Best Foods to Eat When Preparing to Breastfeed

Greetings from quarantine!  Today, I’m coming at you with the best foods to eat when preparing to breastfeed.  I hope this is helpful for anyone pregnant or wanting to become pregnant.  

We are officially on our countdown for Baby Girl’s arrival.  I can’t even tell you how fast this pregnancy has flown by.  Although the first trimester was rough with morning sickness that turned into all-day sickness, once we got passed that little issue, we’ve been smooth sailing!  

When I was pregnant with Gaby, I became consumed with the idea of breastfeeding and making sure I was eating all the right foods to prepare my body to be able to nurture and feed her.  Thank God for Google and thank God we made it breastfeeding for 18 months! 

Now that we’re just a blink away from the next baby’s arrival, I recently started eating all the healthy foods to help prepare my body for its next adventure of breastfeeding.  I hope this is helpful for anyone in the same boat!

• Oatmeal – I’ve always been a big oatmeal lover.  It’s a great source of fiber, iron, magnesium, and zinc.  All are essential vitamins for baby’s growth and development. 
• Green Leafy Vegetables – if it’s green, eat it! Kale, spinach, and beet greens are full of healthy vitamins for both you and baby. But do be cautious with cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cabbage.  These can sometimes cause an upset stomach for baby.  
• Lean Proteins – Recently, I’ve had a hard time eating meat.  So I’ve been eating a ton of fish! I try to stay away from fried foods during this time, too.  Chicken and salmon are my go-to proteins when I can handle the idea of eating meat! 
• EGGS – I don’t know about you, but I love eggs.  I can eat them in any form. During this pregnancy, I’ve lived off eggs when I couldn’t handle the thought or smell of eating anything else.  They’re quick and easy to fix and a great source of protein and vitamins for you and baby! 
• Sweet Potatoes – your body obviously needs some carbs during this time.  I’m not a big rice eater and I try not to eat too much pasta, although I do love it.  Being a girl from the South, I love a good sweet potato!  Baked or fried and smothered in butter, give it to me!!  
• Fruits and Veggies – This is an obvious one, but so needed for your health and baby’s development.  And most are low calorie and low fat (depending on how you cook them)! 
• WATER – I can’t stress this one enough.  Drink all the water you think your body can handle, then drink a little bit more.  I bought one of these cups off Amazon so I could easily keep up with how much water I drink.  I noticed when I breastfed Gaby that when I felt dehydrated my milk slacked off.  As soon as I got more water in me, the milk began flowing again! 

I hope this list of healthy foods to eat is helpful when preparing to breastfeed.   It’s officially berry season and I can’t get enough of strawberries and blueberries right now.  So I’m leaving you with a delicious blueberry muffin recipe!  

Delicious Blueberry Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 25 minutes, Total Time: 45 minutes

Yields: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 oz softened butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar (I used cane sugar)
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line your muffin tin with liners or spray with non-stick.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment (or you can use a hand mixer) beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Continue beating well.
5. In a spouted measuring cup, add the sour cream and milk. Whisk together.
6. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. The batter will be very thick, so don’t overmix.
7. In a small bowl, combine the blueberries and 2 tbsp of flour tossing well to make sure the berries are covered in the flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold the berries into the batter.
8. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tin.
9. Bake for 25 minutes, check the doneness with a toothpick to make sure they’re completely done in the middle. Let them sit in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
10. Cool completely on a wire rack and EAT!