When you have a newborn, it can become very easy to forget to eat, or grab whatever is the most convenient at the time, even if it’s not the healthiest option. Before your baby is born, try to stock up on not only freezer meals you can pull out at any time, but easy one handed snacks everyone can enjoy.
Have your village – your spouse, Newborn Care Specialist, Postpartum Doula or family member plan to do a little food prep whenever possible. This way you will always have some healthy options at your fingertips. If you don’t have pets or children that can get into your stash, consider keeping some non perishable items like trail mix, crackers, protein bars or dried fruit and chocolate as well as a few bottles of water near your nursing station.
Try to combine a little protein and carbohydrate with each snack and keep the processed items at a minimum. Don’t forget to include some fiber rich foods each day to encourage your bowels to regulate. Chia and flaxseed are great add ins for smoothies.
Make Ahead
Lactation cookies: These gluten/dairy free cookies are healthy and all family members can eat them!
Hard boiled eggs: Make and peal the eggs ahead of time then pair with some toast and cherry tomatoes.
Trail mix: Store bought or make your own. We love to make our own, because we can control the ingredients. Make a large batch and portion into snack bags. Customize to your preference playing with a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, other dried items like pretzels or chick peas and sweet items such as chocolate chips or chocolate covered raisins.
Smoothies: You can make smoothies ahead and freeze individual portions in glass canning jars, ziplock or breastmilk storage bags. You can also prepare dry ingredients in one baggie and frozen fruit/yogurt in another. This will cut down on the time it takes to make your smoothie, especially if you like to add a lot of ingredients.
Homemade or store bought granola bars: GoMacro, Luna and Lara bars are my favorite. A little protein and low in sugar.
Overnight oatmeal or chia pudding: Both of these can be widely customized to your liking. I will often make a mixture of the two, melding recipes. You can add in a little protein powder, hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds for a protein boost. Overnight oat recipes here from Cooking Classy
Fresh
Chopped fruit: Anything you like. Again, have your village – Newborn Care Specialist, Postpartum Doula, friends or family help you get it washed and prepped ahead of time.
Nuts: Mix up the ones you eat and be cognizant of the higher mold content in peanuts and cashews. You may opt to purchase organic or higher quality in these varieties.
Olives: A lot of varieties to enjoy. Combine these with some meat, cheese and crackers for a balanced snack.
Toast or rice cake: Add avocado, jam or nut butter.
Yogurt: Many options, including dairy free coconut or goat milk. Watch out for the sugar content in the flavored varieties. You can easily spice up plain, unsweetened varieties with chopped fruit and honey or stevia.
Sliced apples, celery and nut butter: add a few dates or figs for variety.
Finger sized sandwiches: Fillings like tuna or chicken salad can be made ahead of time. Cut into 1/4’s to make the easier to eat.
Hummus and veggie sticks: Don’t feel like you have to stick to the standard hummus. There are many varieties now to choose from including, beet, black bean, edamame and sweet potato. 
Pizza: Leftover pizza makes for an easy to eat, convenient and relatively healthy snack. Go light on the cheese and load it with plenty of vegetables.
Fried Tofu: A little bragg’s liquid aminos will give it plenty of flavor. Pan fry a few minutes on each side.
Edamame: Can be eaten cold or warm. Toss will a little coconut oil and pink Himalayan or real salt for added trace minerals.
Steamed or grilled vegetables: Keeping a variety of options on hand will make it easy to add a few to any snack you have.
Easy and healthy
Jerkey: There are some great new options available using higher quality meats and less sodium. We love Epic bars and Krave jerkey.
Roasted edamame or chickpeas: Non perishable with a little protein, fat and carbohydrate.
Dried seaweed: Great if you want something a little crunchy and salty.
Now more than ever it’s time to eat well and nourish your body. You’ve just grown and delivered a baby! On top of recovering from childbirth, you will likely be breastfeeding and need to encourage lactation to feed your baby. Eat foods that will help you do all of this and keep your energy stable so you can care for your newborn baby.
If you don’t already have Amazon Prime or Amazon Prime Pantry, these two services are lifesavers! You can order just about everything you need and have it to your door in just a few days. The subscribe and save feature is one of our favorites, allowing us to automatically have delivered each month or bi-monthly, our most frequently used products. A 5% discount is given for under 5 items each month and a %15 discount is given for 5 or more items each month.
What are your favorite one handed snacks? Post them in the comments below!
Disclaimer:
The content contained in this blog is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice or to replace the advice of any medical professional. It is based on our opinions and experience working with newborns and their families. Other’s opinions may vary. It does not represent the views of any affiliated organizations. The reader understands that term “Babynurse” is often a word used to describe a newborn caregiver. However, unless otherwise disclosed, we are not licensed nurses in any state. By reading and/or utilizing any information or suggestions contained in this blog, the reader acknowledges that we are not medical professionals and agrees to and waives any claim, known or unknown, past, present or future.
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