When my second child was born, my husband had to go back to work immediately. Despite the fact that prepackaged snacks are not the healthiest (since they are often higher in sugar, sodium, fat, and additives, such as MSG, artificial colors, sulfites), I still bought prepackaged breastfeeding snacks to eat while nursing my son. I bought prepackaged food so that I could quickly grab something to eat when my husband and mother-in-law were not around.
Principles I used in choosing my prepackaged breastfeeding snacks were:
- Pick nutrient-dense foods.
- Choose foods that required little to no preparation. Two of the snacks I bought required use of the microwave and one required adding water.
- Select breastfeeding snacks that contained at least 1 or 2 ingredients from the list of “The top 12 best foods to eat while breastfeeding.”
- Decide to shop at one store–Target. I did this for my ease and convenience. I did not want to go to five different stores just to buy one or two snacks that were better quality.
8 Prepackaged Breastfeeding Snacks from Target
- Simply Balanced – Berry Blend Freeze Dried Fruit. Unlike most dried fruit, these freeze dried berries do not have any added sugar. Cons: These do not have a lot of protein, and as a result, they do not satisfy me unless I have something else to eat with them. Tip: Mix the berries with plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt to increase the protein and help fill you up.
- Larabar Renola – Berry. Grain free, gluten free, and GMO free. Contains almonds. Cons: A little too sweet for my taste.
- Quaker Real Medleys Super Grains – Banana Walnut Flavor. Filling. Contains whole grain rolled oats, quinoa, and flax seed. Cons: Contains brown sugar. A serving is 19 grams of sugar. This is NOT gluten free.
- Good Food Made Simple Breakfast in a Bowl – Uncured Bacon & Turkey Sausage. These bowls are found in the frozen aisle at Target. If you are looking for something heartier and filling, then this bowl is for you. Cons: Price. High in saturated fat and sodium. You’ll need a microwave in order to cook this.
- Emerald 100 Calorie Snacks – Simply Natural Almonds. These are wonderfully proportioned almond packages. I still try to keep one or two packages of almonds in the car for the times when I’m out doing errands and get hungry. Cons: More expensive than buying almonds in bulk.
- P3 Portable Protein Pack – Applewood smoked ham. Contains almonds, cheese, and meat. Cons: Meat is processed.
- Chobani Flip – Blueberry Power. This is one of my favorite yogurts. Contains wet ingredients {Greek yogurt and blueberries} in one compartment and the dry ingredients {walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and whole chia seeds} in another compartment. When you mix the two compartments together, you get a slightly chewy, crunchy blueberry Greek yogurt. Cons: Contains added sugar.
- Bumble Bee – Premium Wild Pink Salmon. This is perfect for an on-the-go snack. It is an easy, convenient way to add protein to your diet. I do like adding seasoning to this, since it just contains water, salmon, and salt. Cons: Added salt.
For those who choose to buy prepackaged snacks, you are not a bad mom for doing so. Yes, making homemade food is definitely healthier. But remember: your worth is not found in whether you make all your meals from scratch. Do what is best for you and your family. If that means you need to buy prepackaged food, then buy it!
This is a great little list! While I don’t breastfeed, I do keep a lot of those types of snacks on hand because I am a terrible person who relies entirely too much on convenience food. 😉
Great snack ideas! I like foods like nuts and cereal that are pretty easy to eat quickly.
Greek yogurt is full of healthy protein, as well as calcium and probiotics — the good kind of bacteria that aid in digestion. Grabbing a Greek yogurt cup out of the fridge was my must-have nursing snack in those first few months as a new mom.