The Boob Group
Food and Cooking Tips for the Breastfeeding Mom

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Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

SUNNY GAULT: Hey Boob Group. We have a special announcement before we start the show. New Mommy Media – the parent company of The Boob Group is looking for moms and dads to join the new sales team and sell advertising on our shows. This is a great opportunity for parents who are looking for a job where they can work from home and still be able to spend some time with their kids. Visit www.newmommymedia.com/jobs for details.

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ROBIN KAPLAN: Finding time to feed yourself especially healthy and nutritious foods can sometimes feel very overwhelming after having a baby. It’s amazing how a little eight-pound being can make cooking, showering and getting out of the house seem so challenging. So, today I’m super excited to welcome a new expert to our show. Jennifer Kelly is a yoga instructor, postpartum doula, nutritionist and owner of the Yogi Tree studio in Toluca Lake, California. Today, we’re talking about: “Cooking and food tips for the breastfeeding mom.” This is The Boob Group episode 108.

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ROBIN KAPLAN: Welcome to The Boob Group broadcasting from the Birth Education Centre of San Diego. The Boob Group is your weekly online on-the-go support group for all things related to breastfeeding. I’m your host Robin Kaplan. I’m also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding Centre. Today, we are joined by two lovely panelists in the studio. Ladies, will you please introduce yourselves?

TESS DE LA GARMA: Hi. I’m Tess De La Garma. I am 35 this month. I am a personal trainer and I have one son. He is nine months old.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Awesome. Thank you and Melissa?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: I’m Melissa Lang Lytle. I’m a birth labour doula. I also call myself a birth activist. I have three children – Benjamin 5, Joseph 3 ½ and Baby Milo 3 months.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Welcome to the show. Mj our awesome producer, would you please introduce yourself; as well as tell us a little bit about the Virtual Panellists Program please.

MJ FISHER: Sure. I’m Mj. I’m 37 and I am a stay-at-home mom to Jason who’s almost 3. We are actually still nursing. In my spare time, when I do have some I get to help support breastfeeding moms. So, during the show, we have our Virtual Panellists Program which is a way for you to join the conversation and be part of the show even if you can’t be in the studio with us. We’re posting the same questions that our in-studio panellists are answering. So, it’s a way to share experiences, opinions or tips. You can engage and support other moms with tips and advice or just to empathy. It’s just nice to know that you’re not alone. We may even read your comment while we record. Check out newmommymedia.com under the Community Tab for more info on our VP program and possible perks for participation.

ROBIN KAPLAN: All right. Well thanks, Mj.

MJ FISHER: Okay.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Here’s a question from one of our listeners. This is from Yolanda. I need help. My daughter is three months and we haven’t had any problems breastfeeding until now. She refuses my right breast. As soon as I position her to nurse on the right, she begins to protest until I switch her to the right. I’m concerned because I feel like: “She isn’t getting enough to eat because I just decided to finally start pumping.” I feel like my milk supply is decreasing because of this. I’m only able to get three ounces pumped at a time and usually give it all to her at the next feeding since she will only nurse from the left. Please help. -Yolanda

ASHLEY TREADWELL: My name is Ashley Treadwell. I’m an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in San Diego, California. I work as a private lactation consultant for the San Diego Breastfeeding Centre. Hi Yolanda thank you so much for your question. I can understand your frustration. The first thing that I would suggest would be: “To seek out and visit a free breastfeeding support group in your area.” They should have either a lactation educator or a lactation consultant, will run them. They’ll have their scale there. That would be good for you because you can get information on how much your baby is actually taking from the left side that she’s feeding only from right now. I do think it’s important to remember that: “It can be possible for the baby to get enough from just one breast?” If you remember that: “They would think about the fact that moms of twins are able to feed two babies with two breasts.” It is feasible that one mom would be able to seek one baby with one breast. However, it isn’t an issue because your baby wasn’t exhibiting this behaviour prior to three months. She was taking both sides. So, the fact now that she’s refusing one side would lead me to think that something could be going on. Like adults, babies can get tight in the neck and the head area. If we sleep funny over night and wake up in the morning, we can have ton of a kink on our neck and it may be uncomfortable for us to turn our head one way or the other. A neck could be going on with your baby.

