by Lindsay 23 Comments
These healthy snacks for breastfeeding moms are easy to make ahead of time! Use breastfeeding snacks to help keep your body fueled and energized while nursing.
Hi friends!
I’ve got some healthy breastfeeding snacks to share with you today. I don’t often talk about weight and calories on the blog but as I frequently get asked about healthy snacks for breastfeeding, I wanted to gather my thoughts into a post that I could direct people to for ideas! When my oldest was born, our breastfeeding journey came to a rapid end. I got mastitis the first week and ended up in the hospital when he was six weeks old with a breast abscess. (You can read more here.) Since our breastfeeding stint was so short, and I was also supplementing with formula, I didn’t get a clear picture as to just how much exclusively breastfeeding affects your body.
When my daughter was born, we were able to exclusively breastfeed for 13 months. During that time I was also chasing two kids around and regularly doing CrossFit which involved weightlifting and high-intensity workouts. I quickly learned that I needed to eat A LOT of calories to maintain my weight. Breastfeeding women are encouraged to eat an extra 300-500 calories per day on average and that coupled with serious workouts and not having a lot of extra weight to begin with meant I had to work hard to get enough calories in throughout the day.
And to be honest, a lot of days I struggled with it.
I’ve never really been someone who enjoys eating huge meals. I prefer smaller meals + snacks throughout the day…which is fine…except finding the time to eat all day long can be tough when you have a screaming newborn and a high-energy toddler running around.
After my kids were born, I often found myself trying to shove something in my mouth while nursing one kid and getting food for the other. And when I did have a chance to sit down and eat I was either too tired or too indecisive to capitalize on that window of opportunity.
Most of the time when meal or snack time rolled around, one of two things was happening:
- Both kids needed to eat at the same time so I nursed one while getting food ready for the other.
- The baby is napping and the toddler needs to eat so I feed him and then run around trying to get work done while she’s sleeping instead of eating myself.
While I know I need to make the time to eat, knowing and doing are often two different realities and despite my best intentions, I often put everyone else before myself. I was also constantly looking for breastfeeding snacks at night.
After a bit of a learning curve, Irealized I needed to step up my game a little bit. I needed to make more of an effort to have my fridge, freezer and pantry well-stocked with healthy, calorie-dense snacks that I can eat quickly throughout the day and I needed to prioritize sitting down and eating meals….even when I’m busy or feel like I have a million other things to do.
I realize this isn’t a struggle for every mom, but I do know there some others out there like me….so I thought I would share someof my favorite go-to snacks:
Healthy Breastfeeding Snacks
Snack Mixes
I buy a big bag of trailmix from Costco that has peanuts, almonds, cashews, raisins and m&ms but it’s just as easy to make your own with all your favorite things in it! Think nuts, seeds, popcorn, dried fruit, chocolate chips, cereal, bite-sized crackers etc. Or try this Popcorn Snack Mix or Roasted Chickpea Snack Mix.
Yogurt with Toppings
Try full-fat plain yogurt or Greek yogurt and top with a handful of granola, cereal or fresh fruit and nuts/seeds. Or make up a few jars of Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt to eat throughout the week.
Energy Balls
These are so easy to make and perfect for stocking your freezer. Make a double batch and freeze them so you can pull out one or two out to eat quickly. Try these Lemon Energy Balls, my Go-To Energy Balls or theseNo Bake Peppermint Chocolate Bites. To make life even easier, just press the mixture into a pan, freeze and then cut into bars instead of rolling into balls.
Granola or Protein Bars
I make these No-Bake Protein Bars all the time. If you don’t want to add protein powder, try these No-Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars,these No-Bake Blueberry Almond Barsor these Sweet Potato Protein Cookies.
Lactation Cookies
I’ve been eating a couple of these each day for a quick snack or dessert. This is my recipe for Dairy-Free Lactation Cookies and there are tons of other variations out there!
Egg Wraps
I’ve been loving these egg wraps with turkey and guac or hummus. I make up 8-10 on Sundays to have on hand throughout the week. Egg Waffles are another great option! Or try one of these 90 Second Microwave Egg Sandwiches.
Muffins/Bars
Always always make a double batch to stock your freezer. Some favorites of mine are Lentil Banana Muffins, GF Pumpkin Yogurt Bars, and GF Sweet Potato Brownies.
Need more ideas for healthy snacks while breastfeeding?
- Hummus with carrots or chips (bonus points if you make this greek hummus topping too!)
- Apple slices with peanut butter
- Frozen pb banana sandwiches (put a little pb between two slices of banana and freeze)
- Tuna salad stuffed mini peppers (cut peppers in half, stuff with mix of tuna + avocado or hummus + salsa)
- Oats- prep several jars of overnight oats for the week or try my Freezer Oatmeal Cups so you can just pop a couple in a bowl and microwave!
- PB toast or waffle with peanut butter (I like these Banana Flax Waffles– i make a batch to freeze then just grab one and pop it in the toaster)
- Pudding – try this PB banana versionor this chocolate avocado pudding recipe
- Cold leftovers – I like these Thai Chicken Meatballs or Tuna Quinoa Cakes or Chicken Avocado Burgers straight out of the fridge
That’s all for today! Keep in mind these healthy make-ahead snacks are great for everyone, not just nursing moms! I also have a post of Healthy Freezer Snacks that might be helpful!
Let’s chat:
What are the best postpartum snacks in your opinion?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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About Lindsay
Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!
