In maternity hospitals in our country, there is a practice that the first days after giving birth, a woman is not allowed to eat practically anything, and relatives can only give the woman in labor a rather meager set of products: tea leaves, condensed milk, cookies. And a number of quite natural questions arise that we will deal with.
Which cookies are best for nursing mothers? And is it worth using it at all? When feeding a baby, many women are afraid to include certain foods in their menu. Their concerns are understandable. After all, various substances present in the mother’s diet can be transferred to the baby through milk. How the baby’s body will react to them cannot be predicted for sure. Someone eats regular food with almost no exceptions, and this does not affect the child in any way. Other women only have to try a piece of new food and the baby immediately reacts to it.
For a nursing mother, types of cookies with minimal amounts of food additives are suitable: lean, biscuit, oatmeal. You can even try special flour products for baby food. Confectionery crackers, bagels, dryers are also a good option. When making cookies, flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, various food additives, as well as cocoa, honey, jams and other ingredients are used. Many of these foods can cause allergies in an infant. Therefore, it is important not to cause harm, especially at the initial stage of breastfeeding.
Cookies should be introduced into the diet of a nursing mother consistently. First, eat one serving of baked goods and observe your baby’s reaction throughout the day. If something bothers your child (constipation, skin rashes, etc.), then stop eating this product for a while. If your response is good, you can gradually increase the amount of cookies. But at first, continue to monitor the baby. Over time, you will be able to try other types of baking.
What cookies can you eat during lactation?
The main rule when choosing cookies for breastfeeding is studying the composition. There should be no mention of dyes, flavors or preservatives. Butter, milk and egg white/yolk should be natural and not replaced with powder. Make sure the fat is of animal origin. Palm oil and margarine belong to the group of allergens. If you see three numbers after the letter “E”, this product should be left on the supermarket shelf.
Hypoallergenic types of baked goods include biscuits (“Maria”, “Napoleon”), unsweetened and unsalted crackers, and dry breads. Gingerbread is prohibited due to its high sugar and fat content. However, if you have a recipe for homemade low-calorie gingerbread, you can treat yourself and your loved ones. When buying these types of cookies in stores, examine the composition. Even Maria may contain prohibited substances. You can eat oatmeal cookies if you are sure that they do not contain dangerous ingredients.
Which cookies should a nursing mother choose?
Commercially available cookies contain harmful substances in abundance: palm oil, dyes, preservatives, flavorings, thickeners. It is better to abstain from such products throughout the entire period of breastfeeding. You should carefully study the composition of baked goods before purchasing. In the first month after giving birth, it is recommended to limit yourself to cookies that contain a minimum of flour and sugar, without chocolate and other additives and fillers. The ingredients must be natural and not replaced with powder. Oil is of animal origin (butter, not margarine), if vegetable, then sunflower, not palm.
Cookies are divided into biscuits, sugar, long, butter and crackers. Biscuits (Pokhod, Arctic, Sports), which consist of flour with the addition of yeast, baking powder, salt, and sugar, are considered safe for breastfeeding In small quantities it is acceptable in the diet of a young mother in the absence of negative reactions in the child. Cracker cookies differ from biscuits in their higher fat content; caraway seeds, poppy seeds and other ingredients are usually added to them. It should be introduced into the diet no earlier than the baby turns 3 months old. Salty crackers disrupt water metabolism and increase thirst, so it is not recommended to abuse them.
Sugar cookies - For tea, Cornflower, Yubileynoe - contain a lot of sugar and fat, first-grade flour is sometimes added to the recipe - Chess, Rucheyok. You should also not rush to introduce it into your diet.
Hard cookies have less sugar and fat. It comes both from premium flour - Maria, Zoological, Children's, Shkolnoye, and with the addition of first grade flour - Sport, Croquet. Pediatricians often recommend it to young mothers. However, a familiar name does not always guarantee high quality. Nowadays, even in simple cookies known since Soviet times, manufacturers often add vegetable fat, taste improvers and other harmful substances.
When making butter cookies, butter is used (Leaves, Butter), and sometimes nuts are added (Nut and others). True, in the cookies presented on modern shelves, vegetable oil is often used instead of butter to reduce the cost of the product. As for coconut cookies, their harm and benefits depend on other ingredients in the composition. Coconut itself rarely causes allergies.