First thing you can do is: “Try switching positions.” If you’re always feeding her in the cradle position and that is uncomfortable for her on that side, you could try some other positions. There is a laid back position that’s really nice. If you actually look up La Leche Week, they have some really great lengths like illustrated pictures and instructions for different positions that you can put your baby into breastfeed. We often recommend for our clients as well body works of the baby. If the baby has some tightness, we’ll recommend either CranioSacral therapy or Chiropractic care that can help sort of loosen the baby up and align her and should be more comfortable feeding on that side. I encourage you to seek help from an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in your area. If you think that you needed additional help, they’ll be able to show you some different positions. Also, you’ve mentioned your milk supply. They’ll also be able to asses if your milk supply is low. Thank you so much for your question. Bye.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Well today on The Boob Group, we’re discussing: “Foods and cooking tips for the breastfeeding mom.” Our expert Jennifer Kelly is a yoga instructor, a postpartum doula, a nutritionist and is also owner of The Yogi Tree Studio in Toluca Lake, California. Thanks so much for joining us Jennifer and welcome to the show.

JENNIFER KELLY: Hi Robin. Thanks for having me today.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely. Jennifer, when we’re pregnant, we think that about eating for two. But what about after the baby is born and mom is breastfeeding, what are we looking for? About how many calories does the breastfeeding mom need to consume per day?

JENNIFER KELLY: Well, I think that after the baby is born, we need to shift our thinking from eating for two and start looking at it as: “We’ll rebuilding our body after pregnancy and birth. We’re wanting to produce high quality milk for our babies because we are starting to build our baby’s body as well. I don’t see much of calorie counting. I really focused more on bio individuality because I think: “Every mom is different and their experience of pregnancy is different.” So coming out of that, the needs can be really different. A rule of thumb: “If you need about 1800 to 2200 calories per day and you want to go on the high end of that because your body has a lot of processes that are happening right now; you’re needing to recover from a major event.” Birth is a traumatic event in the body. There’s a lot of rebuild that happened. We’re rebuilding our hormonal structure. We’re now having to produce milk. We’re asking our bodies to do a lot of function and it needs a lot of nutrients to be able to do that.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay and you mentioned kind of tailoring the foods to kind of mom’s individual needs. I can’t say the word. So, clearly: “All calories are not the same.” So, how does that depend on the type of food that mom should be consuming to build up her milk supply?

JENNIFER KELLY: Okay, well there’s really an important things. You have to remember that: “Everything that the mom is eating is going into the milk, right? So, the quality of the food is huge.” I know a lot of moms are worried about their weight. They want to get of that baby weight. So, rather than being obsess with the quantity of food, we really would try to look at the quality of the food. So, we’d like to really put in organics, non processed, fresh life foods. That’s going to rebuild the mom’s body. That’s going to give you awesome breast milk. Your healing will be faster. Your baby is going to be healthier. That’s really what we focused on after birth.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay. So, I’d love to open this up to our panellists in the studio as well. So, ladies, what are your biggest struggles with eating during this early post partum weeks and months? Melissa, how about you?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: I found the motivation to cook when I go on to sit on the couch with my baby. But easy, everything seems like I had to organize something and make a meal. So, I learned pretty quickly that having something quick and easy; or when I did take the time to put things into portions and have them as something that I can access at all times of the day. That was a struggle for me. Initially, some hunger and I learned that even when I wasn’t feeling hungry, I make sure that: “I was fuelling my body.”

ROBIN KAPLAN: That’s a good point because a lot of moms that I’ve worked with in the early weeks were just say like: “I’m just not hungry.” It’s all those after those first couple of weeks and all of the sudden you’re ravenous. Every time you sit down to breastfeed you’re like: “I’m starving.”

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: Right.

JENNIFER KELLY: Yes.

ROBIN KAPLAN: But those couple of weeks you may not be feeling super hungry; so to kind of know that you are fuelling your body.

JENNIFER KELLY: I think it’s also important too that in those first few weeks, you’re still overwhelmed with all these changes of: “Now being a mom 24/7 and worrying about if your baby’s okay that we forget to take care of ourselves.” We forget to put an [inaudible 00:09:10] and one of the ways that we do that is by: “Having healthy foods available and easy to grab and eat.”

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely. Tess, what did you find were your biggest struggles after your baby was born?

