If you are currently pregnant or recently postnatal, taking a moment to think about nutrition and how to make sure you are best equipped with as much energy as possible to cope with the delivery, the initial recovery post delivery and then looking after a little new one should be one of your top priorities. Doing this will really help with your recovery, it will help a diastasis recti and c-section recovery and ensure your moods are more levelled when you are sleep deprived.

Here are some ideas to help you make better decisions when out and about, and of course being prepared is the best way to avoid grabbing the first thing that you can to satisfy your sugar craving.

1. Plan ahead your week if possible and buy your food online. Firstly this will make it less stressful when taking baby to the shops plus stop you buying unwanted foods that you are trying to avoid that may stare at your from the shelf! If you don’t have them at home you won’t want to snack on them!
2. Start your day with a high protein breakfast or smoothie (very easy to do and make the night before if you are time pressured in the mornings) or eggs and smoked salmon on rye bread. If you want to omit the bread you can always add half an avocado and a few oat cakes.
3. Swap fruit juices for water or try and mix half fruit juice with half water to reduce the sugar content.
4. Dried fruits and nuts are a great protein source that together will reduce your need for a chocolate bar. Very easy to keep a stash in your handbag.
5. Try making foods in advance and freeze them such as flapjacks and raw date balls. Then you have a snack to grab and go or keep in your bag when you are out and about.
6. Plan a week of meals in advance, snacks desserts and drinks included.
7. Indulge every so often – When you do go and meet your mummy friends in a café, try avoid sugar loaded foods but if you are planning it into your week maybe have it as a treat day and indulge yourself. You are allowed to! As long as it’s not every day if your goal is to get your body back to pre-baby state and feel good about yourself!
8. Drink herbal teas as often as you can as this does not get an association with having a piece of cake (in general), whereas a coffee and cake go quite nicely together, so changing your drink choice can help to reduce the need and want for unwanted sugar and calories.
9. Having snacks prepared for you in your bag when you are out and about can also reduce the quick fix of buying the first chocolate or cake you see and eating it whilst walking. You won’t even remember you ate it when eating on the move.
10. Eat regularly – during the early months your body will be using every ounce of energy to help you recover from delivery, create milk, provide for your baby and just survive, eating regularly will help to keep your emotions and mood level, and keep energy levels balanced.

FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF!!

This lovely recipe was brought to you by a lovely colleague of mine who specialises in Nutrition for pregnancy and post natal recovery. She has shared with me a few recipes. Try and plan your week of food so you avoid the sugar highs and lows, starting with a breakfast of soaked oats overnight is a great way to start the day and beat the tiredness of feeding and being up through the night! Get organised and put these onto your next shopping list.

find after having a baby that using a slow cooker is a great way to make healthy, nutritious and tasty meals quickly and easily. The beauty of a slow cooker, is that you can make the food at any time during the morning even up until the early afternoon and have it ready in time for dinner. I often find it easier to find time to cook in the morning than in the evening when everyone is tired and babies are often unsettled. The following are two of my favourite slow cooker recipes. Both are full of protein and antioxidants which are crucial in the healing process post birth. The chili con carne and the beef Thai green curry are also an excellent source of iron, a nutrient which new mothers can often be low in after birth. 

Slow cooked Thai green curry with salmon/ chicken/ beef/ tofu (whatever takes your fancy)

Simply add the following ingredients to your slow cooker, stir, turn your slow cooker on to high and leave for 4-5 hours. 

Ingredients
1 x tin coconut milk

1 x sachet /3 tablespoons of thai green curry paste (the jar/ sachet will give directions for how much to use). I find the best curry pastes are those where water is not the first ingredient.

3 x skinless, boneless salmon fillets cut into bitesize pieces (or 3 x chicken breasts/ beef steaks/ a packet of tofu)

1 x sweet potato chopped into bitesize pieces

1 x tin of chickpeas (drained)

1 x fresh pineapple (chopped) (tinned pineapple also works well and saves time)

1 x green bell pepper (chopped)

2 x cloves of garlic (minced)

1 x onion

½ tsp crushed chili pieces

Serve with rice

By Katharina Howard, Health Focus Nutrition.

This lovely recipe was brought to you by a lovely colleague of mine who specialises in Nutrition for pregnancy and post natal recovery. She has shared with me a few recipes. Try and plan your week of food so you avoid the sugar highs and lows, starting with a breakfast of soaked oats overnight is a great way to start the day and beat the tiredness of feeding and being up through the night! Get organised and put these onto your next shopping list.

Chili-con-carne

Simply add the following ingredients to your slow cooker, stir, turn your slow cooker on to high and leave for 4-5 hours. 

Ingredients

1 x packet of beef mince

2 x onions (chopped)

4 x cloves of garlic (minced)

2 x teaspoon ground cumin 

2 x teaspoons all-spice

1 x teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 x teaspoon dried chili flakes (add more or less as needed to suit taste)

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

2 x tablespoons of tomato ketchup

3 x tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 x tablespoon sugar (any kind)

1 x 400g tin of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 x teaspoon of cocoa powder 

Serve with rice, sour cream and grated cheese

It is also easy to make a vegetarian version of this chili by adding your choice of tinned beans in place of the mince. 

Thank you to Katharina Howard from Health Focus for providing the nutritional support for my clients.

This lovely recipe was brought to you by a lovely colleague of mine who specialises in Nutrition for pregnancy and post natal recovery. She has shared with me a few recipes. Try and plan your week of food so you avoid the sugar highs and lows, starting with a breakfast of soaked oats overnight is a great way to start the day and beat the tiredness of feeding and being up through the night! Get organised and put these onto your next shopping list.

Breakfasts

Overnight oats: 

40g porridge oats

200g natural yogurt

Mixed blueberries, strawberries and raspberries

Method:

You can use a jar (a Kilner jar is great, mug or bowl)

Make layers of porridge oats, natural yogurt and berries

Cover and place in the fridge overnight

The oats will absorb the yogurt and some juice from the berries.

In the morning take out of fridge, stir and enjoy!

This is such a versatile recipe as you can add any fruit you like. Grated apple/ pear and a sprinkle of cinnamon make a great alternative to berries. 

The protein in the yogurt and oats and the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in the fruit are great for helping with the healing process, the calcium in the yogurt is great for keeping your calcium levels up if you are breastfeeding and the fibre in the oats helps keep everything regular in the bowl department. 

Do you find you are feeling groggy some days? Do you feel as though you have heavy legs even when you have not done any training? Do you wake up and feel as though you need another nights sleep?

Well if this is the case, why not try a few of these tips and see if they make a difference.

1. Devices

Turn off all devices and leave them in another room or hallway. Stop using devices an hour before bed.

2. Breathe

Breathing helps to massage the vagus nerve which has proven to stimulate the parasympathetic system. Practice some mindfulness and take 5 -10mins to focus on your breathing.

3. Hydrate

Often we can feel groggy when we are dehydrated and this can affect our brain clarity. Try and drink a glass of water before your tea and coffee in the morning and again after every caffeinated drink during the day. Try and replace caffeine drinks during the day with herbal teas.

4. High protein

Start the day with a high protein breakfast. Studies show it can maintain blood sugar levels which will reduce cravings. Try eggs and avocado on rye bread, oats and greek yoghurt topped with blueberries.

5. Reduce portions

Reduce the size of your evening meal and try and not eat too late into the evening.

If you are not feeling your best perhaps changing a few habits can help to make you feel more energised in the morning. You don’t have to change everything at once as that can be a challenge but perhaps one or two things can make a big impact on how you are feeling.