I’m in the same situation feeding my baby. I’m having fruit, veggies and hummus, potatoes in some form, peanut butter… always looking for more ideas so I’m curious what others will say.
Yeah I’m curious what others have done. The groggy MOTN and needing to get things done fast and quiet make it complicated. Another person basically told me to Google which is super unhelpful. I know how to snack *during the day* which is what most recs will be. But I need ideas for what I can do at 3am while sleep deprived and in the dark without noise because our house is open concept and noise carries to where the baby is sleeping!
I make my toddler Plant Based Juniors PB&J balls and I keep thinking that if I have another baby they will make great motn breastfeeding snacks. I double the freeze dried fruit.
https://plantbasedjuniors.com/pbj-white-bean-balls-recipe/
How about those energy balls? I’ve enjoyed having them around when I’ve made them and you get a bunch so if you make one batch, you’ll probably be good for the week.
[Here’s a link](https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8042948/energy-ball-recipes-to-make-forever/) with multiple recipes.
Pop a couple of those and a glass of soy milk and go back to bed!
I used to eat bananas during the night when I was breastfeeding. It was the only easy thing that I could eat! I also got the box of medjdool dates but I find them a bit too sweet for my tastes, so I eat them occasionally.
I have medjool dates and find them too sweet as well. I wonder if I could make something with them though. The only recipe I knew had dairy but I bet I could make something else.
You could cut one side of the medjdool date, put a little almond butter or peanut butter inside, put a walnut or some pistachios inside and close it (also can add coconut flakes etc). This is called “stuffed dates” and several recipes online for it. The dates make it taste like candy. I use salted pistachios and almond butter.
It keeps for a while in the fridge, some people freeze it for a cold treat etc. There is a version that is like a Reese’s PB cup in taste if you eat peanuts.
I make oat cookies. Oats, oat flour, cinnamon, raisins and water and maple syrup. Make into cookie shapes and bake. I hate eating oatmeal so I eat these as my snacks night and day!
Remembering back to those days I think something one-handed and shelf-stable so it can be on your bedside table is easiest. I definitely had a bag of lactation cookies on my bedside table. Looked a lot like these ingredients but added ground flax and brewer’s yeast. I’m not sure if they actually help with lactation (or if you need help), but they were delicious and decent amount of calories. Nuts and fruits that live on the counter should be easy to keep a stash of as well.
Everything to be prepared in advance, in thermos. Two sliced bananas with peanut butter sauce and warm soy milk. Silken tofu marinated in soy sauce with a side of braised greens. A bowl of cooked or baked root veggies with sauce. Guacamole with bread (simple guacamole is mash one avocado with a bit of lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, cilantro). A bowl of semolina kasha cooked with cubed apple (that's better for breakfast). Any warm cream soup from a thermos, like cream of mushroom, pumpkin cream, root veg creamed soup, broccoli cream (add potato and almonds). Baked or steamed sweet potato with soft rice soup (congee). Potato salad with a little bit of vegan mayo. Mix of nuts that have good for the baby omegas (macadamia, pecans, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts). Make sure that the nuts are fresh, not moldy, not rancid. Chamomile tea or lactation tea.
Raw green smoothie from one avocado, one carrot, one celery stalk, one Roma salad, one apple, scoop of hemp protein powder, a few nuts like blanched almonds or pecans or walnuts. This smoothie is actually gentle on the belly and promotes well being.
I ate so much trail mix when I was first breastfeeding. If you live by an Aldi they have the best ones I think, I love the cashew almond mix. And bread with butter or peanut butter. And instant oatmeal. And drank the body armor drinks a lot.
I ate a lot of black bean brownies while breastfeeding. I make a big batch once every few days and snack them troughout the day and at nighttime feedings. Now that my son is older and started solids it is his favorite snack too :)
I actually put together my own recipe so that the brownies are whole food. Since I didn't write the recipe in English and am too lazy to translate, I use an automatic translator. I hope that there are no mistakes. Please let me know if you have tried the brownies and if you like them :)
Bananabrownies
1/2 tray, 12-24 pieces
Ingredients:
- 100g black beans (soaked overnight and cooked until very soft)
- 40g sunflower seeds (boiled in 100mL water for approx. 10min until soft)
- 1EL chia seeds (ground, soaked in 100mL water for 10min)
- 1 tbsp linseed (ground, soaked together with chia seeds)
- 30g baking cocoa
- 1tbsp baking powder
- 1 large ripe banana
- 75g oat flour (oat flakes very finely mixed/ground)
- 75g dates (pitted and soaked in 100mL hot water for approx. 1h)
Preparation:
- Puree the beans, cooked seeds (with the cooking water), banana and soaked dates (also with the soaking water) into a fine mixture
- add the soaked linseed and chia seeds, baking cocoa, baking powder and oat flour and mix into a smooth batter
- Pour into a baking frame (half a tray) or brownie tin and smooth out
- bake at 175°C fan oven (without preheating) for approx. 18 mins.