TESS DE LA GARMA: I don’t have a problem eating. I didn’t really hit that struggling mark at all. What I did do which may have been a contributing factor. I know this is not for everyone was: “I had my placenta turned into pills.” So, I found a specialist in San Diego and within 24 hours of giving birth, she gave me a placenta smoothie. The rest was in pills. You also receive a tincture made with an alcohol of your choice for when you’re sick or you’re feeling a bit low or baby blues that you put it under your tongue. So, I think that may have helped.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay. Yes, very cool. Jennifer, which foods do you recommend for breastfeeding moms to eat? Does this change depending on the age of the baby?

JENNIFER KELLY: I will say that: “The foods don’t change but the amounts will change.” As you start weaning off of nursing, your hunger’s going to change. You’re not asking the body to do as much work anymore. So, your calorie intake will go down as you get further along in the process when your baby is nursing a lot. But basically, you want to focus on fresh organic fruits and vegetables; lots of fresh leafy greens. One of my teachers used to always talk about cows. She says: “Look at cows. They grace in the pastures all day long and look how much milk they produce. It’s amazing.” We really want to get in those fresh leafy greens to have lots of D Vitamins, lots of calcium, folic acid, so important for so many functions in your body; also important for your baby. We want to focus on organic, free-range grass-fed meat and wild caught fish. No farm fish. Farm fish is full of chemicals and antibiotics.

Those chemicals are not only going to be toxic to your body but also to your baby’s milk. So, we want to look at organic gluten-free grains. We’re doing a lot of studies now on: “Taking gluten out of a breastfeeding mom’s diet and how that changing the landscape of children’s allergies and potential predisposition to Auto Immune Deficiencies which are so rampant on our society now.” So, I want to look at gluten-free grains; also good healthy fats. I know fat is the: “No words.” But not all fats are equal. Fats are certainly are unhealthy for you. But good fats – our body needs especially after birth for rebuilding the body. Especially for good fatty, yummy milk that’s good for the brain. You know what I mean? So, we want to look at organic and raw as much as possible. Nut seeds, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, crafted butter and ghee. Eating this way is going to – not only bring you health but it’s going to bring you vitality. It will take you to your ideal weight much faster than for eating a lot of processed foods or foods that have pesticides and chemicals. Because then your bodies going to have to process for that before it can handle your baby weight or handle your hormone’s balance. You know what I mean?

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely.

JENNIFER KELLY: So, the cleaner the diet, the faster and everything goes back to the way that we wanted to be.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay and for the mom who’s having a difficult time getting enough of this nutritious food into her daily diet; do you recommend supplements? I know we’ll be talking about tips later for getting these foods into their diet. But for the moms who might be having that the harder challenge, do you have preferences for ones that might be helpful?

JENNIFER KELLY: Well, one of your panelists already mentioned the placenta pills and those are fantastic. They are full of vitamins and minerals and that’s a really great supplement for new moms. Also, I would look at being on a really high-quality prenatal vitamin. I would look at pro-biotics, a really high quality pro-biotic and fish oils. Those would be some of the basics. We’ve obviously – supplement can’t replace the food but they’re there for one reason: “When we need a little extra.” The other thing is to that breastfeeding mom, you want to consider like a high-quality protein shake. Often we’re not getting enough proteins. This is going to add to sugars highs and lows and also depression issues. We need those proteins for detoxification. There’s a lot of detoxification that happens after pregnancy in the body. So, we want to assist the body in doing that.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Do you have particular brands that you like?

JENNIFER KELLY: For brands, I would recommend New Chapter has a pretty great prenatal-like food grade. I would recommend Jarrow brands for the pro-biotics. I would go with Carlson Brands for the fish oil. Since they’re all available at whole foods and even some of them you can get at some like sprouts and stuff like that as well. If you were working with a practitioner, you have access to your practitioner. I would probably be in for standard process pro-biotics. They both are food grade and very well produced. So, they’re very via available to the body. They don’t need a lot of celare or synthetic. What I would definitely say is: “If your prenatal vitamin or any of your supplements are blue or bright yellow, get rid of them.” Take them out. That means that they have Titanium Dioxide in them that are withholding the color in them. If you don’t know what that is: “That’s the active ingredient in sunscreen.” So, we don’t really want to be ingesting that. It also means that it has a bunch of food dyes and colors in it. Some presenting that’s a little bit more food grade, a little more natural. The one final thing I would totally recommend for most new moms and the placenta pills help with this a bit but it is adrenal support. There’s oftentimes when you’re coming out of pregnancy and birth – the adrenals has taken on a big load. It’s really hard to get that energy back sometimes. Also, regulating the hormone; it helps with regulating the hormones. So, adrenal support would be fantastic as well.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay, terrific. Ladies, do you guys take any supplements or vitamins and if so, what are kind of your favourites? Tess?

