home grown produce in your home?
Related posts:
- Monday Musings: Becoming An Attachment Parent
- Monday Musings: What Are You Doing For World Breastfeeding Awareness Week?
- Monday Musings: Disappointments
- Monday Musings: Were You Breastfed?
- Monday Musings: What Do You Do When Breastfeeding?
Tags: Monday Musings
This time of year we eat almost exclusively homegrown or local produce and eggs. We are lucky to have a great farmer’s market twice/week within walking distance of our home. Milk and a small amount of meat is all that I shop for
We’re trying your veggie pie w/ grated potato crust recipe for dinner this Friday in fact!
As for pregnancy/breastfeeding diet, we tend to always eat the same types of foods year round..what varies for us is the quality of what we are able to buy living in a Northern climate. I don’t diligently watch what I eat when I am pregnant OR breastfeeding, simply focus on good whole foods nutrition year round for the entire family!
Heidi’s last blog post..Not On MY Vacation
I would say our family places a large emphasis on eating health, eating organic and eating local, and we definitely followed these principles more closely when I became pregnant. My husband would often boast to his friends, “I think I’ve been eating better since Stephanie got pregnant than I ever did before in my life.” Since I was always ravenous while breastfeeding, the emphasis on high-quality food remained. But all these good intentions have pretty much gone out the window since I became pregnant again because persistent nausea and sensitivity to odors has made it really hard to prepare and cook food. So we’ve been eating more fast food over the past couple months than we usually do in a whole year (by fast food, I don’t only mean McDonald’s & co., but also bagels, sandwiches and other foods you don’t make yourself.). I hope this changes as the nausea slowly goes away!
Stephanie’s last blog post..taking stock
I have to admit I’m not very strict about what I eat while pregnant or breastfeeding. I do eat fruits and vegetables but get some extra calories through chocolate or other sweets. I figure my body will take the good stuff to convert into breastmilk. While it is important to eat well if it is over-emphasized it could discourage women from breastfeeding because they might feel like they don’t eat well enough
Kelly’s last blog post..Not Me! Monday
We eat rather healthy year-round. We have a share in a local CSA and therefore have an abundance of fresh veggies and some fruit weekly dropped off at our doorstep! Yay! I believe in the power of whole foods, so more often than not, our meals are comprised of veggies, whole grains, and legumes, with meat included once or twice a week.
Kim’s last blog post..Featured on TIPS site!
Another interesting thing I wanted to comment on (but forgot!) and see what other people think is that I have heard that mom’s diet doesn’t matter too much as far as the baby is concerned. That mom’s breasts will still supply healthy, immune boosting breast milk even if she eats crappy foods or doesn’t eat as much as she should. If we look to the developing world we see malnourished mothers nursing and indeed this is the only way to keep these babies alive sometimes! What do you think about this?
I more or less reverted to my pre-baby diet after my first child was born. What caused me to become diligent was introducing solid food to my little one. When that started I really cleaned up my diet. I do a lot more scratch cooking, buy organic and local, and reduced sweets. Once I was feeding someone else I really took a sober second look at my own choices.
Your diet has little to no effect on the quality of your milk. Your own nutrient stores will be diverted to your baby and you will suffer deficiency before your little one does. However, it does benefit you to eat well. You don’t want to run low on iron or calcium yourself. But I’m always concerned when people believe that a certain diet, or perfection, is essential. I think it becomes another reason NOT to breastfeed when there are too many dietary rules surrounding it.
Amber’s last blog post..Maternity Leave in Germany
It’s important to remember that our breasts are miracles that can turn either a handful of grain and a vitamin from a refugee camp OR a bag of fast food and a vitamin into the perfect food for a baby. Isaac has NEVER reacted to anything I ate, so I ate pretty much whatever I wanted–it wasn’t until he started solids that I REALLY started to think about what kind of example I was setting. Now I’m doing Weight Watchers– all things in moderation, with a concentration on veggies and lean protein!
earlier, i had to go on a non-dairy diet to get rid of naima’s rashes. i’ve reintroduced dairy in my diet but we have now replaced white rice with brown rice (rice is a staple in all our meals!). last month, i started a weekly organic vegetable delivery. naima currently prefers veggies over meat and hopefully this won’t change as she matures.
Jenny’s last blog post..A Nursing Mom’s Shopping Guide in Manila – Nursing Bras
I have a tendency to feel extreme baby blues after I give birth, and found that eating a strict, healthy diet during and after pregnancy helps tremendously to ease the depression. This means fresh produce, whole grains, and lots of protein-rich legumes or lean meats. When I feel healthy physically, my mind reacts in a positive way, mentally.
It makes life easier when I can kick up my happy, nourished feet and breastfeed my baby in peace. It might be purely psychological–but it works for me.
Sally’s last blog post..Yoga and hot meals:
I try to maintain a healthy diet even when I’m not pregnant or nursing. However, I do indulge in many treats – I just try to be balanced.
I will admit though: there are some days where I know I don’t drink enough water or get enough caleroies. But I try to keep these days to a minimum.
As for our milk affecting baby, it’s interesting because I was just discussing this with my docter – he was telling me that what a women eats while nursing DOES affect baby – because babies fat cells are developed early, mothers diet, if poor, will lead to problems for the infant – and down the road could be link to obesity. Interesting stuff, but I could see the link (although, this is more of a weight issue, I’m not sure if would affect the antibodies/immune benefits)
Great post- thanks for reminding me to look at my diet – and I do need more fruits and veggies!
Rebecca’s last blog post..Mommy Monday: Schools out for Summer
I eat pretty healthily but I have to admit to drinking alcohol whilst breastfeeding. Do other people do this? I have read that it only a small amount transfers into the milk, so if I only have one small glass of wine or beer then it doesn’t do my baby any harm. Even La Leche League say it’s OK to drink a little whilst breastfeeding – and I trust them (and it might even help to get baby off the sleep in the evening
). Am I really bad?
Cave Mother’s last blog post..Nine Months In, Nine Months Out
I totally agree with Amber that it’s been the introduction of solid foods, and not breastfeeding, that have cleaned up my diet. Now that my 14-month old daughter eats what we eat (and, indeed, gets FURIOUS if we eat something and don’t share), I can’t get away with eating brownies for breakfast! And I don’t want her to be addicted to processed and junk foods the way I always have been. So she eats mostly fruits, vegetables, and eggs from the farmer’s market, all organic, and now we do, too! I won’t put anything into her body that’s junky (this includes meat/chicken from commercial feedlots), so we kind of have to follow suit. And it has been great! We don’t shun fat or sugar, we just eat only things that are very pure and whole. I have to say, I am really grateful to parenthood for FINALLY getting me to eat healthy (lord KNOWS I did not eat healthy during pregnancy or early days of breastfeeding–and my robust child has always been the picture of health, anyway).
[...] you enjoy your visit today and come back soon!This is the first Foodie Friday post in honour of Fruits and Vegetables month. Check back here again next Friday for more fresh fruit and/or vegetable [...]
[...] you enjoy your visit today and come back soon!This is the second Foodie Fridays recipe in honour of Fresh Fruit and Veggies Month. This one comes from Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons. The first time I had this was on Bainbridge [...]
[...] feed. I hope you enjoy your visit today and come back soon!This is Part 3 of my series in honouring Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month. Sweet strawberries are in abundance right now and this is a perfect way to enjoy them. If you want [...]
[...] for the Carnival is being posted a day early. This recipe is also the last in my series celebrating Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Month. You can see my other posts from this series here (Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad)and here (Green [...]