Rice Breakfast Porridge

We have a newborn baby in the house now and that means that our meals have changed a little. A few weeks ago our sweet new baby girl, Camille Rose Malterre, arrived peacefully in our home by candlelight.....a successful VBAC at home! Our children were all there to witness her birth, though we couldn't really wake our 3-year old twin boys to be fully present. I put myself on a mildly restrictive breastfeeding elimination diet once she was born to help ease the transition into life outside the womb.

Newborn babies have such delicate digestive systems up until around three months of age. Compounds in certain foods can cause fussiness and crying, excess gas, and even skin rashes in the breastfeeding baby. Luckily it is really simple to just remove the most common offending foods from your diet at birth or before to keep baby calm and happy. I actually removed any dairy I was eating a few weeks before she was born as it can take up to a month for dairy to clear your system. Dairy, specifically the casein protein, is often the cause of a lot of digestive and skin issues in newborns. Our sweet baby girl has been sleeping through the night since she was a few days old and is a very peaceful, happy baby.....just like our first daughter, Lily. She has had a few bouts of fussiness, you know the kind where they are really uncomfortable and want to nurse and then cry and then nurse and then cry and so on. I realized those were the days that I had eaten citrus. Testing it one more time to make sure, we found that this is the one food that I simply cannot eat. I have not tested them all, such as dairy, cruciferous vegetables, or raw garlic, and in fact, I would suggest not testing these three foods for many months. I can eat cooked onions, a little cooked garlic, and tomatoes....oh we have been enjoying tomatoes in all sorts of recipes lately, thank goodness!

Baby Camille, 3 weeks, with big sister Grace

I did a great post a year or so ago on Nourishing the New Mom with a list of foods to eat and not to eat in the postpartum period. You can refer to that for more information. Below is a short list on the most common foods breastfeeding babies can react to. I would suggest to avoid them all at the time of birth and then if you are feeling up for it, slowly challenge each food in every 4 days, similar to our Elimination Diet. Please note that some babies require mom to go on a much stricter elimination diet, usually eliminating most foods and sticking with only with rice, millet, quinoa, chicken, turkey, yams, squash, salad greens, olive oil, and sea salt for 2 weeks and then slowly adding back in foods like nuts and seeds, other mild fruits and vegetables, and lastly, those listed below to determine the source of baby's upset.

Foods that most often cause issues in the breastfeeding baby:

• dairy (including goat and sheep)
• eggs
• raw onions and garlic (sometimes cooked can also aggravate babies) 
• citrus
• tomatoes
• a lot of acidic fruit
• peanuts/peanut butter
• chocolate
• soy
• wheat/gluten
• beef
• caffeine 

Rice Breakfast Porridge

After all of my babies have been born I have craved rice porridge for breakfast and sometimes even as a bedtime snack. It is easy to digest and easy on baby's newly functioning digestive system. Rice porridge can be made out of any brown rice but our favorite is Brown Jasmine Rice. You can try sweet brown rice, short grain, or even black rice if you desire. I like to top my bowl with a little coconut sugar, ground raw almonds, and lately, fresh nectarines or peaches. We have been buying boxes of fresh, organic fruit every week from Smallwood Farms (delivered to Bellingham once a week). They have the most delicious fruit imaginable, plus we save a lot of money buying it by the case! I have been working to freeze and dehydrate most of it to store for the winter.

2 cups uncooked long grain brown rice
6 to 8 cups water
¼ teaspoon sea salt


Optional Toppings:
ground raw almonds
coconut sugar or maple syrup
cinnamon
frozen blueberries 

diced apples

chopped peaches or nectarines
raisins

Place the rice into a coffee grinder or high-powered blender and grind into a very fine meal, not as fine as flour, but not too coarse either. We use the dry container of our Vita-Mix to grind the rice and then the almonds for the topping.

Place the water into a 3-quart saucepan and heat over medium heat until warm. Pour in the ground rice, whisk together immediately. Turn heat up and bring cereal to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove lid and whisk cereal occasionally, adding more water if necessary depending on desired thickness. Cook for a few more minutes then remove from heat. Cereal will thicken as it cools.

Scoop into serving bowls and top with your favorite toppings. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com

Baby and I in the kitchen of course! 