TESS DE LA GARMA: I did want to piggy back-off what Jennifer said regarding the fish oil. Better than fish oil is salmon oil – only because in fish oil, they might use a lower grade of fish leftovers. So if you’re able to get just pure salmon oil, the fatty content in that is really good. I think that is all I take right now including the prenatal that I’m continuing to take.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay, how about you Melissa?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: So, I do take a whole food liquid vitamin and when needed pro-biotics. I also gone a little bit freaky but my husband and I shipped wheatgrass from Canada because they grow it in fields. I really like the way that makes me feel with all of that green-green. I do smoothies as well which is just a really easy way to get nutrients into your body when you are a new mom. If you have more than one child as well I did. I took my placenta. So, it really helped.

ROBIN KAPLAN: All right, fantastic. Well, when we come back, we will continue our discussion about: “Foods and cooking tips for the breastfeeding mom with special tips for our favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas.” So, we’ll be right back.

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Robin Kaplan: Well, welcome back to the show. We are talking with Jennifer Kelly about: “Foods and cooking tips for the breastfeeding mom.” So Jennifer, let’s talk about your favorite recommendations for healthy nutritious postpartum foods that help our breastfeeding moms’ body really function at its best. What are your favorite go-to breakfast ideas?

JENNIFER KELLY: One of your panelists already touched on is that: “Smoothies are a great way to get some quick nutrients.” If you’re using fresh fruits and veggies that’s awesome and if you can put in some high quality [inaudible] or whey protein isolate or something like that – that’s also really excellent to begin. You need those proteins. I like to cook some eggs and cut some avocado, cucumber and carrot slices. That makes some really nice breakfast that’s not too hard to make, pretty quick. Gluten-free steel-cut oats are great. You can actually slow cook them overnight. You can get a wide mouth thermos and you can put your oats in and put boiling water in it. Leave it over night when you get up in the morning, they’re cooked. I like to throw in some: “Organic walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.” If you like it a little creamier, you can throw in some fresh olive oil which is also really easy to make as well. I also like to use sauté some greens which happens very quickly. I’ll sauté that in a little coconut oil and maybe throw in some scrambled eggs and avocado. Put it on in a brown rice tortilla or a Non-GMO corn tortilla. Sometimes I just have like leftovers in the morning like sweet potato and some fish or something like that. I mean you don’t have to always be eating this standard breakfast food. Frankly, most of them are not very good for us. You don’t really give up the good start for the day. So, it’s just this fine to have some of those last night’s leftovers for breakfast as it is like a [inaudible] not mix it – pretty quick and easy. If you’re just cheating up, something like that.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely. One of our favorite ones that we just started doing this week was refrigerated oats. So, same type of thing. You take the oats. You put them in a mason jar and you put almond milk in there and some sort of nut butter, sunflower butter in. Maybe some sort of sweetener like honey or maple syrup if you have it. Shake it and put it in the fridge and then the next morning, it’s totally made for you. Same thing, we cut bananas and nuts and stuff like that and like: “My kids go crazy for it. They love it.” It’s so nice because it’s straight from the fridge like first thing in the morning and it taste really good. I know all the ingredients that are in there because I put them in there.

JENNIFER KELLY: Nice. You know what else works too? You can throw raisins in it and the peanuts and the raisins will sweeten everything.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Yes, absolutely.

JENNIFER KELLY: I do that with yogurt too like plain goat yogurt. I’ll take dried mango that is unsulfured and organic. I stick it in the yogurt overnight and it gets really like fun and creamy and also the sweetness of the mangoes sweetens the yogurt. My kids love it that way. So, I don’t need to add any sugar or anything to it.

ROBIN KAPLAN: That’s great. Ladies, what are your favorite go-to breakfasts? Tess, what do you love?

