Low milk supply seems surprisingly common in modern societies.  There is heated debate about whether this was so in more traditional societies – I haven’t seen any answer convincing enough to allow me to weigh in on any side of the issue.

(Note: please allow me to clarify that “seems” means that it appears common when you talk to many women. However, professionals believe, and I tend to agree, that low milk supply is actually quite rare in our present day, even among mothers who are not getting good food. I have participated in a lot of heated debate about this issue and I’ve known this issue to come between women before. The reality, I think, is that it is not common – however many women worry – needlessly – about the fact that it does *seem* common. )

However, a few women struggle with low milk supply and I do know some ways you can boost your milk supply through nutrition. Others may want to boost supply so they can pump and store extra milk or donate to a milk bank.  Remember, if you’re truly struggling with supply issues there are many other strategies you should be trying – such as increasing frequency of nursing. Get more ideas from Dr. Jack Newman.

The “Supplements”

One of the first things you’ll hear when you mention struggle with milk supply is “oh my friend used (insert food, drink, or herb here) and it really helped her milk supply!”

There are some things that have been shown to boost supply, and you can use them as a supplement to your diet.

• Oatmeal has been known to boost milk supply.  A bowl of oatmeal daily, or even oatmeal cookies, may give you a greater supply.
• Quinoa, a grain, has been used by traditional societies during lactation and is said to boost milk production.
• There are various milk teas on the market.  No, these aren’t teas made with milk.  They’re made with herbs that are supposed to boost milk production.
• Fenugreek is an herbal supplement you can take which many women have found helps boost milk production.  You know you’re taking enough when your sweat smells like maple syrup.

Your Diet

Though the above are nutritional strategies that can work, I believe if you’re suffering from low milk supply you should examine your diet.  Experts say poor nutrition doesn’t cause low milk supply.  However, poor nutrition can eat up your own nutrient reserves, causing stress and exhaustion for you.

You have heard that it really doesn’t matter what you eat, you’ll still make milk for your baby (and it’s still better than formula!)  Well, that’s true – but a higher quality diet makes higher quality milk*.  And a high-quality diet can help you to have abundant milk.  There may really be times when milk supply can’t be improved – but improving diet is one of the most basic steps to try and will benefit you no matter what the outcome.

Fats are Vital

The first step to take is to examine your fat intake.  No, I’m not going to tell you to cut out the fat.  In fact, I’m telling you the opposite.  Make sure you’re getting enough fat.  Be sure you’re eating good fats – “good fats” are traditional fats like coconut oil, butter, olive oil, tallow, and lard.  Avoid new “industrial” oils (such as corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated oils) like they’re a plague… they are!!

Use butter liberally to enhance the flavors of your foods.  Select full fat dairy products and don’t trim all the fat off your meats.  Drizzle olive oil on your salad greens.  Enjoy your food will full flavor.

How Much are You Eating?

Next up… are you eating enough?  Read through my nutrition pages to be sure that you’re eating well.  The late Dr. Brewer, the Weston A. Price Foundation, midwives, and other professionals all advise continuing your pregnancy diet during lactation.  Don’t obsess over pounds – just be sure you’re getting what you need for your baby.  Pregnancy and nursing do cause nutritional stress on your body.  You are growing another being.  You’re not going to be able to eat as if it were just you.  You left those days behind when you conceived your child!

Cut out unhealthy foods.  Processed foods, sugars, excessive carbs.  Get rid of those things if you feel like you need to “cut back” on something.  But eat healthy foods liberally – to satisfaction.  And don’t lie to yourself.  If you’re still hungry after supper have a small snack at bedtime.  If 3 meals a day aren’t cutting it for you (they don’t for many nursing mothers!) have snacks between your meals.

Eating plenty of food, and getting plenty of fluid, will help boost your milk supply.  You would not believe how many mothers I have ask me about milk supply who admit, when I ask them about what they ate that day, “oh, I had coffee for breakfast, and a small salad for lunch.  I’ll probably have a little bowl of pasta for supper.  I just don’t have time for anything else.”

