You may have thought you knew what hungry was when you were pregnant. The joke was on you, right? Welcome to the breastfeeding bottomless pit of HANGER. You feel as though you need to eat ALL.THE.THINGS. or you may wither away.

Breastfeeding on demand burns about 300 calories a day – or more. It is very important to understand that what you eat plays a role in your breastmilk supply.

The easiest way to make sure you are eating healthy and often is to have premade snacks on hand. You can spend a few hours once a month making freezer meals and snacks with all your free time right now!

Healthy, Delicious Snacks for Breastfeeding Moms

*As always, eat as organic as you can afford, clean your food well, shop from local farmers, and grow what you can. Think high protein, and skip anything processed, filled with ingredients you cannot pronounce, or containing food dyes.

The No-Brainers

• Fresh Fruit
• Veggies with Hummus
• Avocado
• Dried Fruit
• Nuts (almonds are the best for milk supply)
• Cheese (although, I stay away from dairy for the first few months because tiny tummies can’t digest it well)

Easy to Have On-Hand

• Almond Milk (or chocolate almond milk!)
• Bacon and Sausage
• Celery and Almond Butter
• Apple Slices and Almond Butter
• Yogurt (again, I avoid dairy)
• Oatmeal
• Granola
• Eggs
• High-Quality Jerky
• Pretzels and Hummus
• Popcorn (Air poppers are easy – add some brewers yeast sprinkled to it! – it’s great to boost your supply)
• Larabars
• Leftovers – especially protein leftovers like meats and beans, etc.

The Make-Ahead Snacks

Energy Bites: Janea’s ‘Booby Bite’ recipe for energy balls is easy and perfect for one-handed snacking.

Lactation Cookies: I pinned a dozen recipes for you try! Let me know your favorite. I love Natalie’s recipe at TastesLovely (they are dairy free)

Hard Boiled Eggs Smoothies (or frozen popsicles): include plenty of greens. I don’t like leftover smoothies, so I freeze them into popsicles – or use WereParents’ recipe to make an ice-cream:

Portioned Salads

Cooked Meats (grilled chicken strips, pulled pork, smoked turkey) Quinoa (I make a batch of this to be mixed with some roasted veggies and hummus!) Roasted Veggies Baked Oatmeal Bars: The36thAvenue’s recipe is delicious!

Now snacks are not enough to live on. You do need to eat meals too!