Top 14 Best Milk-Boosting Dishes for New Mothers

Beans are a staple food, both delicious and affordable, packed with nutritional value. Beans contain essential amino acids that help form and metabolize proteins, which are beneficial for growth and development. Since the body cannot produce these amino acids on its own, we must obtain them from external sources. One popular practice nowadays is to prepare drinks from various types of beans, consuming them alongside regular water. If you're tired of drinking chè vằng tea, you can switch to this bean drink instead.

The ingredients for this drink include: red beans, black beans, green beans, lotus seeds, and brown rice. All are roasted until golden and then cooled. To prepare, simply add a handful of each type of bean to water, boil for 5 minutes, and steep in a thermos. You can drink it hot or add a spoonful of honey to enhance the taste.

Sweet potato greens, also known as morning glory, are a common vegetable in the summer. While sweet potatoes are typically grown for their roots, many people once considered the greens to be a cheap, low-nutrient vegetable. However, recently, this vegetable has gained popularity due to its numerous health benefits.

In addition, sweet potato greens are refreshing, milk-boosting, and help prevent constipation for mothers during postpartum recovery. Common dishes made with sweet potato greens include boiled or stir-fried varieties. Stir-fried sweet potato greens are also great for preventing colds!

In traditional medicine, the fig is sweet and neutral in nature, with properties that strengthen the spleen, improve digestion, moisturize the lungs, ease sore throats, stimulate bowel movements, reduce swelling, and detoxify. Figs are commonly used to treat conditions such as: intestinal inflammation, dysentery, constipation, hemorrhoids, prolapsed rectum, sore throats, coughs, low milk production in new mothers, boils, poor appetite, and rheumatism.

As such, figs are a highly beneficial fruit, packed with nutrients like protein, fats, calcium, iron, and sugars, making them excellent for health and milk production. You can prepare various dishes with figs, such as stuffed figs with pork, simmered figs with pig’s trotters, or stir-fried figs with garlic (note: figs should be cut, soaked in saltwater, and rinsed thoroughly to reduce bitterness).

Bananas are among the most widely consumed fruits in the world. Their yellow color often signifies high nutritional value for human health. Today, bananas are grown in at least 107 countries and are ranked as the fourth most important food crop globally.

In our country, bananas are also widely grown, available throughout the year. Among the different varieties, saba bananas are larger and rounder, with a slightly rough skin and more flesh compared to other types. New mothers can enjoy them fresh, boiled, steamed with rice, or in a traditional dessert made with sticky rice and saba bananas. This fruit not only helps with digestion but is also excellent for stimulating milk production.

Brown rice is not only used for cooking but can also be transformed into a nutritious beverage known as brown rice milk, which benefits both health and beauty. The advantages of brown rice extend beyond providing essential nutrients for children; it also helps prevent various diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Many people even use brown rice for weight loss to maintain a slim figure.

Furthermore, for new mothers seeking to boost milk production for breastfeeding, you can prepare brown rice milk. This nutritious drink helps promote milk flow and supports breast health. To prepare it, first roast about a cup of brown rice until slightly charred. Then, soak it in water for 30 minutes, bring it to a boil, and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Strain the mixture to achieve a thicker consistency, add half a can of sweetened condensed milk, bring it to a boil, and then store it in a thermos to enjoy throughout the day. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for later use.

There's no meal quite like a joyful meal. Don't let the stress of caring for your baby, staying up late, or dealing with crying moments wear you down. Keep your mind at ease. If your baby becomes overly fussy, ask for support from family members so you can stay healthy and keep a positive attitude. This will help ensure that your milk supply increases.

Staying cheerful and relaxed will not only improve your health, but it will also ensure that you have a steady milk supply. This is a natural remedy to keep your breasts firm and full!

Carp fish are commonly found in natural ponds and lakes, known for their soft white flesh but relatively hard bones, especially around the belly area, which is notorious for being difficult to navigate without getting a fishbone stuck. Because of this, carp isn't a frequent choice for family meals and there aren't many ways to prepare it. However, carp fish soup with tofu is an excellent dish for new mothers.

Carp is rich in calcium, phosphorus, healthy fats, iron, and vitamin B1, while tofu is packed with calcium, iron, and magnesium, making it easy to digest and low in calories. Carp fish soup with tofu is an ideal meal for boosting milk production and supporting health without causing weight gain.

Soup is a staple in every meal, and mixed vegetable soup is a favorite for many. It's nutritious, easy to prepare, and doesn't require much time. Vegetable soup is a simple, no-fuss dish that's both quick and tasty.

On the other hand, the addition of pork ribs in the soup not only provides fiber and vitamins but also helps balance out any heaviness from eating too much meat. The pork ribs add a rich flavor to the broth and give your body the energy it needs to support milk production.

The Dinh Lang tree is commonly grown in Vietnam for ornamental purposes, as well as for its edible leaves and roots, which have medicinal properties. The leaves and roots are rich in compounds beneficial for the body and are used in many traditional remedies.

According to folk wisdom, fresh Dinh Lang leaves cooked with fresh fish or lean meat can help increase milk production and enrich the nutritional content of breast milk. For mature Dinh Lang roots, mothers can boil them with fresh ginger (using a ratio of 40g of root to 6-8g of ginger) to create a tea. This remedy is known to be highly effective for relieving blocked milk ducts.

Seaweed is packed with essential nutrients that are beneficial for the body, supporting the circulatory system, detoxification, blood flow, and stimulating milk production. As a result, seaweed is highly recommended as part of the diet for women during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

For this ingredient, mothers can prepare dishes such as seaweed salad or tofu stuffed with seaweed. All these dishes are easy to eat and won’t cause any feeling of heaviness for mothers.

Legendary pig trotters can be considered one of the top dishes. Various ways to cook pig trotters include: slow-cooked with green papaya, simmered with mixed vegetables, stewed with spinach, pig trotter porridge with black beans, pig trotter porridge with peanuts, or even slow-cooked with Chinese herbs and lotus seeds. Make sure the pig trotters are well-cooked and the vegetables and ingredients are fresh and properly cleaned.

With this dish, don’t worry about feeling overwhelmed by the richness. By regularly changing up the menu, you’ll never get bored of it. This meal will ensure an abundant milk supply, allowing your baby to feed freely.

It’s recommended to drink a glass of cereal powder 30 minutes to 1 hour after a meal, 30 minutes before breastfeeding, or before going to bed. Cereal powder not only promotes maternal health but is also highly effective in stimulating milk production. The ingredients in cereal powder include black beans, green beans, small soybeans, red beans, and small white beans. Additionally, the powder contains rice varieties and sesame seeds such as glutinous brown rice, regular brown rice, black sesame, and lotus seeds. When preparing this powder, make sure to balance the ingredients properly to create the highest quality mixture according to the desired quantity.

When mixing cereal powder, use about 3 tablespoons of powder with 3 tablespoons of condensed milk in a 250ml cup of water (adjust the consistency to your preference). You can add a little sugar if desired. With this powder, your baby will have plenty of milk to feed from.

Vang tea is a rare and valuable herb found in nature, also known by various names like cordyceps tea, cam van vine, and empty vine. This plant can be easily found in many regions across Vietnam.

Make sure to drink at least 2 liters of water daily, and instead of plain water, try drinking Vang tea. Preparing this tea is quite simple. Just boil some water, add the Vang tea, simmer it for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat. Wait for the tea to turn cloudy, then store it in a thermos or insulated bottle. When drinking, dilute it with water and enjoy it warm. You can find this tea at local herbal medicine shops or traditional medicine hospitals. This refreshing tea not only helps cool your body but is also great for stimulating milk production.