Mama, make some time!  I confidently tell Galen “Mama needs to eat, or you don’t eat!”  There are lots of foods that can be easily prepared while your baby is in a carrier, in a bouncy seat, on a blanket on the floor, or being entertained by someone else.  I know it’s important to be attached to your baby – but your babe will not suffer because you’ve taken 10 minutes to prepare a meal!  Take a look at my pages on managing motherhood for more meal tips.

Eat Properly Prepared Foods – and Eat Some Raw

This next advice could get really broad, so I’m going to keep it to a summary.  You should prepare your foods properly.  This is primarily talking about grains, legumes, and seeds, which may be hard for your body to digest if you just eat them “as is” or simply cooked.  A soaking overnight may help make them more digestible, which in turn will make it easier for your body to utilize them and leave more energy for milk production.

Things you should soak are wheat, oats, rye, and other grains.  Nuts and beans (legumes) should also be soaked.  This is as simple as dumping your food into a glass bowl, adding some whey (the watery stuff that collects in your yogurt) or lemon juice, and setting the bowl in a warm place overnight.  Just add salt to nuts.  For flours (wheat, rye, etc.) you can soak with part of the cooking liquid.  The next day just pick up where you left off in the recipe.  After your nuts have cooked overnight re-dry them in a warm (not hot) oven.  It’s pretty easy and could help improve your digestion and help a fussy baby.

Also enjoy some foods raw.  Easier-to-digest vegetable salads are great with olive oil and raw wine vinegar drizzled over them (some veggies, like spinach, are best served cooked).  And enjoy at least some of your animal products raw.  In our world the easiest way to do this is to eat raw milk cheese, which is legal to buy at stores.  You can also make a number of raw meat appetizers (please use grass-fed animal meat) or enjoy soft-boiled eggs (please use pastured poultry eggs).  Or if you have access to it you can drink raw milk, or have raw milk yogurt or kefir.

That brings me to raw, cultured foods – which are very good for you.  I have noticed the absolute biggest boosts in my milk supply after I began to add extra cream to my milk, added yogurt with live cultures and lots of butter to my morning oatmeal, and began having a fermented vegetable condiment consistently each day.

Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and chutneys are all cultured condiments when prepared traditionally.  You can find many of these items at your normal grocery store – make sure they say “raw” or “live cultures.”  These foods aid your digestion.

An Overall Effect

These dietary improvements are all beneficial to your overall health.  They’re not a miracle cure for low milk supply.  But by taking steps to improve your nutrition you are well on the way to creating better health for you, and good diet often directly correlates with the quality of milk you make for your baby (even if you’re not at a place where you can make dietary changes right now, your milk is still better than formula).  I know when we committed to a better diet in January of this year I noticed within the first week that my milk supply became more abundant and my milk was much richer.  Galen could hardly keep up!

Enjoy the benefits of improved nutrition for both you and your baby.  For more information on cooking techniques or the “whys” of what I have recommended check out the books listed at the bottom of this article.

*If you pay no attention your nutrition whatsoever you are still going to make milk for your baby and it is still going to be the best choice for your baby.  When I had my first baby I lived far, far below the current poverty lines and I couldn’t afford expensive organic foods.  I could, however, learn about nutrition and cook basic, healthy foods.  My baby thrived on my milk.  So even if you feel that you have little money to spend for food, know your milk is tailor-made for your baby.  Breastfeeding is best no matter where you are in relation to the poverty line.

I still strongly recommed that all mothers study nutrition and do what they can to improve their family’s nutrition for their own health’s sake and that of their children.  There is a wealth of resources at your fingertips for the best price out there – free.