Long-lasting cookies are a wonderful choice for a nursing mother
Remember: people react to foods differently: what suits one person may not be suitable for another. It is worth taking a closer look at hypoallergenic liver and options for baby food (for example, Malyshok) . However, unscrupulous manufacturers often add harmful ingredients there too. The inscription “No flavors or colors” does not automatically mean the absence of, for example, palm oil. Such inscriptions do not guarantee safety. You should take them as a marketing ploy, and be sure to check the ingredients of the products.
Let's talk separately about oatmeal cookies, which contain oatmeal instead of wheat flour. It contains a lot of fiber, which promotes better digestion of food, as well as a variety of vitamins and microelements. When choosing oatmeal cookies, pay attention to the amount of sugar in the composition - it is better if it is not in the first place in the list of ingredients. And, of course, look for one that does not contain substitute products or other harmful substances.
Read more about oatmeal cookies in the article - Oatmeal cookies during breastfeeding - a sweetness that is healthy.
Be sure to study the cookie packaging! Choose the one that indicates the composition, date of manufacture, and expiration date. When buying a product without packaging on the market, you risk being deceived. Consider the following recommendations:
- Look for the most natural product possible, without food additives, flavors, palm oil, soy protein and other harmful substances. The less space the ingredient list takes up on the label, the better.
- A high-quality product should not be too brittle, dry, damp, uneven in color or with unmixed pieces.
- Choose cookies that contain less sugar.
- Avoid cookies with fillings, especially chocolate ones.
How to introduce cookies into the diet
Cookies for nursing mothers should be introduced into the diet gradually; it is better to do this 2 months after birth. A morning dose will allow you to immediately notice changes in your baby’s well-being. If you don't notice any problems within 3 days, you can increase the portion and try new types of treats.
To make your choice, learn more about each type of cookie.
"Maria". Ideally, these cookies contain only 5 ingredients. This is premium wheat flour, water, salt, sugar and a little yeast. Hypoallergenicity and a minimal amount of calories are the main advantages of this product. Galette cookies can be eaten by people with gastrointestinal problems, pregnant girls and young mothers while breastfeeding. However, if other ingredients are found in store-bought Maria cookies, it is better to avoid them.
Oat cookies. The main advantage over other types of baking is the use of oat flour rather than wheat. Oatmeal is not a simple, but a complex carbohydrate that is not dangerous during breastfeeding. The composition of a store-bought product includes harmful fats, stabilizers and other unhealthy ingredients. However, the home recipe excludes the content of dangerous components.
Gingerbread. The product contains only natural ingredients. The downside is the high content of easily digestible carbohydrates. In addition, modern confectionery enterprises often sin by adding flavorings and stabilizers. It’s better to find a recipe and cook gingerbread at home, reducing the amount of sugar and fat.
If you don’t trust confectioners, but can no longer live without sweets, we offer you cookie recipes that will not harm your baby’s health. What kind of treat to prepare is up to you.
Selection and storage?
If you want to eat cookies in the first month after giving birth, you should consult with your pediatrician about what you can eat and what is best to choose for the baby’s safety.
The choice of cookies should be approached with special attention. The following are considered the safest:
- oatmeal;
- biscuits;
- sand;
- corn cookies.
When purchasing, you should carefully study the composition of the cookies. Content not allowed:
- food additives class "E";
- dyes;
- preservatives;
- flavorings;
- various spices (for example, cinnamon);
- various types of fillers and additives (for example, sesame, poppy seeds, coconut flakes, chocolate, etc.).
Important! It is recommended to store cookies in glass or plastic containers with hermetically sealed lids.
Oatmeal cookies while breastfeeding?
Oatmeal cookies are one of those products that do not cause colic in a baby, and it also does not cause any allergic reactions. Therefore, judging by the above, nursing mothers can and even should safely include these cookies in their diet during this period.
This tasty delicacy is made from oat flour, which, unlike rye and wheat flour, is considered the most beneficial in its properties. But at the same time, all the beneficial qualities of this product can be enjoyed only if it is prepared at home, and not purchased in some supermarket.
