Mothers of New Babies and Toddlers

Nutrition

Vegetarians

Breast milk changes slightly depending on the type of foods a mother eats. A well planned vegetarian diet will provide you with more than enough energy and nutrients to support your recovery after pregnancy and childbirth. You need to make sure you eat enough calories to cover your breastfeeding needs and the energy you need to take care of your new baby. If you return to a light physical activity level at this time, you will need to eat even more foods.

The foods you eat serve three purposes:

To restore your body after pregnancy and childbirth;
To provide you with enough energy to breastfeed and take care of your new baby; and
To provide you with extra energy to support your physical activities.

Tips for vegetarian mothers:

Eat small amounts of protein rich foods with each meal and snack
Include iron-rich foods at every meal
If you have no animal foods in your diet, use B12 enriched yeast to guard against a vitamin B12 deficiency (or you may need to take a supplement of vitamin B12), and
Eat foods that are sources of calcium and Vitamin D at every meal and snack, otherwise talk to your doctor/dietitian about taking a calcium/Vitamin D supplement.

Rate your Plate to see how close you are to reaching healthy eating goals.

Read each statement carefully and then…

Give yourself 2 points if the statement describes what you do every day.

Give yourself 1 point if the statement describes what you do sometimes.

Give yourself 0 points if the statement never applies to you.

I eat a variety of foods at each meal.
I drink at least 8 cups of fluids (water, juice, milk, soup, etc) during the day.
When I choose fruit and vegetables, I look for the most colourful ones.
I eat good sources of fibre such as whole grain products, fruits, vegetables, and legumes (beans and peas).
I include low-fat sources of calcium such as milk, yogourt or fortified soy beverages in my meals and snacks.
I make sure that I have a source of protein at least twice a day (such as legumes (beans), soy protein, nuts or seeds, lean meat, fish, poultry, or eggs).
I make sure that I have a plant protein at least once a day (such as legumes, soy protein, or nuts and seeds).
I have vegetables or fruit with each meal and snack.
When I choose fats and oils, I choose highly unsaturated liquid oils (such as flax, canola, soy, olive, or safflower oil).
I make sure the food I eat is safe (cold foods remain cold and hot foods are served and eaten hot).
During the day, I never allow more than 4 or 5 hours to pass without eating.
I wait until I am hungry before I eat.
At mealtimes I stop eating as soon as I feel full.
I eat my meals and snacks in good company, away from the TV or computer.

Total your score and see how your eating habits rate.

0 - 12	You need to make some changes now. Keep reading.
13 - 19	Not bad, but you could be making better choices!
20 or over	Wow! You have good eating habits.

Put healthy vegetarian eating into practice

To make healthy eating easier, we have grouped foods based on the set of key nutrients that each provides: vegetables and fruit, whole grains, milk products and fortified soy products, protein rich foods (eggs, nuts and seeds, tofu, legumes, soy protein analogues), added fats and oils, sugars and sweets, alcohol, condiments and fluids.

Be sure to include a variety of foods from ALL the foods groups, based on Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. As a vegetarian, you will need to substitute animal-based foods with the correct amount of plant-based foods as described in the Guide. For example,

choose 1 cup of fortified soymilk instead of 1 cup of cow's milk, and
use 2 tbsp. of nut butter instead of 75-85 grams of turkey or ham in a sandwich.

To help you be a healthy vegetarian mother, here are some tips on important food groups.

Protein
Plant proteins come from legumes, nut butters, tofu, and other soy products. These are all tasty alternatives to meat, poultry, fish, and seafood. They add variety and good fats to your diet and can be an excellent source of fiber.

Nut butters (such as peanut, almond, cashew, and hazelnut) are delicious alternatives to butter and margarine. Although nut butters are still high in fat and calories, most of the fat is unsaturated.
Soy products are substitutes for meat. You can buy many of these products (such as slices, patties, or ground “meat”) in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.
Legumes include a wide variety of beans, peas, and lentils. You can buy them dried, frozen, and canned. They are also rich sources of carbohydrate and fibre and contain almost no fat.