Get more great breastfeeding how-to’s from these other bloggers participating in the Motherwear Carnival of Breastfeeding:

• Motherwear’s Breastfeeding Blog: How to help your baby kick the nipple shield habit
• Marketing Mama: How to pump successfully at work
• Mama Saga: How to breastfeed (or just look like you know what you’re doing)
• BabyReady: How to get baby to take a bottle
• Strocel: How to get breastfeeding off to a good start
• Baby Carriers Down Under: How to breastfeed hands-free
• Blacktating: How to treat a cold while breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding Moms Unite: How to become a breastfeeding support professional
• Breastfeeding Mums: How to wean a breastfed toddler
• Mama Knows Breast: How to get a spouse to help with breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3: How to teach your baby nursing manners
• Zen Mommy: Using YouTube to stop nosey questions!
• Happy Bambino: How to deal with unsupportive family members
• The Bee in your Bonnet: How to be comfortable around nursing mothers
• MoBleez: How to naturally increase your milk supply – try seaweed
• Milk Act: How to care for a sick nursling
• Maher Family Grows: How to to increase milk supply using supplements
• Tiny Grass: Tandem Nursing – how to do it without driving yourself and your nurslings crazy!

Yes, this week we’re eating a lot of winter squashes.  But they are inexpensive and in season so I’m serving them. Avocados have also been on perpetual sale, we must be getting a lot trucked in.

This week I’m experimenting with a suggestion of Dr. Pottenger’s, which is to serve a green salad and two cooked veggies with supper each evening. We’ll see how that goes (i.e. does it stress me out a ton?) I can remember that my grandma always served a salad and 2-3 veggie sides.

As far as salad goes those are working out very well. I buy two heads of lettuce each week and use one for the Caesar salad and one for the Enzyme salad – those two salads carry us through the week for suppers and even a couple of lunches. The carrot salad I make with our liver supper makes a little less but it still goes for that meal and for a lunch. So salads are working out nicely.

We’re beginning week 2 of our “traditional foods” 30-day challenge. Thus far benefits have been: my milk supply is literally overflowing, and the milk is very rich; Cassidy seems to be putting on some weight, the kids are pretty cheerful, and everyone except Scott seems to be full for a time between meals.

The kids and I sometimes get a snack that Scott doesn’t get though, and he really dislikes being hungry. I’m still working on good snacks to send with him to work – pints of soup, I finally got our crispy nuts done, etc. And at night after supper I try and make a nourishing before-bed snack because he likes those too. I tend to crave sugar and carbs at that point as well.

I’ve written about some of the challenges I’m facing in my food challenge 7 day update. I’ve also considered some ways to streamline my kitchen time in that post. My “to-do” lists look more manageable now :p

On to the menu plan!

Monday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Black bean soup and kimchi
S: Meat loaf (using brown rice instead of bread crumbs); enzyme salad; simple soup; steamed broccoli (w/ hollandaise if I’m motivated); steamed squash, kraut.
To-Do: cook rice @ lunch, soak rice, start fermented sweet potatoes, soak rice, start kraut

Tuesday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Beans and rice, Jamaican style; simple soup, kimchi
S: Chicken supreme (using leftover chicken); Caesar salad; coconut chicken soup; sliced avocado; steamed squash, rice, kimchi
To-Do: start beans and rice early AM, make whey, soak rice, start crock pot kidney beans before bed.

Wednesday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: White bean chili soup; kimchi
S: Liver w/ onions; Balsamic carrot salad; simple soup; steamed spinach; steamed squash; rice; kraut
To-Do: visit farm store for beef products, soak liver in lemon juice (at lunch), thaw a bison heart.

Thursday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Beef stew; kraut
S: Black-eyed peas and greens; enzyme salad; coconut chicken soup; sliced avocado; rice; kimchi
To-Do: soak rice, study a new fermented veggie recipe for trying next week.

Friday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Minestrone; kraut
S: Spaghetti w/ meat sauce served over rice; Caesar salad; Roman egg soup; steamed broccoli; steamed squash; kraut
To-Do: cook pinto beans in crockpot overnight, grind bison heart.

