Foods for breastfeeding

Quick snacks and meals for breastfeeding

Aim for foods which you can pick up and eat with one hand, wherever you can

• Easy to handle fruits and veggies such as banana, pear, apple, tomatoes, carrots – no peeling or preparing
• Breadsticks or pitta bread with dips, e.g. hummous, sour cream
• Dried fruit, e.g. raisins, apricots
• Sandwiches (you can prepare this in advance and put a stack in the fridge) with fillings such as canned tuna mixed with sweetcorn and fromage frais, cheese and grapes
• Leftover pasta from the night before – you can eat it cold or warmed up in microwave
• Leftover cous cous served with a can of ratatouille
• Leftover baked potato with baked beans and melted cheese
• Mixed bean salad (use a mixture of different canned beans such as red kidney, haricot, black eye) with oil and vinegar dressing, eat with a hunk of bread

For evening meals, aim for the quick and simple, and make a point of cooking extra so that you can have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids, such as water, diluted fruit juice and reduced fat milk – breastfeeding is thirsty experience.