Healthy eating with a baby

[lilac223]

Hi all, wondering if anyone can help a very time poor, sleep deprived, single mum?

I have a 4 week old DD and I am breastfeeding. Being on my own is tough, and I'm aware I am eating very, very poorly.

For example, today I have eaten some breakfast biscuits and toast.

I feel guilty due to breastfeeding, I know I need to eat better but cooking meals for myself with a little baby just isn't happening.

Has anyone got some top tips or simple ideas for healthy food I can grab and go? (Cooking isn't my strong point at the best of times)

Thank you

I was a single mum too, with my first 3 kids. Try not to be hard on yourself, looking after a baby on your own is very consuming and your needs always come last. Maybe you could make a simple meal plan of some easy to prepare meals and healthyish ready meals. But I wouldnt stress about it while your baby is so young, just eat whatever you want to keep you going. Once they're in some form of routine and sleeping longer periods through the night, it gets easier to make time for yourself. The newborn stage passes very quickly.

Soups? Salads?

You’re eating! Most of us live off cake. If you want to focus on nutrition get the slow cooker out. Or buy some microwave veg and chicken portions.

Please don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Your body will milk whatever.

Don't be hard on yourself, but don't leave yourself feeling worse from not eating properly. Go with easy things that you can get partly pre-made and are small improvements to your own routine.

Instead of having toast, have beans on toast. Beans are quite nutritious, try the Five beans variety for a healthier option.
Avocado on toast or some scrambled egg
Fresh ready made soups
Some ready meals aren't too bad at all either
Dips and some carrots/cucumber/cherry tomatoes
Lentil or Rice pouches with some kind of protein or frozen veg

If you do have time to cook, maybe some meal prep:
Overnight oats
Egg Muffins
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Veg

Will be boring but in 1hr can have food ready to go for a 4-5 days. This might be for more when your baby gets a bit older though.

Thanks all.

I'd like to maybe try batch cooking or meal prepping but I wouldn't know where to start!

Soups and salads a good idea as well.

I'm not hugely hung up on nutrition but I just feel like I'm the only one by baby has so if I'm not looking after myself I can't look after her. Surviving on biscuits isn't the best is it.

The jacket potatoes in a box in frozen section are really handy just five mins in microwave

Bbcgoodfood has some great recipes and so does Tesco for some simple, family meals.

I buy pre marinated meat and pre prepared fresh veg. It’s more expensive and presumably less nutritious but means I can manage cooking more easily! Things like pre diced onion or grated carrots that I can dump into the slow cooker with meat!

Can you do something like a smoothie for breakfast so you start on a good note? I do a few table spoons of oats - great for bf, some Greek yogurt, a banana, a spoon of peanut butter, cocoa powder and top up with milk, whizz with a stick blender. You can have half first thing then come back to it till it’s gone. It’s very filling and good for you.

Soups are good and you can eat them with one hand. If you can’t be arsed making them then buy nice cartons of whatever you like.

When it’s all too much make sure you’re shoving some protein into whatever you’re having - peanut butter and brown bread sandwich with some cucumber and a banana on the side. Babybels or a handful of nuts to snack on.

The life I had to go through as a breastfeeding mum was really horrible. My dc is allergic to wheat/eggs/dairy and many others. I had to avid all of that.

So, I think it's simple. You can eat ready made stuff if you need to, I did, while my dc was in hospital. Just think about nutrition. Carb/protein/vitamins. Don't over think it. Just try to eat balanced meal.

Meal prepping can mean different things and I don't know what your specific requirements are but why not try and ease into it. You have got a lot on!

Try and do something like one prepped meal (breakfast has very easy options) and a snack for the next 5 days, then buy soups/ready meals etc. See how that goes, then try doing 2 meals and snacks. Switch up to suit your needs.

Tiktok is actually quite good for meal prep ideas. Just search Meal Prep. I quite like Kirsty Lewis and Em the Nutritionist. But there are so many and have different focuses, like veganism, cost, protein etc. Will be quite good for you as all designed for 1 person whereas so many recipe books are about catering for at least 4.

I would definitely recommend Overnight Oats as a prep recipe (I loathe oats but my husband preps this every week without fail), takes 10 minutes for 5 days worth of breakfasts. Smoothies are a good shout too.

You can roast a huge tray of tomatoes, peppers and other mediterranean veg with herbs and garlic. Blend. Chuck in a packet of cooked lentils or beans, maybe some cream cheese. You've got at least 3 days worth of soup.

I don't know if there's something wrong with me but even making a smoothie seems impossible right now

I had family staying from abroad to help me the first couple of weeks... when they left I ambitiously decided I would make my usual hello fresh meal (not much of a cook as I said), and I ended up doing most of it one handed with a wriggly, unsettled baby.

Can you throw money at it? COOK do a fairly good range of nutritious ready meals that you can just throw in the oven. Not cheap but very handy!