Saturday – B: Scott makes breakfast
L: Pate; fermented sweet potato; squash; kimchi; coconut chicken soup.
S: Chili (making a triple batch to freeze two portions); Caesar salad; simple soup; sliced avocado; steamed squash; rice; kimchi
To-Do: start chili cooking at lunchtime

Sunday – B: Scott makes breakfast
L: Omelettes; simple soup; baked beets; kraut
S: Roast chicken over potatoes; Enzyme salad; simple soup; carrots sautéed in butter; steamed squash; kraut
To-Do: soak rice, soak oats for the week, sprout seeds, start chicken stock, soak – kidney, pinto, and black beans for the week

Visit the Organizing Junkie for more meal plan ideas!

I have been having major cravings too, to be fair. All for usual stuff I crave – sub sandwiches, chocolate, and the most horrible – Pasta Roni Shells and White Cheddar :p Talk about processed! They’re all passing cravings, and I’ve been able to get rid of most of them by having a hearty snack, like a slice of raw milk cheese and a glass of milk, or an avocado half or something of that nature. It’s the fattier and protein rich snacks that seem to help with the sugar/carb cravings (which is what I have).

Burnout

The other huge challenge encountered…on Friday to be precise… was burnout from being in the kitchen. I found myself completely and utterly tired of being in there, of cooking, preparing, and more than anything else, serving it all out.

I already wrote that I planned to do all my weekly soaking at one time. With the exception of our rice I’m going to soak everything for the week tonight and put it in the bottom of the fridge to await its turn to be cooked.

I’ve also been calling the children into the kitchen to help carry plates and cups out. Scott helps with that for many meals as well. It’s strange that I find serving so overwhelming but I do. Maybe it’s time to let the kids learn to serve out salads and veggie sides onto their own plates too.

Today I feel absolutely exhausted which I believe is due much more to the fact I was up past midnight lats night than it is to anything with our diet.

Thinking of Solutions

I’ve still been pleasantly full most of the time. The only drawbacks so far have been spending so much time in the kitchen and the cravings. But I think cravings are to be expected when my body is getting completely weaned from processed foods. And I’m working on the kitchen time.

I need to come up with some “quick meals” for when I can’t make the planned meal for whatever reason. I did well last night, when we got home quite late. I simply pan-cooked a steak and some mushrooms then used beef stock and cream to make a quick sauce and served it over leftover soaked and cooked rice. I had leftover salad that I served on the side.

Normally I rely on stocks to make soups in a pinch but I didn’t get my chicken stock started, nor did I have any of the beans I normally make soups with. So that brings up another thing – I absolutely can’t miss anything I’m supposed to prep on a day or else we’re really out of luck.

Or I need to make sure there’s always back-ups. That’s probably most prudent. I should plan to get several quarts of stock up in the freezer and I think I’ll freeze cooked beans in cup-sized portions that could easily be added to a soup. I’m also planning a huge batch of chili this week which I should be able to put two meals up into the freezer for.

A Need for Planning

So this takes a lot of planning, and I’m still working out how to be most efficient so I’m not getting overwhelmed with kitchen time – and I don’t run out of good food so we end up eating junk.

I’m hoping to learn some good “quick meal” recipes too. This week’s Real Food Wednesday is going to feature real “fast food” – I can’t wait.

On Kids and Milk

On the kid front the kids are doing great – and I’m thrilled that Cassidy couldn’t button a pair of pants this week! Upon trying on some pants that she’s been unable to wear (because they’d fall off) she found they fit nicely. The kids have all been pretty cheerful and content.

My milk supply is more generous than ever. I have never had a problem with supply but this is just ridiculous – showers of milk anytime Galen nurses and it’s thick and creamy. It’s a bit annoying to me because I get flooded constantly (Galen still nurses pretty much every hour), however, I can’t really complain about so much milk of good quality!

Hopefully this week I’ll get things more streamlined and figured out. I’m also hoping I”ll have more energy. It’s going to be interesting to see how things go as we enter week 2 of our challenge!