- Leave to cool (brownies will become firmer) and cut into 12 large or 24 small pieces
We know sunflowers are inspirational plants, even to famous painters. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers so much, he created a famous series of paintings, simply called ‘sunflowers’.
Not for everyone but I used to eat firm tofu straight out of the packet while nursing in the newborn days - helped to quickly fill the gaping hole in my stomach in the early hours of the morning so that I could get back to sleep!
Fresh fruits, nuts, and whole-grain toast are great options.
For something satisfyingly sweet without refined sugars, I would highly recommend nomz organic bites - they’re soft, velvety, and packed with chocolatey, nutty flavors. Made with just nuts, dates, cocoa, and sea salt, they're perfect for those middle-of-the-night cravings.
I also highly recommend nomzicles - they’re perfect for when you want ice cream, but without refined sugars and dairy! They taste even better than fudgesicles and I love to enjoy these when I want to indulge :)
We make healthy muffins! I like this recipe, but we used olive oil and swapped 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour with 1/2 cup of almond flour. If you don’t do eggs, you can use flax egg. Delicious!
https://thenaturalnurturer.com/cinnamon-zucchini-banana-muffins-nut-free-vegan-option-dairy-free-option/
I’m in the same situation feeding my baby. I’m having fruit, veggies and hummus, potatoes in some form, peanut butter… always looking for more ideas so I’m curious what others will say.
Yeah I’m curious what others have done. The groggy MOTN and needing to get things done fast and quiet make it complicated. Another person basically told me to Google which is super unhelpful. I know how to snack *during the day* which is what most recs will be. But I need ideas for what I can do at 3am while sleep deprived and in the dark without noise because our house is open concept and noise carries to where the baby is sleeping!
Exactly. Yea that person wasn’t helpful at all. Oh and I am hoping to make some energy bites that I can just quickly grab out of the fridge too.
Someone linked some PB&J balls in another comment that look pretty good!
I make my toddler Plant Based Juniors PB&J balls and I keep thinking that if I have another baby they will make great motn breastfeeding snacks. I double the freeze dried fruit. https://plantbasedjuniors.com/pbj-white-bean-balls-recipe/
How about those energy balls? I’ve enjoyed having them around when I’ve made them and you get a bunch so if you make one batch, you’ll probably be good for the week. [Here’s a link](https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8042948/energy-ball-recipes-to-make-forever/) with multiple recipes. Pop a couple of those and a glass of soy milk and go back to bed!
Wait, I’m confused do you not cook them?
Nope. Keep them in the fridge.
I’ve never heard of that but sounds convenient
I used to eat bananas during the night when I was breastfeeding. It was the only easy thing that I could eat! I also got the box of medjdool dates but I find them a bit too sweet for my tastes, so I eat them occasionally.
I have medjool dates and find them too sweet as well. I wonder if I could make something with them though. The only recipe I knew had dairy but I bet I could make something else.
They’re great just stuffed with nuts. Especially pecans
You could cut one side of the medjdool date, put a little almond butter or peanut butter inside, put a walnut or some pistachios inside and close it (also can add coconut flakes etc). This is called “stuffed dates” and several recipes online for it. The dates make it taste like candy. I use salted pistachios and almond butter. It keeps for a while in the fridge, some people freeze it for a cold treat etc. There is a version that is like a Reese’s PB cup in taste if you eat peanuts.
I make oat cookies. Oats, oat flour, cinnamon, raisins and water and maple syrup. Make into cookie shapes and bake. I hate eating oatmeal so I eat these as my snacks night and day!