TESS DE LA GARMA: You just mentioned the overnight oat meal. We call it in Australia: “Bircher Muesli.” It’s funny because I just wrote it down here. Instead of oats if you want a bit of extra flavor is gluten-free granola. Many of the times, the granola’s got everything in it – the dried fruits and all of that. Instead of almond milk, I’ll put coconut milk in there. If you leave it overnight, it just infuses in it and soaks up all of that coconut milk and it almost fluffs up. So, it’s got a really good taste. But for dinner, it’s just a really simple. I stick to: “A meat, a veggie and a grain.” So, you can buy canola and brown rice packets. It’s two servings and it’s only me and my husband so it’s really easy. Pop on the steak, four minutes on each side. A zucchini with a bit of coconut oil, salt and pepper and the grains and you’ve got yourself dinner. You do have to be dedicated. So, if you are dedicated, it can be done.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely. How about you Mellissa? What are kind of your favorite go-to breakfasts?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: My favorite go-to breakfasts are oatmeal because it’s great for breast milk. Quinoa sometimes even in the oatmeal or by itself. Nut butter; I really like nut butter. Those help me I feel like: “Get my fats in.” Again, I typically do a smoothie with my supplements so then I feel like already gotten that. I can just kind of eat that extra fat and things that make me feel good. Egg whites are just a go-to standard.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Very cool. All right, Jennifer now let’s jump-in to lunch ideas. I find lunch is the hardest. I don’t know what it is like breakfast, I can make happen, dinner I can make happen. But lunch especially as a working mom too, I find since I’m not in front of my fridge – or I don’t have access to like a stove to heat up soup or something like that. I mean grant that: “I can heat it up in the morning and bring it with me in a thermos.” But sometimes it just doesn’t happen. So, I get stuck on lunch and then I’m starving my dinner time. So, what are kind of your favourite lunch ideas?

JENNIFER KELLY: Well, I like to do a quinoa and make it really simple. You can make it in the morning too because it tasted cold as well. So, if you don’t want to have a place where you’re going to be able to heat it up later it’s fine. But I like to make the quinoa in some stock of some sort. It could be chicken or beef or vegetable or whatever. Then, I put just a little bit of tamari sauce and some coconut oil in it and then chop up fresh avocado. It’s amazing and it’s super easy. There’s also another great recipe called: “Coconut Curry Lentils” that I may fell out of my postpartum mommies and they loved it. You make with it stock and lentils and a little bit of onion sautéed. It’s literally like you put it in a pot and you walk away. When you come back, it’s super easy to make as well. The other thing that is great for you like when you need something quick is: “You take some nori wraps and I’ll spread some hummus on it or nut butter, or a zucchini and some chopped up vegetables. You make like vegetable nori wraps and they are really yummy and fast and easy. Stir-fries are always quick and easy and salads; what I’ll usually do is: “Teach my doula clients how to sort of feed themselves up for the week.” So, it’s like we’ll make a nice family chicken broth. Then, we can use that chicken meat throughout the week. We can make our chicken salad and chicken tacos and throw over salads. Throw in a soup then we’ll use that broth all week long to cook rice dish, quinoa and to cook all kinds of things. It makes everything really hearty, yummy, quick and easy to do.

ROBIN KAPLAN: All right, fantastic.

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: I’m getting hungry.

ROBIN KAPLAN: I know. I’m actually getting starving. My lunch should not hold me over. Melissa, throw out a favourite lunch idea. What do you like to do?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: I do a lot of leftovers. So, I like what Jennifer mentioned in terms of [inaudible] clients. I too, I get it. I have three little boys now. I have to have easy things in case that I’m not feeling it that day or I’m extra tired. So, it’s often leftovers like I just have cut up pieces of carrots, salad already cut and in an accessible place just to grab. If I did like a rotisserie chicken or I did a bake chicken, I’ll just cut it up and put it into like easy, accessible glass jars. So, the cold quinoa – most of the time lunch I feel it’s just kind of a Hodge Podge as I tell my kids. We just grab from everything that’s already in there.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Yes.

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: Lunch is hard.

ROBIN KAPLAN: It is hard. How about you Tess?

TESS DE LA GARMA: I’m very simple with lunch. At work, I don’t have a lot of time. I often eat at my desk. So, I make a quick either whole grain or gluten-free toast with a bit of pesto, goat’s cheese, tomatoes, salt and pepper that’s it.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Yummy.

TESS DE LA GARMA: It’s so simple and it taste so delicious. Yes, I’m very standard, pretty much the same thing every day.

ROBIN KAPLAN: The one thing too that you mentioned too Melissa that I always recommend to my moms as well is: “Having leftovers from making enough at dinner time.” So whoever’s making dinner the night in the night time, you make a portion – if there are two adults and those are the people who are eating; you make it for three. You take one of the portions and you already put it away in the fridge because I know if it’s sitting out on the table either my husband or I will end up eating 1 ½ portions each. So the other leftovers will: “No longer will be leftovers anymore.” Then, the next morning or the next day knowing that you have something that you can just pull up in the fridge and eat – it can be really helpful in kind of: “Take out the stress of what I’m going to eat that day.”