	Great choices	Good choices	Use these only rarely
Legumes	Beans, peas, lentils (canned, frozen, dried), hummus and bean dips, lentil soup, meatless chili.	Baked beans, refried beans.	Legume dishes made with full fat coconut milk (such as rice and beans, or curries).
Soy products	Tofu (firm, regular, silken, or flavoured).	Soy protein products and legume-based "veggie patties," miso, tempeh, tofu puddings.	Fast-food "veggie burgers" that are made with vegetable oil shortening.
Nuts and seeds	All natural seed and nut butters, nuts and seeds.	Salted nuts and seeds.	Regular peanut butter with hydrogenated vegetable oil and sugar.

Calcium

If you are a vegetarian who includes milk, yogourt, and cheese in your diet, it is likely that your body’s need for calcium is being met. If you are a strict vegan (no dairy products), choose soy and other plant-based foods and drinks fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B-12.

Did you know? Plant sources of calcium include whole sesame seeds, broccoli, almonds, dried sunflower seeds, cooked bok choy, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, and fortified orange juices.

Attention new mothers - Are you getting enough Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is important for bone health and the health of muscles. It may also have an effect on some types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer, as well as on diseases of the immune system. When our skin is exposed to UVB radiation from sunlight, this helps to produce vitamin D in our bodies.

Mothers who exercise outdoors may have higher vitamin D levels. But this is only true if you exercise outside between April and November, between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm. Why?

In Canada, for most of the winter months, there is not enough UVB radiation from sunlight to allow for enough vitamin D production.
During the summer months, the time to get some UVB radiation is during the middle of the day. If you are outside early in the morning, late in the afternoon, or early in the evening, you are not getting much UVB radiation.
Most Canadians do not get enough vitamin D from the foods we eat. It is found in the skin of fatty fish, some mushrooms, liquid milk, soy drinks, and some yogourts. Unless you are eating and drinking these foods daily, you are not getting enough vitamin D from foods.

What types of mothers are at greatest risk of not having enough vitamin D?

Older mothers (more than 50 years of age) - As people get older, their bodies produce less vitamin D. If the woman eats or drinks very few sources of vitamin D, then risk of not having enough vitamin D is even higher.
Mothers with lactose intolerance - This is an inability to digest sugars found in milk. This means that the main source of vitamin D –from milk – is not part of this woman’s diet.
Mothers with dark skin – The ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight varies with how dark a person’s skin is. People with darker skin have lower production of vitamin D.

What should you do?

All women 50 and older should take a daily supplement that contain a minimum of 400 IU of vitamin D.
Adding good food sources of vitamin D to the food you eat every day will help you get the vitamin D your body needs.
Look for fortified foods (foods with vitamin D added to them). In Canada, milk, margarine, and some yogourts are fortified with vitamin D.
Fish and eggs are other good sources of vitamin D.

The list below shows you the most common sources of vitamin D.

Food	IUs
Fortified soy beverage* 250 mL (1 cup)	120
Margarine 5 mL (1 tsp.)	60
Milk 250 mL (1 cup)	100

Fish
Mackerel 90 g (3 oz.)	310
Salmon, canned 90 g (3 oz.)	650
Sardines, 1 can 100 g (3.75 oz.)	250
Tuna 90 g (3 oz.)	236

Vitamin B-12

This B vitamin comes ONLY from animal products or fermented plant foods such as miso and tempeh. While they can give us some B12, it is not usually enough and the amount of B12 they contain tends to vary. The most reliable source of vitamin B-12 for the vegan diet is nutritional yeast that is grown on a vitamin B-12 enriched medium (such as Red Star brand). Choose foods that are fortified with vitamin B-12 (such as fortified soy drinks) or take a supplement to ensure you are getting enough of this vitamin.

