Being a new mom is HARD! From missing sleep, to trying to figure out how to keep the house clean, all while taking care of your newest family member and continuing to recover after coming home from the hospital. But, one of the surprising things I found the hardest, was sometimes just finding time to eat, and with fully breastfeeding my new baby I was constantly hungry!
Unfortunately with limited time to grab a bite, or the high chance that I was holding my baby and only had one hand to eat, I was not cooking or making the healthiest choices. The easiest thing was often to just grab a quick snack, but most snacks aren't the healthiest, and fruit goes bad so quickly or wasn't around, since I wasn't making it to the store near as often as normal.
But after a few weeks of this, I knew I needed an easy fix and my answer was TRAIL MIX!
Not only is it easy to eat at any time, but you can do it one handed and even with limited time. It's not only great for new moms, but pregnant moms, families, and a perfect snack for your littles over a year old. The extra perks include that it's inexpensive, easy to make, and you can change it up so you don't get tired of the same old thing. Plus depending on what ingredients you choose, it's healthy. So here is what I did to prep my new favorite mom snack as well as a list of ingredients if you are looking to change it up each time or are allergic or dislike anything I choose to use.
I started with peanuts since they are an easy base, and eating peanuts (or really any nut) while breastfeeding can not only increase you milk supply, but is linked to helping babies tolerate peanuts later in life.
Next, I added a few mini semi sweet chocolate chips to speak to my sweet tooth.
Last, I added dried fruits, which are calorie rich so provide the energy and nutrient support nursing and pumping moms need. I choose 50% less sugar dried cranberries- aka leancrans, and vanilla yogurt covered raisins.
And that was it. I mixed them together and made individual grab bags/ containers for when I needed them.
Looking for other ideas?! Here's a list of some of the other ingredients that I've included.
nuts- pistachios, cashews, almonds, pecans
cheerios- any flavor
dried fruits- apricots, pineapples, cherries, apples, pears, berries, etc
granola (the KIND brand is low fat)
seeds- sunflower, chia, flax, pumpkin, etc
popcorn
pretzels
mini marshmallows
Leave a comment letting us know how you liked the recipe. Did you make any changes? What were your favorite ingredients to add? Tell us below!
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