Beetroot palya (sabzi)

Anything with beetroot in it, makes the item delicious, but my personal favorite is this simple palya. For nursing moms, this is a great source of iron too.

Ingredients:
Beetroot-----------2 medium sized

Ghee----1tsp (clarified butter )

Cummin- seeds ------------1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds-------1/4 tsp

Aniseed (sonfh)----1/4 tsp

Mustard- seeds ----------1/4 tsp

Turmeric-powder-------1/4 tsp

Red chillies-------2 whole

Salt to taste

Method:
1.Dice the beetroot and keep aside.
2. Prepare a seasoning of cumin seeds, fenugreek  seeds, aniseed, mustard, turmeric, red chillies in ghee, then add the chopped beetroot and pressure cook
3. Once it cools down add salt and serve with rice or rotis.

Garlic paysa (kheer/porridge)

This is one dish which made my daughter squirm, but the effects were noticeable in no time! This porridge made with garlic pods aids lactation and increasing milk supply in nursing moms. Though it does have an odd taste (its garlic after all!), the milk and rava do make it more palatable than it sounds.

To prepare a serving of the porridge, you will need

Garlic Pods------- 7 to 8
Milk -----------1/2 cup
Semolina/Rava -----2 tbsp
Ghee  --------1tsp
Sugar ------2 tbsp.

Method :
Roast semolina in ghee , then add the garlic pods and fry. Keep aside .
Boil milk and 1/2 cup water in a pan , add sugar and the roasted semolina, garlic pods and cook for 5  to 6 miniutes and serve.

Gond laddoo

A rather delectable snack which many nursing moms look forward to is the Gond laddoo. Its a tasty concoction of dried fruits, jaggery, ghee and edible gum. This is consumed to help improve the recovery and strengthening of the mother's muscles and general health.

Ingredients:
Gond (edible gum )---200gms (this can be purchased in any Ayurvedic store)
Poppy seeds------100gms
Almonds-----------200gms
Resins--------------200gms
cashew-------------100gms
Dates ---------------200gms
Walnut---------------200gms
Figs-----------------200gms
Dry Coconut powder-- 100gms
Jaggery-------------250gms
Ghee------------100gms

Method :-
Cut all the dried fruits into small pieces and keep aside .
Powder the gond coarsely, then fry it in ghee until it puffs up and put in a bowl.
Fry the cut dried fruits in the remaining ghee and put them also in the bowl.
Add poppy seeds and coconut powder to the bowl.

Later prepare jaggery syrup - boil 2 cups of  water in a deep pan, add jaggery to it and boil till it melts and keep boiling until you get a single string consistency (touch the syrup gently with your finger and close with your thumb and then open , you get a thin thread like structure).
Add this syrup to the mixed items and then make small balls by pressing the ingredients in between your palm and fingers, laddoos are ready !

The 40 day diet: Ideal meals and suggestions

There are many theories afloat about diets and their effects on milk supply for nursing moms. Some research shows that the nursing mom's diet has no correlation to any discomfort exhibited by the newborn/infant while some research shows otherwise.  However, this blog is for those who would like to follow age-old practices, based on ancient Ayurvedic principles. The list of meals below is a 40 day diet for new moms followed in Karnataka, a state in Southern India for several centuries, containing recipes that are easy and quite flavorful, while being amply nutritious aiding lactation and the nursing mom's recovery.

Lactation diet should be followed for at least 40 days. Here is a guideline for the diet we normally follow:

Options for breakfast:

Rava Ganji ( semolina porridge )

Pongal (rice with moong dal )

Methi dosa ( fenugreek dosa )

Sajigey ( semolina salt/sweet )

Broken wheat - Upittu/Upma.

Pesaritu-(green gram dosa)
Bread and cereal (if none of the above appeals to the new mom)

1 cup of Coffee (with milk)

Sajjige

Pesarittu

Broken Wheat upma

Options for lunch /dinner:

Menasina saru ( pepper rasam/curry )

Hunse saru  (tamarind rasam/curry )

Kattu saru ( toor dal Plain/curry )

Kootu ( mixed vegetables, coconut and peppered toor dal curry )
Sabzis ( refer the list of ideal vegetables below )
These items are best paired with rice and chutney powders  (om, curry leaves, garlic)

Most effective and nutritious vegetables to be used in the sabzis are below with a few sample recipes:

Doodhi (Bottle gourd )

Sopsige soppu ( dill - greens)

Beetroot

Huralikayi ( Green Beans )

Carrot

Hirekayi ( Ridge gourd )

Chappardavarekayi ( Flat beans )

Dill (sopsige soppu) palya (sabzi)

Carrot palya

Beans (hurlikayi) palya

 Important Note :- Avoid gassy and tuberous vegetables like potatoes, brinjal (egg plant), sweet potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, radish, onions, broccoli, etc.

Exceptions: South Indians always end their meals with curd/yogurt with rice ensuring their GI tracts cool down after consuming the spices in the previous curses. Nursing moms, however, should avoid curds/yogurt for the first 10 days, but consume milk with rice instead. From the 11th day, it is advisable to eat freshly set curds as sour curds can cause severe indigestion. If one does obtain curds which arent sour, feel free to consume it as usual.