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: Right.

ROBIN KAPLAN: All right Jennifer. Let’s move on to dinner ideas. What are some of your favourite dinner ideas?

JENNIFER KELLY: Well, I agree with what you’re saying. Also too what I’ll tell my clients is like: “On a Sunday afternoon, when you have some help; spend a couple of hours making some extra stuff for throughout the week that you can grab.” But some of my favourite dinners are: “I make a Millet Bake.” So, I toast millet overnight and then I use that along with the chicken broth with the white fish. I put in just a little tamari and some [inaudible]. Cut up some fresh asparagus or any kind of veggies really that you like – asparagus, carrots and squash. Threw that in and bake it and it is delicious. I also make a Mushroom Emerald Rye Soup that was came about because I love mushroom garlic soup. A lot of my clients did too. They were glutton-issues. So, I figured out that if you use: “The black emerald rye, it was a black long green rye” – if I could get that, it’s almost the same. But, it’s got this really nice flavour to it with the dark ryes’ in there. Then, Organic Grass-fed Beef and mixed vegetables, stir fries are great. I also mix a lot for my clients a Vegan Butternut Squash Soup. So, again I used that broth throw some leek and some butternut squash. Instead of using heavy cream, I use coconut butter. So, it gives you that really nice creamy flavour with some great fats in there and it’s delicious.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Very cool. Tess, you had already mentioned one of your favourites in. Have you anything else you’d like to kind of your go-to?

TESS DE LA GARMA: I do: “The standard Crockpot meal.”

ROBIN KAPLAN: Yes, Crockpot.

TESS DE LA GARMA: You do it the night before.

ROBIN KAPLAN: It’s great.

TESS DE LA GARMA: Yes and it’s ready for the morning and like you’ve all mentioned: “Leftovers for breakfast is awesome. Any leftover dinner with eggs on top is amazing.”

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely, how about you Melissa? What’s your go-to for dinner?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: Our go-to tends to be more chicken than say beef. Although, we will do because there are places to get organic, grass-fed beef that are so easy now. That and like a green vegetable. I grow kale and I grow chard. I grow some really yummy, green, leafy vegetable. So, we’ll sauté them. I’d love to bake squash when it’s in season; just simple with like onions and garlic, salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil. It tastes so delicious.

ROBIN KAPLAN: So, breaks up that sweetness.

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: We went vegan for a year. I’ll be honest and I learn a lot about vegetables and a lot about how to cook them. Now, that we’ve added some organic meat back into our lives, I feel like: “We can still utilize all those amazing vegetables that we all have access to.” Because I just feel like stores seem to be jumping on the train that so many people are really wanting more whole foods in their life.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Absolutely and then snack ideas. For the breastfeeding mom, man we are constantly starving. I remember this feeling hungry all the time. So, Jennifer what are your favorite snack ideas?

JENNIFER KELLY: I love chopped-up veggies with nut butters, homemade trail mixes of organic, raw nuts and seeds. You can throw in some dried fruits and stuff in there. Gluten-free granolas are also with your granolas watch the sugar. Watch that sugar intake. I love baked kale chips. Those are pretty quick and easy to make. I always have my mom as like: “Bake a few sweet potatoes, yams, or squashes – just have on hand when you need that quick bite.” The other thing too is: “If you do like nitrate-free, no preservatives organic nitrate-free deli meat.” You can roll them off and knock on those. One of my favorites though is: “You can freeze bananas and then take in and draw them in your food processor and it’s like a banana ice cream. That’s super fun and healthy.” Yes, those are some great quick easy food-to-go. I always keep trail mix with me. I always keep chopped of veggies and things like that are just easy to grab.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Okay, terrific. Ladies, how about you? Melissa, favourite go-to snacks?

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: Nuts usually. I mean nuts and cut-out vegetables that are already in and like home make like a white bean or hummus to dip it in. Of course, some always good for any kind of nut butter but typically nuts and vegetables are my snack food.

ROBIN KAPLAN: How about you Tess?

TESS DE LA GARMA: I cure meat at home.

ROBIN KAPLAN: That’s fun.