I haven’t noticed much difference in how I feel physically other than I find I tend to have a pleasantly full tummy most of the day.  Moving from breakfast to the mid-morning snack is my hungriest time.  Other than that I tend to be pretty full unless I sit around reading about food (I do that a lot right now :p)  I’ve also been nice and regular going to the bathroom which has been a problem for me so I’m pleased.

So Much Soaking

The biggest part of the challenge has been all the soaking.  Going from mostly canned beans to dried beans means remembering a lot of soaking.  Pair that with oatmeal that needs to be soaked every night, several nights of rice, and nuts and I feel like I’m doing a lot of soaking.  

I read a tip today to put soaked beans in the fridge – I may start soaking all of my beans on Saturday or Sunday night, then putting them in the fridge the next morning to be ready for the week.  It seems like it will be easier for me time-wise to do all the prep for soaking at once.  I could probably do the same with oatmeal for the week, actually.

Dry Bean Tip

A bean idea (Scott actually thought of it) that’s been working well for me is to have my beans soaked one night, then put them in the crock pot on low the next night.  By morning I have great beans.  I’ve been bringing them to a boil on the stove, then pouring them into the crock pot; I may try a batch without that first step.

Dishes that Never End!

Another challenge that’s come up is dishes – I’m preparing food so often, and so much food to fill the family up, that there are always dishes.  Cassidy washes our eating dishes (plates, cups, silverware) – but I do the pots and pans, and on nights when we’re running behind, I have everything because Cassidy goes to bed.  Scott has a project going at work right now and has been late some which means supper is late.  I don’t mind that (it gives me more time to have everything ready!!) – but the dishes are getting overwhelming. 

We generally hand wash though we have a dishwasher.  I feel it’s important for kids to have responsibility and the dishes are a good one (plus we’d go through all of our dishes before we got to supper if we didn’t hand wash between meals.)

I’ve begun to try and make sure I wash pots/pans/cooking utensils as soon as I’m done with them.  It’s hard though, because as soon as it’s done it needs to be on the table, and then we’re sitting to eat.  Maybe I should fill the sink with hot soapy water and dump the pots and pans in as soon as the food is served, then do a load quickly after we eat and before Cassidy does dishes.  I could put them on the dishwasher racks to dry.  Then it would be being used for something…

How the Kids are Doing With It

I have noticed that the kids, especially Cassidy, have had mostly cheerful dispositions the past few days.  They’ve also been willing to go and play outside – Cassidy and Asher for long periods.  This is really nice, especially since we’ve been having weather down into the tens and under during the day.  They come back in happy and warm. I really think good food helps to make a cheerful and calm child (other things help too, mind you!).

I’m still hoping that this 30 days will see Cassidy gaining some weight.  I’m also hoping all the good fats and warm foods will help the kids’ hands to be a little warmer.  They tend to have cold hands and that’s always bugged me.  I feel like they should have warm hands, because it seems if their hands are cold, they must be cold.

Scott

We’ve been trying Scott on properly soaked oatmeal this week and thus far that seems to be going well. I load our oatmeal down with butter and a bit of coconut oil, which I suspect probably helps. I’m also trying to make sure he gets plenty of good snacks to help him stay away from the carbohydrate-full snacks, we’ll have to see how content that keeps him, or if he’d prefer me to stock his normal snacky stuff (chips and salsa… which I’d like to make for him once I can get some corn!)

Trying New Things

We tried kombucha for the first time last night and it was pretty good. Definitely fizzy. I may try making it here at some point. It seems like it might be a nice refreshing drink in the summer. Since I haven’t had soda in years the “fizzy” feeling isn’t something I miss or long for. But kombucha is a nice probiotic drink and I can see benefits to having it around, especially when it’s hot. Which it isn’t at all right now :p

A Couple More Tips

So thus far my major challenges are in planning/executing traditional meals because there is extra preparation involved.  I’ve already found the beans in the crockpot idea, and making a huge salad to last through three dinners works well.