Options for a late afternoon snack:

Soups
Poppy seed paysa ( sweet porridge ), gond laddoo

Dry coconut pieces can be relished as snacks whenever hungry (raw groundnuts also serve as tasty sides) which aid lactation. More explanation about their content and method of ingestion is provided in the "A typical daily dietary routine for a new mom" post.

Gond Laddoo

Fruits:
Nursing moms require a healthy serving of fruits too. Though there are no hard and fast restrictions on these, some of the most beneficial ones are

Apple

Pear

Plum

Figs

Sweet orange

Pineapple

Apricots

Pomegranate

Note :- Try and avoid bananas, papayas as they can cause vatha/gas in the body

Ayurvedic medicines/leyha:

Morning: the nursing mother should have 5 gms of shunti leyha ( herbal medicine ) followed by 1 cup of milk first thing she wakes up

Post meals (After lunch and dinner): 2 tsp of Dashamoolarishta mixed with 4 tsp of water, gond ladoo, should be taken everyday.

10 days after delivery: Generally in the traditional way – first 10 days(of course this is left to the individuals to follow) ladies used to follow certain rituals like-

Having rava ganji, coffee in the AM

Only tamarind rasam and peper rasam, tur dal/ green gram dal, milk and rice along with boiled vegetables like bottle gourd, dill greens, carrots etc for their meals.

11th day onwards:
Dry rotis/phulkas (begin 10 days after delivery - this is to ensure the mother's digestive system has regulated enough to digest wheat ). So for the first 10 days the above items can be eaten with white/brown rice.

South Indians always end their meals with curd/yogurt with rice ensuring their GI tracts cool down after consuming the spices in the previous curses. Nursing moms, however, should avoid curds/yogurt for the first 10 days, but consume milk with rice instead. From the 11th day, it is advisable to eat freshly set curds as sour curds can cause severe indigestion.

One of the most effective lactating agents in the vegetarian diet is garlic. Nursing moms can be given garlic paysa/porridge 10 days after delivery. My daughter saw a surge in her milk supply after consuming this dish, so she too can attest to its effectiveness! Fenugreek is also considered to be a useful lactating agents and tablets, tinctures, teas are available to mothers who cannot cook with this useful herb.

A typical daily dietary routine for a new mom

How does one consume the items over the first 40 days? Is there a prescribed regimen which needs to be followed? These are questions frequently asked by nursing moms, so this post is an extension to the guidelines prescribed in the 40 day diet post.

For the first 40 days after delivery, this is a recommended routine for the nursing mother (I'd hate to use the word 'regimen' here because I have seen moms enjoy this routine as it relaxes them, nourishes them and rejuvenates them for the most critical time of the baby's life).

Morning:
Upon rising (from the 11th day onwards), eat 5 gms of an herbal medicine called Sowbhagyavathi Shunti leyha (this is a very effective post-natal leyha for women. It prevents all Vata/gas disorders due to its contents of draksha, rasna, nagara, mishi arka, ghrita, guda, dhanyaka, jeeraka, pippali, vidanga, chitraka) with a glass of sweetened warm milk or milk with turmeric first thing in the morning.

30 minutes later: any of the recommended breakfast items can be eaten. Refer the 40 day diet post

Mid-morning snack:
Moms can eat a piece of dry coconut and a handful of raw groundnuts. These are not only delicious, but extremely helpful in increasing lactation. 
Moms can also eat a fruit or a handful of nuts like almonds, pistachios, walnuts and dry fruits like dates, figs, etc,.

Lunch:
Always eat the first rice meal with a tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) and om kal chutney powder (ajwain) or pepper powder (this aids in beating any gas in the mother's system as well as posseses nutritional properties to soothe the GI tract). Many decades ago, nursing moms were made to eat 1/2 a cup of ghee for each meal, but with all the concerns of weight management in young women, I'd refrain from enforcing that! :-)
Any of the entrees listed can be eaten. Ensure that the mom gets at the least 2 different vegetables each day. One for lunch and another for dinner.

After lunch 2 tsp of herbal medicine - Dashamoolarishta (This is a tonic Agnivardhaka and Panchaka claimed to be the best restorative tonic for women after delivery) mixed with 4 tsp of boiled and then cooled water. 

Ensure that the mom consumes garlic chutney powder with an entree during lunch for continued lactation aid.

Mid-afternoon:
Gond ladoo, should be taken everyday.
A piece of dry coconut and raw groundnuts can also be consumed as a snack.
A cup of masala chai can also be consumed (a cup of coffee in the AM and chai in the afternoon does not exceed the daily recommended value of caffeine) 

Dinner:
The same lunch routine needs to be followed, but with a different vegetable entree/side for dinner.

The first 10 days post-delivery however, are slightly restrictive in diet and can be followed, if needed by the moms. A sample is below:

Having rava ganji and coffee for breakfast. (Note no leyha is consumed)

Only tamarind rasam or  pepper rasam for lunch (ghee and rice can be taken) and then end the meal with milk and rice

Boiled vegetables like bottle gourd, dill greens, palak/spinach, methi/fenugreek leaves, carrots etc can be consumed with some oil (seasoning) and salt.