Confectionery manufacturers use fats and margarine in their composition, and it is this margarine and fat of unknown expiration date and, moreover, the manufacturer’s company and can cause an allergic reaction or colic in a newborn.
Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
This recipe requires hypoallergenic ingredients, a minimal amount of fat and sugar. You can use rye flour, but the baked goods will be less tender. Total cooking time – 1 hour.
Ingredients:
- rye flour – 1 cup;
- oatmeal – 1 cup;
- butter – 100 g;
- sugar – ½ cup;
- honey – 1 tbsp;
- egg – 1 pc.;
- salt – ¼ tsp;
- soda - on the tip of a knife.
Warm the butter to room temperature. Cream soft butter, sugar and honey in a bowl. Beat in a chicken egg, add salt, soda and mix thoroughly. Gradually add flour. When you have a thick, even dough, wrap in more cling film or place in a bag and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Turn on the oven in advance, heat it to a temperature of 150-160 °C. Grease a baking sheet with oil (or better yet, use parchment paper). Form cookies of the desired size, place on a baking sheet at a distance of 2 cm. Baking time - 30 minutes.
Making your own cookies and waffles
Try making your own cookies and waffles. We offer simple recipes that will not require much time, but will delight you with the excellent taste and quality of the baked goods.
Galette cookies
Ingredients:
- 200 grams of wheat flour,
- 10 milliliters of milk and vegetable oil,
- 1 teaspoon baking powder,
- 15 grams of sugar,
- 1 egg.
Preparation:
- Mix flour with baking powder.
- Beat the egg, mix with milk and vegetable oil, then with flour.
- Leave the dough in the refrigerator for an hour, then roll it out into a layer 0.5 centimeters thick, cut out cookies using special molds or a glass.
- Place on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for 20 minutes.
Homemade biscuits are an excellent choice for a nursing mother
Homemade cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs,
- 250 grams of butter,
- 1 cup of sugar,
- 1 teaspoon baking powder,
- 3 cups flour.
Preparation:
- Grind the eggs with sugar, add softened butter, mix.
- Gradually add flour, kneading a stiff dough.
- Pass the finished dough through a meat grinder, placing the flagella on a greased baking sheet in the form of cookies.
- Bake in the oven until golden brown.
Oat cookies
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups of oatmeal and wheat flour,
- half a stick of butter,
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of sugar,
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder,
- a pinch of salt.
Preparation:
- Mix flour with oatmeal and baking powder.
- Grind the eggs with sugar, add softened butter and salt.
- Mix everything and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
- Roll out the dough no more than a centimeter thick, cut out circles with a glass.
- Bake in the oven at 180°C for 15–20 minutes.
Homemade oatmeal cookies - a tasty and healthy treat
Kefir waffles
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs,
- 100 grams of sugar,
- 1 glass each of kefir and flour,
- vegetable oil for greasing the waffle iron.
Preparation:
- Beat eggs with sugar, add kefir and flour.
- Mix the dough thoroughly.
- Place 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture into a waffle iron greased with vegetable oil.
- Bake until golden brown.
Breastfeeding your baby is not a reason to give up sweets. Eat a varied diet and occasionally indulge in tasty treats. Allow yourself to enjoy cookies and waffles, which will replenish your energy levels and improve your mood. However, do not consume these products in large quantities, choose those that contain natural ingredients. And if it’s difficult to find these in the store, prepare them yourself. Do not turn motherhood into a feat by building a wall of strict prohibitions for yourself. Enjoy every day spent next to your beloved baby!
Galette cookies on GW
An ideal option for a nursing mother is biscuits. In its production, no baked goods are used: butter, eggs, milk and other high-calorie ingredients. Or they are included in the composition in minimal quantities. The dough is kneaded mainly with water. Such a confectionery product can be considered a dietary product.
Galette cookies are unlikely to cause allergies in an infant. There are a wide variety of baked goods of this variety on sale. Usually these are light, hard cookies with characteristic holes on the surface. The dough is dryish, crispy, slightly sweet. In stores you can find such products under the names “Lenten”, “Prolonged”, “Maria” and others, as well as “Biscuits with bran”.