More Breakfast Ideas:

Teff Banana Pancakes

Strawberry Almond Smoothie

Apple-Cinnamon Quinoa

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Nourishing the New Mom

I have a special place in my heart for this phase of life. This is where it all begins, in utero, and then during those first precious days and weeks spent nursing while gazing into your little miracle.

Making milk is truly amazing. I remember the first sensations of my milk coming in with my firstborn, and then the gulping, eyes rolling back..."punch drunk on mommy's milk" Tom would say.

I didn't know I had it so easy. Lily latched on immediately without a problem, my milk came in so soon, she never cried (until I ate broccoli soup that is).

I was well nourished. My mom was there to care for me and cook for me. My breakfasts arrived on a tray with a flower. Sweet rice cereal, toast with almond butter, sliced fresh fruit in a bowl. Lunches of homemade chicken noodle soup chocked full of kale and dinners of wild salmon, beets, yams, greens, and quinoa were on the menu. These are nourishing, breast milk-promoting foods.

New moms need to be taken care of. They need to feel safe and secure so they can do the most important thing in the world, care for their new baby.

My mom was there for all of my births and then stayed for weeks after my babies arrived, cooking and cleaning everyday. When our twins were born, she added "playing with the girls" to the list.

Rest, water, and good food are the three most important factors to get that milk flowing. There are certain foods that can help promote the flow of breast milk (though most of the evidence is anecdotal). My knowledge comes from my own experience and from the stories of other moms.

There are also foods that can cause problems with the new breastfeeding baby and should be avoided for the first 3 months or so. Below is my list of super breastfeeding foods for the new mom and foods to avoid.

Yesterday we got a call from a friend who just gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl. She had an emergency c-section and needed some help getting her breast milk to come in. It was my time to pay it forward. My friends came to my need for the first 4 months after my twins were born and brought meal after meal after meal (even with a number of food restrictions).

So the girls and I cooked up a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, red lentil soup, brown rice, roasted yams, sesame halibut, a baby green salad with grated raw beets, ginger salad dressing, hummus, and cut raw veggies. Grace and I delivered the food just in time for dinner and were lucky enough to meet the sleepy new baby.

Good foods to nourish a post partum mom:
Plenty of purified water
Wild salmon
Organic chicken and vegetable soup with plenty of fresh herbs
Greens!! Fresh salad greens, dark leafy greens, and green smoothies
Sweet vegetables (yams, squash, carrots, beets)
Raw nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
Raw almond butter
Whole grains (quinoa, amaranth, oats, sweet brown rice, millet, teff)
Organic berries

Sea vegetables
Lentils
Carminative herbs and spices (cumin, cardamom, fenugreek, ginger, mint, fennel seeds)
Raspberry leaf tea (raspberry leaf along with fennel help to contract the uterus)
Nettle tea enriches and increases milk production
Healthy fats (avocado, extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, fresh flax or fish oil)

Foods to avoid during the post partum period (may cause upset in newborn baby):
Dairy products
Citrus fruit, especially juices
Peanuts
Heavily spiced foods
Beef
Raw garlic and onions
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage)

Wheat / Gluten

Refined soy products

Caffeine (coffee, tea, soda)
Chocolate
Prenatal vitamins (the iron may be irritating to baby)

I have included a recipe here that would also be nourishing for a new mom. It is also a great, simple recipe to make on busy days (and because I bet many of you reading this blog are not new moms!). If you have meals or foods that worked for you during this phase of life, please share!

Curried Lentil and Rice Casserole

I initially created this recipe to utilize the fresh turmeric I had on hand, but it also can be made with dried. If you work during the week, then try making this recipe on the weekend to have available for the week. The long baking time may not make this suitable for a quick weeknight meal. I use a stone casserole dish for this recipe. Portions can also be frozen into small containers for future use. Enjoy!

a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh turmeric, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons sea salt

4 carrots, chopped

1 1/2 cups french lentils

1 cup long grain brown rice

5 cups water

1 can coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add ginger, turmeric, spices, and salt. Continue to sauté for another 2 minutes until fragrant.

Place onion-spice mixture into a large casserole dish. Add carrots, lentils, rice, water, and coconut milk. Mix together well. Cover and bake for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, turn oven temp up to 425 degrees F. Remove cover and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes to let excess liquid cook off. Stir and serve!

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