Nursing and getting enough calories

[sahm2girlies]

I have been on a nearly vegan diet (I still eat eggs) for a couple weeks now and I think it's affecting my milk supply (I'm nursing my 5 month old around the clock).

I'm gluten free also, which is why I think I'm having a hard time calorie wise.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast- blueberry oatmeal
Snack- a peach
Lunch- pinto bean and veggie stir fry over brown rice
Snack- cucumbers with hummus dip
Dinner- 3 Bean tacos with lots of veggies and avocado
Snack before bed- banana

Some days I feel very satisfied, but other days, like yesterday, I crave a big burger and fries. The beans just didn't cut it.

Any advice?

[lfwfv]

Two words: calorie density.

You can add lots of calories with little bulk by adding calorie dense foods. I am GF as well, and i had to gain weight about a year ago to regain my fertility, so i learned how to increase my calories on a McDougall, GF diet.

Here are some of the things that worked for me:

Corn tortillas covered in nut butter (natural kind, no added salt/oil/sugar). Cheap, calorie dense, and low bulk.

Dates, raisins, or any dried fruit

Gluten free, fat free baked goods (i posted these totally whole foods recipes on the recipe forum, you can search for "gluten free whole foods" i think and it should come up. The recipes use whole grain GF flours, and almost exclusively fruit to sweeten, no oil of course.)

bananas with nut butter

Lundberg puffed rice cakes with nut butter

1/2 cup uncooked, GF rolled oats eaten with 1/4 cup raisins (i really enjoyed this, but it might be too dry for some), or the oats mixed and eaten with 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. Because the oats are not cooked, they are far less bulky in your stomach, and i think oats are supposed to be good for lactation?

Those are some of my best ideas.

Keep us posted on your progress! I am currently 28 weeks pregnant, and am curious to see how McDougalling and nursing will be...

lfwfv

[jamietwo]

Don't be afraid to eat when you're hungry! I too am following McDougall and am GF (although I wasn't when I was nursing and even then I was always hungry!). If you're eating enough, your milk supply should not be affected by this diet!

Maybe you could add another bowl of oats at bedtime to go with your banana? Or a bowl of quinoa cooked with apples, raisins and cinnamon?

There's a great recipe for granola bars in the recipe section - rolled oats, bananas, frozen fruit, spices, and I added dried fruit for the calorie density. I second the vote for rice cakes! If you don't want to do nut butters, you can use a fruit spread.

Bake an oven full of yams and white/red/yellow potatoes, and refrigerate them for an easy snack.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[sahm2girlies]

Thanks ladies!