Posted by kathryn in Kid's nutrition, Protein and Q & A Thursday

Following up on my last post about protein, I now want to get down to the specifics of Keltie’s question – how do you get enough protein when breastfeeding?

Do you need more protein when breastfeeding?

When you’re breastfeeding you do need more protein. Your diet is not only providing your own nutrition, but you’re also making milk to satisty your baby’s nutritional needs. At this time you need 1.1g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Therefore a 60kg woman who was breastfeeding would need 66g of protein each day (compared to 49g if you’re not breastfeeding).

How to get enough protein when you’re a vegetarian

The most important thing to remember when you’re a vegetarian is to eat a variety of protein sources. You can’t just rely on lentils or tofu to fulfill your protein needs, but instead need to mix it up. Over the course of a day you should be aiming for at least three different types of protein foods. For example:

Breakfast:

• cereal with milk, a spoonful of yoghurt and a sprinkle of seeds (grains, dairy and seeds)
• baked beans on toast (legumes and grains)
• egg on toast with grilled tomatoes (eggs and grains)
• wholegrain toast with nut butter (grains and nuts)
• porridge with yoghurt (grains and dairy)

Lunch:

• falafel wrap with salad (grains and legumes)
• lentil soup and a wholemeal roll (grains and legumes)
• cheese and salad sandwich (dairy and grains)
• tofu and noodles (legumes and grains)
• salad with nuts and bean mix (legumes and nuts)

Dinner:

• pasta with tomato&ricotta sauce (grains and dairy)
• dal and rice (legumes and grains)
• stir-fry with tofu, cashews and rice (legumes, nuts and grains)
• chilli beans with tacos or tortillas (beans and grains)
• lentil and barley soup (legumes and grains)

To sum up

To make sure you’re getting enough protein while breastfeeding, you need to have one or two sources per meal and vary the types of protein during the day. If you do this, you’re almost certainly having enough protein. A standard day might look like this:

Breakfast:

• 0.5 cups untoasted muesli (5g protein)
• 0.5 cups milk (6g)
• 2 tablespoons mixed nuts and seeds (5g)
• Total = 16g protein

Lunch:

• 1 cheese&salad sandwich (14g)
• piece of fruit (none)
• Total = 14g protein

Dinner:

• 1 cup beans (12g)
• 1 cup cooked rice (4g)
• 2 cups of vegies (4g)
• Total = 20g protein

Snacks:

• 15 almonds&piece of fruit (3g)
• carton of yoghurt (11g)
• Total = 14g protein
• Total for the day = 64g protein

28 June, 2007