Eating for Two.

What do you like to eat when you’re breastfeeding? What do you look forward to in the midst of your busy day mothering?

The answer is likely to be comforting foods: sweet, filling, often soft and easy to eat, foods which aren’t cool or cold (but not necessarily hot). They can be so relaxing!

In Bristol, we have a lovely tradition in our breastfeeding support groups of having tea and cake, often lovingly made by one of many volunteers, and gently offered to mums as they’re welcomed into the group. It’s part of the whole nurturing process that the mother enjoys as she sits down in a circle of experienced women, there to listen to her woes and joys, respond to her questions, mop her tears and laugh at the little daily experiences of living with a new baby.

In the Traditional Chinese approach and in related far eastern cultures, the foods provided to new mothers also are taken seriously. It’s recognized that when a woman has conceived, grown a baby and then given birth, her body has worked hard. It therefore needs appropriate nourishment to replenish itself: it also needs foods which comfort and give back self-nurturing to the woman as she does the intense work of giving out to her new baby both physically (breastfeeding, carrying and holding) and emotionally (comforting, responding).

So alongside the tea and cakes, there are nourishing foods which can really support a new mother in recharging her body. Eating more of a plant-based diet with a mix of vegetables, grains, seaweeds and proteins including fish can help to create a helpful balance.
A seaweed called ‘wakame’ is the one of choice for post-partum women as it’s renowned particularly for purifying the blood after birth and being rich in calcium.
But in fact many seaweeds contribute fantastic doses of vitamins, minerals and proteins. Simply buying a bag of dried mixed sea vegetables from a whole food or health store and sprinkling a pinch into a soup or stew can be an easy way of giving excellent nourishment to yourself (plus the bag lasts ages!); and adding pickled vegetables such as sauerkraut or gherkins to your lunch plate helps the gut to absorb iron even better.

Warming foods are favoured over cool or cold foods as it’s believed that warmth goes more deeply into the body and therefore re-strengthens it more effectively. Baked pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots; soups with beans and vegetables; poached onions flavoured with small amounts of unsweetened soya sauce are some examples of foods that can be tasty and comforting and easy to prepare.
Drinking a Japanese tea called Twig Tea (Kukicha) has the reputation for strengthening and refreshing us when we’re tired, a familiar state for busy mothers. As it contains almost no caffeine, it can be drunk daily both during pregnancy and after it – and by any of us whether pregnant or not!

Finally, here is an example of a sugar-free dessert to consider for yourself or others when you need that sweet touch!
Poached pears – 1/2 pear per person, barley malt, root ginger.
*Make the ginger juice by grating a decent sized piece of root ginger with skin on until you get a mushy clump, then squeeze this tightly and catch the juice as it runs out
*Cut the pears in half, cut out the cores.
*Put the halves in a saucepan, put 1/4 tsp of barley malt and some drops of ginger juice into the cut out core area,
*Add 1/2 inch water (or for a sweeter taste some apple juice)
*Sprinkle a few grains of salt on each pear, simmer for 10 minutes until deliciously soft.
*Serve!

Most cultures have their different eating traditions for supporting new and lactating mothers. Oatmeal, almonds, hummus, tahini, chicken soup, garlic dips, dandelion leaves, spaghetti sauce with basil and virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, unchilled fresh vegetable juices, noodles with miso (a fermented food made from soya beans): these are great items to have in your fridge and cupboard, for easy preparation and eating whilst with a baby. Your baby will enjoy them too (remember baby gets to taste what you eat through your yummy, changing flavours breastmilk!).

Enjoy eating for two, comforting and nourishing yourself all at once!