Hi I am from tirupati. My sister has newly gave birth to a baby. The baby born on 17-09-2015. Can you suggest me some healthy foods for the mother?

Question

Focus on eating whole grains and cereals, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables. And go for foods that provide plenty of protein, calcium, and iron (and, as always, an occasional treat is fine). Traditionally, breastfeeding mums are given a lot of dried fruit, ghee and sugar. These high calorie foods usually were meant to supplement the khichdi diet that mums traditionally follow after birth. If you are eating normal food, you can leave out the extra ghee and sugar. Dried fruits are extremely healthy and used in most traditional confinement foods. Try having them without the ghee and sugar by putting them in your porridge (dalia) for example or in some kheer. This way your relatives will be happy that you are eating the traditional ingredients but you will not be loaded with the high calories. If you must eat the laddoos or panjiri you can reduce the calorie count by eating smaller portions. Some recipes could work well with lesser quantities of ghee and for others you could use a healthier alternative such as canola oil. If you are used to having aerated drinks to quench your thirst it is best to avoid these while breastfeeding. They contain just empty calories and no nutrition. You could instead substitute it with healthier drinks such as lassi, coconut water, buttermilk (chhaach), fresh fruit and vegetable juices or nimbu pani.

Ramneek · Accepted Answer

Focus on eating whole grains and cereals, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables. And go for foods that provide plenty of protein, calcium, and iron (and, as always, an occasional treat is fine). Traditionally, breastfeeding mums are given a lot of dried fruit, ghee and sugar. These high calorie foods usually were meant to supplement the khichdi diet that mums traditionally follow after birth. If you are eating normal food, you can leave out the extra ghee and sugar. Dried fruits are extremely healthy and used in most traditional confinement foods. Try having them without the ghee and sugar by putting them in your porridge (dalia) for example or in some kheer. This way your relatives will be happy that you are eating the traditional ingredients but you will not be loaded with the high calories. If you must eat the laddoos or panjiri you can reduce the calorie count by eating smaller portions. Some recipes could work well with lesser quantities of ghee and for others you could use a healthier alternative such as canola oil. If you are used to having aerated drinks to quench your thirst it is best to avoid these while breastfeeding. They contain just empty calories and no nutrition. You could instead substitute it with healthier drinks such as lassi, coconut water, buttermilk (chhaach), fresh fruit and vegetable juices or nimbu pani.