10 Foods For New Mums To Have In The Pantry
This is a great shopping list for stocking up your pantry before your baby arrives. All of these foods make wonderful nourishing staples for new mums, and here is why.
Basmati Rice
It is light, soft, smooth and nourishing. It is easy to digest and low GI. Ayurveda considers basmati sattvic or pure.
Atta Flour
It contains the germ and the endosperm of wheat, but not the bran. Bran fibre is insoluble, so atta flour is much lighter more easily digested. Any plain flour that you usually use will do if you can't find atta flour.
Local Dark Sugar (coconut, jaggery, rapadura, panela)
It is excellent for blood building, high in iron and very strengthening. It is heavy, moist and warm, whilst white sugar is light, dry and cold.
Black Sesame Seeds
These are used for anaemia, pain relief and reproductive health. Black sesame is particularly beneficial for people who don't eat meat products. In western terms, they contain high levels of good fats, calcium, B vitamins and iron. They are very strengthening food. White sesame seeds are fine as a substitute. Grind them into a powder or paste for easiest digestion.
Ghee
Ghee nourishes and rehydrates your body and boosts your breast milk supply. Ghee grounds and cools the brain so it prevents that strung out wired feeling. It is strengthening, satisfying and soothing. It aids digestion and is cleansing and healing. Ayurveda considers ghee one of the best foods a new mum can eat. Organic is best, unsalted butter will do.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is well known and loved as a healthy food, so I won't go on about it. You know what to do!
Dates
These are naturally high in energy, contain iron and are very strengthening. They are so easy to eat! Grab five dates and a cup of hot milk with cardamom to keep you going.
Coconut Milk
It is cool, oily and sweet, it is very high in water (and more nutritious than water itself!) Coconut is very nourishing and life-supporting food, and in Cambodia, they talk of a man who lived for a year on coconut water alone. Check the ingredients, it should only contain coconut, water and antioxidant. Add some gentle warming spices to make it easier to digest.
Split Mung Dhal
Not too dry, not too cold and not too light. They are just right. They are one of the most revered foods by the vaidyas. In western terms, mung beans are high in Vitamin B and C, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, copper, fibre and protein. And they cook buttery soft in 20-30 minutes. They are hard to buy, and lots of places have very old, stale mung dhal. At it's freshest dry mung dhal smells like freshly cut grass. Soak it overnight for quicker cooking.
Almond Meal
High in protein and contains Vitamin E and magnesium and contain calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Almonds are excellent for the skin, circulation and reproductive organs. Almond meal is really easy to mix through porridge, biscuit dough, couscous, rice... anything. Keep whole almonds in the pantry, and whizz them up in the food processor and store in the fridge if you want to have it ready to use. Ayurveda considers almonds more balanced without the brown skin, so you can blanch them first if you prefer.
Want to know more about nourishing foods for Newborn Mothers? Check out my book Nourishing Newborn Mothers - Ayurvedic Recipes to Heal your Mind, Body and Soul after Childbirth. Or to buy it now click here.