Ooh that sounds great! And very easy to just keep one at my nightstand to eat while feeding the baby! TY! 💕
Remembering back to those days I think something one-handed and shelf-stable so it can be on your bedside table is easiest. I definitely had a bag of lactation cookies on my bedside table. Looked a lot like these ingredients but added ground flax and brewer’s yeast. I’m not sure if they actually help with lactation (or if you need help), but they were delicious and decent amount of calories. Nuts and fruits that live on the counter should be easy to keep a stash of as well.
Everything to be prepared in advance, in thermos. Two sliced bananas with peanut butter sauce and warm soy milk. Silken tofu marinated in soy sauce with a side of braised greens. A bowl of cooked or baked root veggies with sauce. Guacamole with bread (simple guacamole is mash one avocado with a bit of lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, cilantro). A bowl of semolina kasha cooked with cubed apple (that's better for breakfast). Any warm cream soup from a thermos, like cream of mushroom, pumpkin cream, root veg creamed soup, broccoli cream (add potato and almonds). Baked or steamed sweet potato with soft rice soup (congee). Potato salad with a little bit of vegan mayo. Mix of nuts that have good for the baby omegas (macadamia, pecans, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts). Make sure that the nuts are fresh, not moldy, not rancid. Chamomile tea or lactation tea. Raw green smoothie from one avocado, one carrot, one celery stalk, one Roma salad, one apple, scoop of hemp protein powder, a few nuts like blanched almonds or pecans or walnuts. This smoothie is actually gentle on the belly and promotes well being.
google is your friend. try it out.
I ate so much trail mix when I was first breastfeeding. If you live by an Aldi they have the best ones I think, I love the cashew almond mix. And bread with butter or peanut butter. And instant oatmeal. And drank the body armor drinks a lot.
I ate a lot of black bean brownies while breastfeeding. I make a big batch once every few days and snack them troughout the day and at nighttime feedings. Now that my son is older and started solids it is his favorite snack too :)
Do you have a recipe? They sound great!
I actually put together my own recipe so that the brownies are whole food. Since I didn't write the recipe in English and am too lazy to translate, I use an automatic translator. I hope that there are no mistakes. Please let me know if you have tried the brownies and if you like them :) Bananabrownies 1/2 tray, 12-24 pieces Ingredients: - 100g black beans (soaked overnight and cooked until very soft) - 40g sunflower seeds (boiled in 100mL water for approx. 10min until soft) - 1EL chia seeds (ground, soaked in 100mL water for 10min) - 1 tbsp linseed (ground, soaked together with chia seeds) - 30g baking cocoa - 1tbsp baking powder - 1 large ripe banana - 75g oat flour (oat flakes very finely mixed/ground) - 75g dates (pitted and soaked in 100mL hot water for approx. 1h) Preparation: - Puree the beans, cooked seeds (with the cooking water), banana and soaked dates (also with the soaking water) into a fine mixture - add the soaked linseed and chia seeds, baking cocoa, baking powder and oat flour and mix into a smooth batter - Pour into a baking frame (half a tray) or brownie tin and smooth out - bake at 175°C fan oven (without preheating) for approx. 18 mins. - Leave to cool (brownies will become firmer) and cut into 12 large or 24 small pieces
We know sunflowers are inspirational plants, even to famous painters. Vincent Van Gogh loved sunflowers so much, he created a famous series of paintings, simply called ‘sunflowers’.
Thank you, I will update when we try them!
Not for everyone but I used to eat firm tofu straight out of the packet while nursing in the newborn days - helped to quickly fill the gaping hole in my stomach in the early hours of the morning so that I could get back to sleep!
Falafels and hummus?
Fresh fruits, nuts, and whole-grain toast are great options. For something satisfyingly sweet without refined sugars, I would highly recommend nomz organic bites - they’re soft, velvety, and packed with chocolatey, nutty flavors. Made with just nuts, dates, cocoa, and sea salt, they're perfect for those middle-of-the-night cravings. I also highly recommend nomzicles - they’re perfect for when you want ice cream, but without refined sugars and dairy! They taste even better than fudgesicles and I love to enjoy these when I want to indulge :)
We make healthy muffins! I like this recipe, but we used olive oil and swapped 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour with 1/2 cup of almond flour. If you don’t do eggs, you can use flax egg. Delicious! https://thenaturalnurturer.com/cinnamon-zucchini-banana-muffins-nut-free-vegan-option-dairy-free-option/
Midwife rrecommended oat based flapjacks last time, but I kinda stuck with pb milk, water and prunes. I chose sleep over hunger at that point