Another thing I’ve found is I can usually steam a veggie over something I’m already cooking – last night I steamed over the red potatoes I was boiling.  Tonight I steamed over the beef stock I have going on the back burner.  It’s easy to pop the food in a steamer basket and set it over the pot.  I successfully avoided microwave steaming because of this! I’ve also found I can place a double-boiler pan over a pot that’s already cooking to melt butter for a sauce if I need to.

Thoughts for the Coming Days

Next week I’m hoping to get a raw meat dish in at least for a snack for the kids and I (not sure how keen on the raw dishes Scott is yet).  I’d also like to finally get around to sprouting some nuts.  I’ll continue to work on streamlining my kitchen time and hopefully will continue to see cheerful dispositions and full bellies with the children!

I’m also hoping to see that I stay regular in bathroom endeavors :p And that Galen of course continues to grow and remains the relatively laid-back little fellow that he is. Feeling a bit less fatigue would also be great – though I’m not sure I’m going to get that because I think being a homeschooling mother of four, running a business, and being wife to one great hubby kinda means I’m going to be tired some of the time!

The hour is upon us… today is the start of our 30 day food challenge.  We’re taking 30 days to follow the principles of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) and the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF).  Everything I prepare will be based on the principles of eating healthy traditional cultures had.  And foods I’m buying will be either from the “Best” or the “Good” category in the WAPF 2009 shopping guide.

The only exception I can think of will be Scott’s daily coffee because I’m not going to ask him to give that up.  I’m also not holding Scott to it because he’s a grown man and can decide what he wants to eat for himself – but at home he’ll be getting my cooking and I’ve been working hard to send good snacks with him to work.

I’ll be blogging throughout the trial to report how I’m feeling, and how I’m managing a traditional foods lifestyle with a family of six.  Traditional foods take more planning and preparation than processed foods from the market so it’s a little overwhelming to think of not taking any “shortcuts.”

I’m going into the challenge slightly bummed because I like making enchiladas once a week or so, but we can’t use store-bought tortillas during the trial.  I’ve been planning to make some but our source of whole corn is sold out   So no properly soaked tortillas until I find a source of non-GMO whole kernel corn.

My major goal for the challenge is to get myself into the habit of properly preparing grains – and to learn how to manage traditional foods with a large family to care for, homeschooling, and running a business.  I’m also hoping to work on eating more seasonal foods and, of course, avoid most canned products (tomato products are going to be an exception to the canned stuff avoidance).

I hope this eating style will also make good nourishing breastmilk for Galen and that it’ll put a little meat on Cassidy’s bones!

Ok… onto this week’s menu plan, and I’ll update how things go!

Monday: B -Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal (we are going to have Scott try soaked oatmeal this week), beet kvass “shot”

L - Coconut fish soup, kraut

S - Balsamic carrot salad, Coconut chicken soup, Sweet potato “coins,” Liver with onions and mushrooms.

To-do – Soak kidney beans, soak oatmeal, soft-boil eggs, crockpot chicken, start chicken stock, boil white beans + transfer  small crockpot for overnight cooking.

Tuesday: B - Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - White Bean Chicken Chili soup (chicken from the crockpot chicken yesterday), kraut

S - High enzyme salad, Egg soup, Red potatoes + butter, spinach + butter, Shredded chicken (served with poulet au porto sauce, chicken meat from our crockpot chicken yesterday)

To-do – soak rice, boil kidney beans and transfer to crockpot to cook, soak oatmeal

Wednesday: B – Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - Beans and rice Jamaican style, Simple soup (whatever soup takes my fancy that meal), kimchi

S - Caesar salad, Simple soup, kraut, steamed winter squash (w/ butter and nutmeg), rice, Hearty Hamburger and Heman sauce (I love this recipe lol!)

To-do – start beef stock (morning) soak oatmeal, soak nuts, start fermented sweet potatoes, soak rice

Thursday: B - Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - Beef stew, kraut

S - High enzyme salad, French onion soup, Baked beans, rice, kraut

To-do – soak oatmeal, soak rice, roast nuts

Friday: B - Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - Pate, fermented sweet potato, steamed squash (w/ butter and nutmeg!), kimchi

S - Ceasar salad, Roman egg soup, kraut, broccoli w/ hollandaise, spaghetti sauce, rice (yes we eat our spaghetti sauce over rice…in a gluten free family you learn to like strange things)

To-do – Soak lentils, soak rice, try Bacon, Egg, and Cheese muffin recipe (a GF recipe!)

