New mums or those who just gave birth need extra calories and nutrients while breastfeeding to ensure that they are producing enough milk to keep the baby well-nourished. Thus, it is important for every mum to eat healthy foods or diet to feed breast milk to her little one.
However, this does not mean that you should always stick to the same foods during confinement. You deserve some excellent healthy and delicious menus after all of that hard work!
So in this entry, we are going to share a few breastfeeding recipes that could boost your breast milk and at the same time, nourish your body.
Snow Fungus Peach Resin Hashima Dessert
As the name goes, the main ingredient for this recipe is snow fungus. Fungi rich in nutrients that can help to improve your immune system while the fibre in snow fungus helps to maintain the lipid balance in your body and is good for digestion.
Ingredients
- 50 gram Peach resin
- 20 gram Snow fungus
- 30 gram Dried longan
- 30 gram Seedless red dates
- 2 liters Waters
- 100 gram Rock sugar (this recipe used 150 gram organic cane sugar)
- 6 Pandan leaves knotted
Instructions
- Soak the peach resin in a lot of water for 12 hours or preferably overnight.
- Remove the impurities and rinse the jelly like peach resin. Let drain on a sieve and set aside.
- Soak the snow fungus for a few hours and remove the hard stem, snip into smaller pieces, rinse, set aside.
- Bring water, snow fungus, red dates and pandan leaves to a boil, for about 20 minutes.
- Then add in the peach resin and boil for another 20 minutes.
- Add in the dried longan. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in cane sugar to taste.
- Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
Peach resin is not recommended to pregnant Mummy, Mummy having their menstrual period and also children below the age of two.
Vegetables Barley Soup
Barley contains Tryptophan, which releases serotonin (feel-good hormones) and good for milk production. By having barley in one of your recipes will help to boost your breast milk, as well as your mood for the day!
Ingredients
- 1 Onion chopped
- 1 tbsp Sunflower oil
- 3 Carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 Small leek trimmed and sliced
- 3 sticks Celery chopped
- 100 grams Pearl barley rinsed
- 1 clove Garlic crushed
- 1 Medium parsnip peeled and chopped
- 100 grams Kale or cabbaged shredded
- 1 ¼ liter Hot vegetable stock
- Bread
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan and add the onion, garlic, celery, leek, parsnip, carrots and season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the pan with a grease-proof paper and lid. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Now discard the paper and add the vegetable stock and pearl barley. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame and simmer for 30 minutes or until the barley tenderizes.
- Now add cabbage or kale, whatever you are adding to the soup and simmer uncovered for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Adjust the seasoning and serve with bread.
Green Papaya Fish Soup
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
- 500 gram Fish head or fish meat
- 1 Small green papaya (this recipes used half of one green papaya - about 400g)
- 4 Dried red dates
- 60 gram Ginger cut into slices
- 1 tbsp Wolfberry seeds
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil
- 5 cups Water
Instructions
- Wash the fish clean. Chop or cut into big pieces or as per your liking. Pat dry with paper towels and rub some salt on all sides of the fish. Set aside.
- Bring water to boil in a soup pot.
- While waiting for the water to boil, peel the papaya with a vegetable peeler. Remove all the seeds and cut it into bite-sized chunks.
- Heat up sesame oil in a separate frying pan/pot. Fry half of the ginger for about a minute before adding the fish to fry. Brown the fish on both sides until it is completely cooked.
- When the water starts to boil, put in the red dates, fried fish, green papaya chunks and the rest of the ginger into a claypot or any suitable soup pot.
- Avoid stirring the soup to prevent the fish from breaking. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Season with salt if necessary.
- Optional: Pour ⅛ tsp of sesame oil into the soup if desired.
Notes
- The fish used must be fresh otherwise the soup would be fishy and not taste as good.
- If Mummy can not find green papayas, papayas that are half ripe can be used too but green papaya recommended for this soup during the confinement period.
Chicken Tinola with Raw Papaya and Malunggay
Ingredients
- 600 gram Chicken cut into pieces, bone-in
- Malunggay leaves (moringa) washed and removed from stem
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Onion sliced
- 2 inches Ginger peeled then pressed
- 4 cups Water
- 1 Medium size of raw papaya sliced into wedges
- Fish sauce
- Pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- In a pot with heated oil, saute garlic, onions and ginger until translucent and aromatic.
- Add chicken pieces. Stir and cook until no longer pink. Season with fish suce. Let it simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add water. Cover and let it simmer until chicken is fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
- Once the chicken is tender, add papaya. Cook for another 10 to 12 minutes until its fork tender. Add malunggay leaves.
- Add malunggay leaves. Simmer for 20 seconds then turn off the heat immediately. Remove lid to avoid overcooking the leaves.
Notes
Always eat this warm for maximum effect and best serve with brown rice which is more nutritious than white rice
Ginger Fried Rice
Ginger helps in food digestion and moves the food faster from the digestive tract. Thereby, reducing gas and associated stomach cramps.
Ingredients
- Cooked white rice
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Soy sauce
- Eggs
- Salt optional
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium heat, warm the sesame oil. Then add the garlic and ginger to the pan. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
- Cook until the garlic and ginger is light golden brown in color.
- Add the cooked rice and stir fry for 5-10 minutes until the rice is hot and evenly mixed with the garlic and ginger.
- Stir fry the rice for closer to 10 minutes if Mummy likes the rice to be a little crispy.
- Push the rice towards the edges of the pan to form an empty circle in the center of the pan.
- Pour the eggs into the middle of the pan. Scramble the eggs by themselves first, and then stir fry to mix the scrambled eggs with the rice.
- Drizzle in the soy sauce (or salt) and mix well.
Notes
Mummy also can put any vegetables if Mummy want.
Malunggay Iced Tea
Malunggay or Moringa leaf is rich in vitamin C, calcium, potassium, iron, amino acids, protein, and antioxidants which are good for Mummy's health.
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup Malunggay leaves
- 3 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar diluted in half a cup of water
- Lemon or calamansi optional
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, pour the brown sugar and water.
- Boil the mixture, and simmer until it turns into a syrup.
- Set aside.
- In a separate pot, pour in the three cups of water, and the washed the malunggay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, and simmer for about three minutes.
- Cool for a bit, and then strain into glass jars or pitchers.
- Add a tablespoon of syrup per glass or adjust to your taste preference. Mummy also can use pure honey if you wish.
- If you prefer, you can also add a squeeze of lemon or calamansi, depending on your taste preference.
- Mummy can pour over ice and serve!
Notes
If Mummy does not want to put ice, Mummy also can put it in the fridge for a while before drink it.
Papaya Ginger Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Papaya peeled and cubed
- ½ cup Frozen mango chunks
- ⅓ cup Frozen coconut chunks
- 1 cup Oat milk
- 2 tbsp Hemp hearts
- 1/2 inch Fresh ginger
Instructions
- Peel and dice papaya into 1-2 inch cubes. Freeze if desired (and for any leftovers for another time).
- Add papaya and the rest of the ingredients to the blender. Blend on high.
- Pour into your smoothie jar and enjoy!