Reader Interactions
Comments
You are certainly a busy lady right now! These snack options look wonderful for anyone with a tight schedule. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Angie saysDo you eat larger portions than you snap or more calorie heavy snacks throughout the day? I’m always amazed (/jealous) when people can do hard workouts and eat small dinners.
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- Lindsay says
i eat a lot more than is shown on social media. a great reminder to not compare yourself to what you see from anyone on social media! like i said, i’ve never been able to eat super big meals…so i often eat a snack right when i get home or while making dinner, then dinner and then eat again before i go to bed. it just works better for my body than having one giant meal after a workout!
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- Keri says
Everything you said I this posting was EXACTLY my situation to a T! Everything. Thank you for posting these great ideas. After every pregnancy (3) I’ve gone from happily velumptuous (for me) to super skinny and underweight and look like I need to eat, which is what I am told often. I’m naturally thin so breastfeeding pretty much depletes me. Thank you for the article 🙂
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- E says
Love your blog- so realistic! First time i’ve Been here and can’t wait to try a lot of these especially the egg wraps! I’m trying to keep up the energy while nursing and chasing a toddler too :). Really a challenge now that I am trying to lower my sugar intake. Thanks for the great ideas
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- Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says
This is such a struggle for so many of my clients! To the point that they actually think there is a reason they can’t gain weight, and it’s simply lack of sufficient calorie intake. The calories needed are high! Especially if you had a fast metabolism to start! This is a great post!
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- Heather says
As a soon-to-be-first-time-mom, this couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you so much for this. A few questions: could you make the muffin mix ahead of time and bake as needed or would you need to bake as you make the mixes? Could the same apply to the lactation cookies?
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- Lindsay says
you can mix up the cookie dough, scoop it into balls and freeze them on a cookie sheet. once frozen, put them in a ziploc bag and then just pull out a few to bake when you want to. for the muffins i would bake them like normal and then once they’ve cooled you can wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in a ziploc bag to freeze. just pull a few out and let them defrost on the counter or in the microwave when you want them!
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- Jessica says
Such a hard thing for new moms to grasp because everything tells them they need to lose the baby weight, etc. I’ve BF 4 babies (now 1, 3, 5, and 8), and I’m sure my supply suffered with the last two because of lack of time and struggling to maintain my weight. Lots of eating as you go and lots of oatmeal, in all forms imaginable!
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- Lindsay says
yep! gimmme alllll the food!
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- Nicole says
Where is your egg wrap recipe? Those look soooo good!! I also have a hard time getting enough in and I’m not even breastfeeding I’m just trying to get pregnant!!!
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- Lindsay says
just added the link in the post. sorry! and good luck!
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Omg, I gained SO much weight on maternity leave. No time to eat meant poptarts for snacks and sometimes nothing but half a loaf.of bread to get me through the day. If we have a second kiddo I am definitely packing myself grab and go meals and snacks for the next day, just as if I were going to work!
Hang in there and keep the quick eats coming!
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- Brittany Stevenson says
My little girl is almost 3 months old and I’ve had to turn my diet around completely trying to work out what’s best for her colic (week 3 of no dairy currently & 9 weeks of clean eating). Your sweet potato protein biscuits & protein balls are amazing to snack on and have helped me stay on the healthy track being easy to make and so great to have easily accessible! Is there a link to the egg wraps, I’m on my phone so I can’t see it.
Thanks so much again from South Australia!Reply
- Lindsay says
so glad to hear it! just updated with link to egg wraps! hang in there mama!
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- Annie says
Oooh I wish I had this when I was nursing my son! I remember so many times he would fall asleep on my and I would be starrrving or so thirsty and had nothing within reach. The WORST! I’ll save this for next time 🙂
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- Lisa says
I so hear you on the walking around the kitchen nursing plus getting food ready for an impatient hungry toddler! (Now that my baby is almost 1, he’s too big for that. Toddler really has to wait sometimes. And he lets me know how not ok that is with him…) I had similar struggles trying to get enough in. I just kept bananas, peanut butter, and nuts on the counter and grabbed them in every spare moment. And chocolate chips (shhh…)
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- Amanda Gray says
Thank you. Just. . . Thank you. ♡
~ A very tired mom, breastfeeding a newborn with gerd and trying to survive an energetic 4 year old
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- Lindsay says
hang in there mama! prep alllllll the snacks!
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- Brianna says
I can TOTALLY relate to you right eatif dilem a! I just had a baby girl and have a busy 1 1/2 year old daughter as well. I really struggled this pregnancy with hypoglycemia towards the second half. People kept commenting hat I didn’t look very big and should gain more weight, etc. I literally was trying SO hard and did my best. And since the new baby, I have still struggled to think straight about what sounds good and/or find the time without someone else crying to eat what I finally made myself… the struggle is real! All your recipes sound amazing and I’m so glad I found you!
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- Gillian says
This is amazing! Thank you for this list. I have just gotten into meal prep and it’s going to help so much more with the next baby!
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- Lindsay says
hope you find some good ones!
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- ameena says
Wow his sounds exactly like me! I’m struggling to maintain my supply with second bub and know I never had enough for bub number 1 and I think not eating enough has been a huge factor… i think I need to spend a few days loading up the fridge and freezer. Thank you for the helpful ideas. I think the other factor is rest but who hasn’t time with a toddler and 4 month old!
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