Saturday: B - Scott makes breakfast

L- Omelettes, Simple soup, kraut, baked beets

S - Simple salad (in otherwords, one I throw together) and dressing, Korean beef soup, kraut, Lentil loaf

To-do – start beets early AM!, soak black beans, go to to farm store

Sunday: B - Scott makes breakfast

L – Black bean soup, kimchi

S - High Enzyme salad, Simple soup, kraut, steamed squash (w/ butter and nutmeg), Roast chicken and potatoes

To-do – start black beans early AM, soak oatmeal, start fish stock, sprout seeds, start kraut, soak white beans, grind beef for breakfasts

Snack Choices:

We have milk with every snack, and I add extra cream to the milk several times a week.

whole milk yogurt, raw milk cheese (spread with butter for me and kids), crispy nuts, soft boiled eggs, avocado, pate, marrow and cheese, bacon egg and cheese muffins (new recipe we’re trying this week!)

Visit the Organizing Junkie for more meal plan ideas

More on eating well! During pregnancy (and lactation and preconception) you need to be eating a really nutrient-dense diet. Children also need lots of nutrition packed into all their meals – in fact, there’s not much room for empty calories.

So even if you’re not dieting (don’t diet when you’re pregnant or nursing an infant!) low-carb can help you make sure you aren’t filling up on carbs that aren’t nourishing you – or your kids.

Enter my Real Food Wednesday snack today: Braised Marrow on Raw Milk Cheese.

Marrow is a very nutrient dense food that is happily regaining popularity stateside.  In the UK it’s often eaten just spread on toast.  I decided to braise ours for a little more flavor.

It turned out well – yum!

You need:

• Bone Marrow (I used thin cut slices of beef marrow because these are a good size for the kids; they’re cut about the size of scallops.  You could also use 3-inch pieces of marrow and serve the cheese on the side)
• Salted Water (optional)
• Coconut flour
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  
• Braising fat (I used tallow, I think next time I’ll use coconut oil, or a coconut oil/butter mix)
• Raw milk cheese, sliced (about 1oz slices are perfect for pregnancy, slightly thinner for kids)

1. Pop marrow out of bones.  Reserve bones for stock-making!

2. Soak the marrow in salt water to draw out most of the blood, if so desired.  I skipped this step but you may want to.

3. Dry marrow well.  Mix flour, salt, and pepper.  A few tablespoons of flour will be good unless you’re doing a lot.  Roll marrow segments until completely coated.

4. Heat your fat.  I did mine on medium and next time I will probably do just below medium heat.  Braise marrow segments until coating is crispy and lightly browned.

5.  Place one marrow segment on each cheese slice.  Spread if desired – my kids wanted theirs spread.  I just ate mine as braised

This snack was a hit with the kiddos, which is good since it’s very good for them!

Mine came out a little more browned than I would have liked but they were still tasty. This recipe could also be done without the breading, or with the marrow dipped in a little buttermilk and then breaded lightly. It’s very nice to bite into the soft warm marrow and the taste goes along well with the tangy raw milk cheese! I served up milk with our snack as well.

A good variation that is not low-carb is to serve on a lightly toasted soaked grain bread. A strong flavored sourdough or rye would be best!

Visit Kelly the Kitchen Kop for more low-carb recipes from this Real Food Wednesday!

A parting picture of Galen (10 weeks now!), who made this post possible by snoozing through the entire process

Breastfeeding mother saves lives!

There are many, many benefits to breastfeeding – and there are some you would never think of.

You can also read Christine’s story to learn how breastfeeding saved her baby during a disaster situation.

And I wrote and article on preparing for an emergency while pregnant or breastfeeding that you may want to read.