This type of cookie is recommended for children, as well as people on a diet. It has a long shelf life, from six months to one or two years. This confectionery product can be plain (low in various oils) or richer.
Homemade cookies "Maria"
Maria cookies are familiar to everyone since childhood. His recipe is so simple that even an inexperienced housewife can handle it. This is an excellent option for pregnant girls and young mothers when breastfeeding.
Ingredients:
- wheat flour – 200 g;
- egg – 1 pc.;
- olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
- sugar – 40 g;
- milk – 1 tbsp. l.;
- soda - on the tip of a knife.
Mix sugar with a whisk with a chicken egg. Add butter and milk. If you don't have olive oil, you can use sunflower oil. Add flour little by little to the liquid mixture. Add a pinch of soda (no need to extinguish). Knead a dense dough without lumps. The consistency should be like dumpling dough. Separate a small piece from the dough and roll it out on the table with a rolling pin. The thickness of the rolled sheet should be 1-2 mm, then the cookies will come out crispy. For aesthetics, squeeze out the cookies using special molds. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Baking time – 5-7 minutes.
With your own hands with love
The world of a mother during breastfeeding is amazing: literally every new day holds so many discoveries! And in such an endless stream of events and worries, sometimes there is not much time left for cooking. But if your baby has fallen asleep or has been dutifully handed over to another family member, you have the great luxury of a few hours (depending on your luck) of free time.
If you want to introduce baked goods into your diet or want to pamper yourself and your household with a healthy and tasty treat, then check out the approved cookie recipe. Get a homemade (and therefore natural) analogue of Maria.
You will need:
- 200 g flour;
- egg;
- 40 g sugar;
- 1 tbsp. l. olive oil;
- 1 tbsp. l. milk;
- a pinch of soda.
Cooking technology:
- Mix sugar and egg.
- Add milk and butter to the mixture. In the absence of olive oil, vegetable oil can easily replace it.
- Gradually add flour, then add soda.
- Thus, you should get a dense, uniform dough: the same as for dumplings.
- Roll out layers 1-2 mm thick. and create cookies using cookie cutters.
- The treat will be prepared in just 5-7 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.
The feeding regime allows such simple and tasty cookies.
Store-bought cookies: how to choose?
If you don’t have the opportunity or desire to make cookies yourself, but want something tasty, store-bought oatmeal cookies must be chosen with special care and caution when breastfeeding.
Don't take cookies if they are sprinkled with sugar. Its excess can cause allergic reactions on the baby’s body.
Be sure to choose only a fresh product, remembering the rule: the shorter the shelf life, the higher the quality of the cookies and the minimum of preservatives in them. Staleness will be indicated by dried edges, changes in odor or color.
It is recommended to purchase oatmeal cookies while breastfeeding only in trusted places, where, if desired, you can view all the documents for this product. Buy only in packaging that prevents external influence on the product. It is worth checking its integrity. This is a guarantee that the cookies will retain their freshness and all their beneficial qualities longer.
If the packaging is transparent, consider what shape each cookie has. In a high-quality one, it is loose with small cracks, and the color of the finished product is light brown. Any deviation from the norm will indicate irregularities during production, and it is better to refrain from purchasing such a product.
Homemade cookie recipe Maria
If we take into account the usefulness of cookies, then in this aspect the primacy among the entire variety of products rightfully belongs to Maria biscuits, which are an excellent option for nursing mothers. It contains no dangerous additives and contains the right amounts of calcium. In addition, on the production line there are variations with bran, which are classified as functional food products, this is what Oksana Kazanchuk, director of one of the confectionery factories, says about Maria.
Did you know? In one of the London cafes you can try the very exotic Baby Gaga dessert. This ice cream is made from breast milk, Madagascar vanilla and lemon zest. To obtain the main ingredient, the establishment promises a reward of $15 per 10 ounces for each woman who donates milk.
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Her words are also confirmed by doctors, but at the same time, at the first stages of lactation they are advised to give preference to homemade baked goods. Experienced housewives willingly share proven recipes for delicious desserts. We offer you a classic option.