In Canada, fortification with vitamin B-12 is now allowed in foods such as tofu burgers, but be sure to read the label to make sure that it has been fortified. To learn more about how to read a food label, click here.

For vegetarians who include some animal products (such as milk, yogourt, eggs, and fish)—all are excellent sources of vitamin B-12. Talk to your doctor about a simple blood test to check your Vitamin B12 levels regularly.

Iron

Iron forms part of each red blood cell (hemoglobin). Iron helps to carry oxygen to all the different cells in your body. This oxygen then allows cells to release energy from the foods that you eat.

If you do not eat enough iron-rich foods, your body will not be able to make enough hemoglobin. Without enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen to your cells, less energy is produced. You will likely feel tired and cranky. You will not have the energy to motivate you to do much physical activity.

Make sure to get enough iron in your diet! There are two different forms of iron in foods.

“Heme” iron comes from animal foods such as meat, fish, and poultry.
“Non-heme” iron is found in other foods, such as lentils, kidney beans, black beans, split peas, dried fruits, eggs, dark, leafy green vegetables (kale, Swiss chard, spinach), whole grain cereals, and enriched breads and pastas.

A well-balanced vegetarian diet can provide you with enough non-heme iron. In fact, even in non-vegetarians, the greatest amount of iron in women’s diets comes from breads, cereals, and pasta since they are all fortified with iron.

The way your body absorbs non-heme forms of iron can rise or fall by eating certain foods. For those vegetarians who do not eat any animal foods, vitamin C (found in fruits and vegetables) enhances the way your body absorbs non-heme iron. If you are a vegetarian who eats some animal foods, small amounts of meat, poultry, or fish will help your body to absorb the non-heme iron found in plant foods.

Examples of how this works include:

Iron rich beans with vitamin C rich tomato sauce (include pork and this helps absorb even more iron),
chili con carne with vitamin C rich tomato sauce and iron rich beans; include meat and this helps absorb even more iron, and
Iron enriched spaghetti with vitamin C rich tomato sauce (include ground meat and this helps absorb even more iron).

High fiber foods, tea, soy products, rhubarb, spinach, and bran can all decrease the way your body absorbs non-heme iron.

Shopping and Food Preparation Tips for Vegetarians:

When you buy breads, crackers, muffins or other baked goods, look for 100% whole grain flours (100 % whole grain whole wheat flour, 100 % whole grain whole oat flour, 100 % whole grain whole rye flour, 100 % whole grain whole rice flour), or 100% whole grains (rolled oats, flaked rye, cracked wheat) as the first ingredient(s) in the ingredient list.

When you are baking, choose 100% whole grain wheat flour instead of regular refined wheat flour (also known as white flour). Add a few tablespoons of wheat bran, wheat germ, oat bran, or ground flax seed to your baked goods and casseroles. This will increase the fibre content. To get the benefit of flax seeds you need to grind them in a blender or coffee grinder. You can also buy flaxseed that has already been ground or milled. It is a source of soluble fibre and omega 3 fatty acids.

100% whole grains are also rich in fibres that help you feel full and protect you from some types of cancer. Baked goods such as 100% whole grain breads, bagels, rolls, and homemade muffins made with 100% whole grain flours are higher in fibre than store-bought croissants and muffins, most crackers, and baked desserts.

Replace refined flours with 100% whole grain flours.
Replace refined flour breads with 100% whole grain wheat/multigrain breads.
Replace refined grain cereals with 100% whole grain/multigrain cereals.

Quick recipe tip - Morning Muesli

Here’s how you can start the day with homemade muesli.

In a large cereal bowl make layers of

125 - 175 mL (½ - ¾ cup) plain uncooked 100% whole grain rolled oats

125 - 175 mL (½ - ¾ cup) plain or fruit yogourt, and

250 mL (½ cup) cut fruit.

Add a small amount of nuts, seeds, or ground flax seed (5- 10 mL or 2-3 tsp) for flavour, crunch, and more nutrition.