Can you get some fruit to snack on? It’s just as easy as biscuits and would give you some good vitamins. Maybe some nice orange juice too? Other very easy ideas - scrambled eggs, beans on toast or cheese on toast. Ready made quiche or cooked chicken with salad.
Just remember if you need to take 15 minutes to make and eat a meal whilst the baby is crying then that’s okay. There is only one of you and your needs are important too.

Some really helpful replies, thank you!

Now I eat almost anything, but I'm not great with fruit... give me veg all day.

Nice juice is a really good idea as well!

At this stage I survived on ready meals

The fastest nutritious food I made when breastfeeding was :

An omelette with grated cheese and halved cherry tomatoes
Or
Wholemeal pasta twists into which I mixed a mashed can of sardines in tomato sauce, and some bottled black olives.

Plus a bowl full of fruit and good quality wholemeal bread.

Honestly at this stage I’d just go for some healthy ish ready meals, soups and salads. You just need something quick and easy!

Maybe at this stage buy some of the prepared meals that aren’t ready meals but that you can just put in the oven - I often buy them, things like hunters chicken, chicken in some kind of sauce, etc? Then you can do some veg with it and even microwave rice. None of that takes too much effort and eating well will give you more energy.
As your baby settles into a routine I’d recommend using nap times to meal prep or even cook to heat up later.
Id also buy snacks that will give you more nutrition - nakd bars etc

Do you have a sling library nearby? Get yourself a soft baby sling/wrap and it'll free up your hands. Libraries are great at helping you find the right fit, I found slings a bit daunting, but babies do love them.

If you have any support network around you, the asking if they can help then be honest and say you'd love a homecooked meal. All they have to do is bring you an extra portion.

See if any nearby warm spaces are still running. We have one church that does bacon sarnies and another that gives soup and a roll. I realise that you're not a charity case but they're for everyone, I guarantee there'll be other mums and you'll have plenty of offers for baby cuddles so you'll get two hands to eat.

Eating and drinking is important for breastfeeding, but it's more about quantity than nutrition. Biscuits are totally valid. Remember you could be burning up to 500 additional calories per day.

Buy frozen, pre-cut veg. Buy sliced cheese.make life easier. Hello Fresh is not easy atm

Some really quick meals: Jam and peanut butter sandwich. Pasta (fresh if you need super quick) and pesto. Porridge is good for a sweet tooth - add frozen fruit, honey, nuts whatever you fancy. Readymade soup drunk from a mug with cream cheese seared oatcakes on the side. Snacky fruits like grapes.

As others have said, stuff on toast. Eggs and beans are great protein. Simple things like sausages/veggie sausages with sweet potato mash and veggies and gravy. I love tinned mackerel (the one in tom sauce) with spaghetti and a pot of arrabiata ready made sauce, or chop a red onion some garlic and a tin of toms and chilli flakes. If you can pick up a cheap nutribullet second hand you can shove spinach celery cucumber mint and an apple in that and it honestly tastes really nice. And get a good breastfeeding multivitamin.

If you get the energy, BBC good food has great recipes. If you’ve got support maybe ask someone to drop some batch cooked stuff round.
Keep going mama xx

Full fat Greek yog also a good breakfast/snack. Chuck a banana or frozen fruit on, drizzle of honey or peanut butter, nuts or even choc chunks. Make it a treat.

You could hard boil some eggs and keep in the fridge for an easy to grab snack/toast topper. Just make sure you mark the cooked ones so you can tell them apart from the raw ones!

I'd get some ready meals in until you have a bit more time and mental space to food prep and cook. Some aren't too bad nutritionally now to be honest. For breakfast if you would feel up to cooking once a week could make some flapjacks- oats are also brilliant when breastfeeding, or just buy some bars for now. For lunches just bagels, bread or whatever you like and some of filler- chicken, peanut butter or whatever, full fat yoghurt, chop some veg up and have it ready in the fridge.

Now I eat almost anything, but I'm not great with fruit... give me veg all day

Then that’s what you should prep.

Prepare a load of carrot, cucumber and pepper sticks and stick them in the fridge. Will take literally 5-10 minutes and you can grab handfuls when you’re peckish.

Add a tub of hummus and that’s practically a gourmet starter. Or dunk in mayonnaise.

Avocado on toast is also super quick and easy. I literally mash an avocado straight onto the toast and add some celery salt. I can’t be arsed to faff around with making it fancy.

Good Food has a slow cooker veggie curry recipe that is super easy because you just chop and stick everything in. No browning anything first.

I used to make a big box of bean salad that would last 3-4 days for lunch. Tin of mixed beans, tin of chickpeas, tin of sweetcorn. As in some cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, pepper, radish, whatever you have. At lunch time spoon some into a bowl and add a bit of dressing. I sometimes add some canned tuna, or avocado or some feta cheese. Best part is you can eat it one handed.

Always have a jar of basic pesto in the cupboard for pasta. If I’m feeling ambitious I add some frozen peas and broad beans into the pasta pan for the last 4-5 minutes. There’s two portions of veg right there.

i used to hate the idea of frozen veg but it’s super handy to have some in the freezer and I use it a lot now.