Inventory and kitchen appliances
To bake Maria yourself you will need:
- kitchen measure for liquids and bulk products (scales are suitable as an alternative);
- tablespoon;
- bowl for kneading dough;
- cookie cutters (can be replaced with a regular glass or used a kitchen knife to cut the dough);
- rolling pin;
- oven, which must be preheated to a temperature of 200 degrees;
- greased baking sheet (vegetable or butter);
- parchment paper for laying on a baking sheet;
- potholder
Ingredients
Homemade biscuits are advantageous not only because of the simplicity of their preparation, but also because the housewife herself can vary each component at her discretion.
Important! If a child has a normal reaction to cookies, the maximum portion should not exceed 4 pieces
.
In a classic recipe, the required components should include:
- wheat flour - 325 g (2.5 faceted glasses or 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons);
- sunflower or olive oil - 60 ml;
- drinking water - 100 g (half a faceted glass);
- granulated sugar - 3 tablespoons;
- vanillin (used when the child is 3 months old);
- a pinch of salt;
- egg (and if the child reacts painfully to such components, you can not take it, or use only the white).
Over time, the composition of homemade cookies can be enriched with pieces of dried fruit, homemade jam, nuts, flax seeds or fennel. But don’t rush to mix everything overnight. Each new product should be introduced into the diet of a nursing mother gradually.
Buy or bake yourself?
Store-bought cookies, no matter how lean they are, have one or another not very healthy additive. Even in biscuits, in addition to flour and water, baking powder or vanillin may be present. Therefore, you won’t find better homemade baked goods. But where will a mother of a baby get free time to bake delicious treats? You can’t do this without the help of your family members.
Unfortunately, not all families have a caring grandmother or eldest daughter nearby who has free time and culinary skills. Therefore, if there is no opportunity to enjoy homemade delicacies, it is better to give up such a product completely during the first 3-4 months of feeding the baby, while the tummy is getting better.
Healthy cookie recipes for nursing mothers
We have already answered the question whether a nursing mother can have oatmeal cookies. It is not only allowed, but also useful, because it contains magnesium, sodium, and beneficial amino acids. Thanks to the content of dietary fiber, metabolic processes in the body are improved. Oatmeal cookies use wholemeal flour, which is why they are recommended for use during breastfeeding.
However, it is best to avoid store-bought baked goods, because homemade is much tastier and healthier! Try our oatmeal cookie recipes for nursing mothers.
Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
- flour – 250 g,
- cereal - one glass,
- warm water – 100ml,
- honey – 50 g,
- butter – 50 g,
- chicken egg – 1 pc.
- soda - on the tip of a knife,
- salt - to taste.
The recipe for cookies for nursing mothers is very easy to prepare:
- In a bowl, mix sugar, salt and soda.
- Beat softened butter with egg.
- Grind oatmeal and mix with other products.
- Pour in water, add baking powder and knead.
- Roll out the dough into a layer, cut out any shapes with a mold.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Oatmeal cookies with cottage cheese
Is it possible to supplement oatmeal cookies with an ingredient such as cottage cheese? If the cottage cheese is fresh and low in fat, then adding it will only improve the taste of the baked goods and its benefits. Try this recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp. l. Sahara,
- oatmeal – 2/3 cup,
- baking powder – 1 tsp,
- cottage cheese – 1 pack.
Preparation:
- Mix sugar, vanillin and cottage cheese.
- Add beaten eggs, mix everything thoroughly.
- Add flour and knead into a thick dough.
- Spoon the dough onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Galette cookies
Galette cookies during breastfeeding are the safest dessert option that will not harm the health of mother and baby.
Preparation:
- Combine sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp. sunflower oil. Pour in hot water (about 0.3 cups).
- Add sifted flour -150 g.
- Knead a soft dough, wrap in film and leave in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough, fold it into several layers and roll it out again,
- Cut out circles and pierce them in several places with a fork.
- Bake in a hot oven for half an hour.
Strict diets and all kinds of restrictions cause a young mother to crave sweets and want to eat something unhealthy. Do not forget that the diet is a temporary restriction, only for the period of breastfeeding. Of course, every mother understands that these sacrifices can be made for the sake of the baby’s health. And after the breastfeeding period, you will be able to enjoy baked goods, naturally within reasonable limits.