TESS DE LA GARMA: So, it’s really easy. It’s a piece of meat. You popped it in like a Tupperware container; you’ll just salt it up with your favourite salt. It could be Himalayan salt or any season salt that might have some smoky feel to it. Turn it over every three to four days and it starts to cook itself. So, just a couple of slices of those with like an olive and a bit of cheese in a little toothpick make for really quick snacks.

ROBIN KAPLAN: That’s so fun.

MELISSA LANG LYTLE: That sounds so good.

MJ FISHER: We’re all going to leave here and go eat right now.

TESS DE LA GARMA: I’ll bring a sampling next time.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Nice. All right and Jennifer our last question for you – for moms on the elimination diet, you mentioned a ton of wonderful ideas for moms who have different foods that they’re not eating. For example glutton and nightshades and stuff like that. What resources would you recommend to help them to make sure that they’re getting enough nutritious food to protect their milk supply and really keep them healthy?

JENNIFER KELLY: I happen to work with a lot of moms who have autoimmune issues. So, I do a lot of that work. But I would have them look at Paleo Diet and really focus on lots of fresh veggies and getting those fats and proteins. As long as you’re getting that hand there because a lot of these autoimmune issues or leaky gut issues or people have to be on an elimination diet; they don’t do well with grains and dairy. So, that’s why I mention a lot of it’s making the fresh almond milk where you can do coconut milk. Just watch the labels because a lot of additives in those sometimes. But, there’s a really great book called The Practical Paleo and I really like this book because it has 30-day meal plan. There’s one, specifically for rebuilding digestion which is really important after pregnancy because your digestion does get hit really hard during pregnancy. There are so many amazing ideas. I’m hearing recipes and stuff that are would be wonderful for a breastfeeding mom. You’re going to get all the nutrients that they need. There’s also a really good website and it’s called Balanced Bites that has some great recipes and meals. It’s balancedbites.com. It follows more of a Paleo Approach. There are some fun stuff there too like snacks – some things that you can home make that you can even give to your kids because they’re made with really wholesome ingredients. It’s really great and they’re fun. Working with nutritionists, if they’re really struggling with that because that’s usually when they come in and see me – because they’re having a hard time; because they have a lot of allergies or what-not. They’re trying to figure out what they can eat. Maybe often their babies will start having a lot of allergies. So, navigating both of those situations sometimes takes having some better support.

ROBIN KAPLAN: That’s so helpful. Thank you so much. Well, thank you Jennifer and to our lovely panelists for chatting with us today about: “Food and cooking tips for the breastfeeding mom.” It was so nice to have you all on the show. Thanks Jennifer so much for your time.

JENNIFER KELLY: Thank you so much for having me.

ROBIN KAPLAN: Sure. For our Boob Group Club Members, our conversation will continue after the end of the show as Jennifer will share her favorite resources for healthy, easy, meal ideas. For more information about our Boob Group Club, please visit our website at www.theboobgroup.com .

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AUTUMN BONNER: Hi Boob Group. My name is Autumn Bonner. I’m the co-owner and founder of Tailored Fitness, an online, video-based, workout program for moms. I’m here today to give you some tips on exercising after having your baby. Did you know that carrying for a new born can wreak havoc on your posture? The weight of your breasts leaning over while nursing and changing diapers and carrying baby in cradle hold all cause your shoulders to hunch forward. This makes your chest muscles tight while the muscles in your middle and upper back grow weak. Luckily, regular exercise can help you get your posture back. Good posture instantly makes you appear slimmer and feel more confident. To strengthen the muscles in your back, try this exercise. With your arms straight out in front of you spaced about shoulder-width apart, hold your resistance band with both hands. Keeping your arms straight, pull your hands apart stretching the band and bringing your shoulder blades together in the back; keep going until your arms are straight out to your sides. Return slowly to the starting position and repeat for 2 sets of 10. To stretch your chest muscles: Open your arms wide to a T Position and hold for 30 seconds. To learn more great exercises created just for new moms, check out our videos at www.mytailoredfitness.com and keep tuning in to The Boob Group for more great tips on exercising post partum.

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ROBIN KAPLAN: That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to The Boob Group.

Don’t forget to check out our sister shows:

• Preggie Pals for expecting parents
• Parent Savers for moms and dads with newborns, infants and toddlers
• Twin Talks, our show for parents of multiples.

Thanks for listening to The Boob Group: “Your judgment-free breastfeeding resource.”

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line-up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series or if you’re a business or organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcasts, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com .

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