Lunch Ideas - Creating Balanced Vegetarian Meals

Its important to follow pathya samayal. The benefits are:

1. To enable easy digestion for the baby
2. To help mom reduce weight
3. To help mom regain her strength.

Different states have different pathya samayal. Most require new mom to have garlic say garlic rasam, milk and methi seeds (all galactogues, help in increasing milk supply).

Mom has to eat easily digestible foods, most south indians will eat only rice, no rotis of any kind. No root veggies, cabbage, cauliflower or broccoli. Greens and veggies with lots of water content will help new mom pass stools easily.

If you are in Bangalore, you will get something antina undi which is basically dry fruits and nuts laddoo with edible gum. This is superfood for new moms, it needs to be eaten with a glass of milk. These laddoos are had only after one month after delivery.

YOu get something called alvi seeds or garden cress. Its small and reddish in color. YOu have to fry just a spoonful in ghee and make payasam. Helps a lot in reducing body pains.

Ghee is very good for new mom. In lunch she has to eat ghee rice with a powder make of ajwain, cumin and hing. Just a few spoons will do. This is to avoid gas in baby. A gassy baby is a lot of trouble

If you can get someone to massage baby and mom, it will be wonderful.

Baby spitting is common. Often the baby will forget to swallow the last bit of milk and sleep, when it wakes up, the milk will come out as curd. Nothing to worry.

Barley water with buttermilk is very nourishing to mom.

There is an ayurvedic medicine called Shatavari. Its a powder made from herbs that you mix with milk and drink. It helps in milk production and helps in healing the uterus. This is to be had as long as mom is breastfeeding.

 

@chillbreeze - Ask your sis to follow the pathyam. There is a reason spicy foods should be avoided by new moms. It's now been told by lactation consultants that certain spices do get expelled in BM and the new baby may get gassy.

Also, the fenugreek dosa, pearl onions etc increase lactation in new moms. People are taking fenugreek pills to increase lactation.
The calcium in sunna(we eat beetle leaves postpartum) does help the mom's bones.

The oils and baths relaxes the new mom. The more relaxed the mother, the lesser stress she has. Apparently it's been found that the stress enzymes(no idea what they are) do get passed along with bM to the baby. The lactation consultant told me this, I don't know how true it is.

same with the naps. The new mom doesn't get uninterrupted sleep at night and that's why the insistance on sleeping for two hours in the afternoon. ofcourse, it does help the back to lie down and take it easy for a couple of hours a day. After all, a baby is hard work.

I would suggest you follow whatever is traditionally followed in your family with the exception of not drinking water. Water is actually very essential for a new mom.

Hth,
L

 

@chillbreeze, just remembered this. Mom to drink only warm water.

 

@shanvy, @butterflyice - I finally got the Jowar roti right. I followed a few additions from here - Gluten Free Chapati Recipe Video - Gluten Free Indian Recipes by Show Me The Curry,indian recipe, cooking videos, recipe videos It came out nice and soft. Kids loved it. Phew!

@vanivyas - the above flour can also be used for puris apparently. Look at it for your puri craving.

 

@hrastro - I have a similar problem. I feel spent after workouts and cannot workout without anything in my tummy. I'm constantly craving for sugars and my fasting and PP sugars are always the same level. Plus HbA1C is so far normal. This is a pre diabetic kind of issue. Two of my aunts were like this. Now they are diabetic. I had no idea that being hypoglycaemic can lead to diabetes. Now, I get a HbA1C test done every six months.
And, I have to watch my protein macros. I know I crave more when I'm low on protein. When my protein intake is good, I don't need two hour meals. That's so exhausting.
I do use the Greek yogurts, Cheesee of all kinds, paneer, eggs or whites, almond and peanut butters, all lentils and beans. I also drink 2-3 cups of coffee made with milk alone most days. Now the past few months I haven't bothered much. As a result, my weight is going back up slowly and I feel depleted after each run. Such months I usually add a whey protein powder to my diet. I was at whole foods today and picked up my protein powder. I use it for a few months and then ditch it. Phew. Tiring to keep the cals in control plus the body energised.