Mealplan Monday: Week of May 2nd

I know that Meal Prep Sunday is a thing, but my week begins on Monday. I highly recommend grocery shopping on a Monday, because most supermarkets don't get fresh deliveries on Sunday (and some not even on Saturday), so if you shop on a Monday you can be sure that you're getting the freshest food possible. Ok, rant over. Here's what my shopping bags were filled with this week:

You may notice some brand overlap, and that's because we went to both Aldi and Lidl. Spinach, blueberries and tomatoes are all 59p this week at Lidl, so I made sure to stock up. After a smoothie, a veggie quesadilla, and a vegetarian curry for dinner tonight, we've almost used a whole bag of spinach already!

The meal plan this week goes something like this:

Monday (Today!)
Breakfast: Kakaoboll (homemade, without all the sugar of the traditional recipe!)
Lunch: Leftover pulled pork & veggie quesadillas
Snack: Blueberry, strawberry, spinach & ginger smoothie - I've been trying to get as much fresh ginger into my system as possible to beat this cold I've got!
Dinner: Chickpea, butternut squash and spinach curry

I'm really excited about this milled linseed, sesame, cranberry and blueberry nonsense I found at Lidl. They also had a chia & goji berry one, but since I already have a Costco-sized bag of chia seeds, I opted for this one for my smoothies. Yum.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Overnight oats with blueberries & strawberries
Lunch: Leftover curry
Snack: Strawberries with balsamic vinegar - one of my favorite treats since childhood - and one of these delicious Pumpkin & Cinnamon fruit bars from Aldi. They have lots of other amazing flavors (sweet potato & ginger, blueberry & seeds, date & orange, cranberry & cherry) and yes, I've tried them all.
Dinner: Salmon Bahn Mi bowls - all the flavors of the beloved Vietnamese sandwich, with fresh salmon with a fish sauce caramel glaze, on a bed of buckwheat soba noodles.

Wednesday & Thursday
We are really busy both of these days, driving all over God's green earth to view houses for our move at the end of this month, so I'm guessing we'll probably eat out for lunches on both days. For dinners I might just make homemade pizzas topped with pesto, tomatoes and spinach, but it depends on how tired I am. For breakfast we have a big box of (Lidl's home brand) Weetabix to eat on the go, or as a quick bowl of cereal, come what may. I have a bag of dried apricots and some Gala apples to snack on in the car, as I inevitably get the munchies as soon as I leave the house.

Friday
Breakfast: Oaty breakfast smoothie with apples and cinnamon
Lunch: We have plans during the day, so probably eating lunch out (at Wetherspoons most likely, because *bargain*, and I love the grilled chicken and avocado salad there :)
Snack: Pumpkin & cinnamon bars
Dinner: Roasted vegetable panzanella, using up the leftover 1/2 butternut squash from Monday's dinner (which is still whole, wrapped up in the fridge and should keep just fine), roasted tomatoes, red onion, garlic, peppers, and homemade croutons on a bed of spinach (or lettuce, if we use up all of the spinach by then).

Saturday
Breakfast: Orange "creamsicle" oaty smoothie (milk, orange, vanilla, oats)
Planning to have a picnic or a BBQ if the weather cooperates, for which I'll go shopping in the morning, so no meal plan yet.

Sunday
Using up all of the leftovers in the house, and cooking up a bunch of lentils for use in salads and meals throughout the week.

MM Approved: The Baby Event

Bargain time! I just want to remind everyone that I am not an Aldi ambassador or paid advertiser or anything like that; I just genuinely love Aldi, and sharing my shopping bargain tips and whatnot with you. I get really excited (how boring am I?) when I pick up the flyer and see something really fabulous advertised for the next week... like the Baby and Toddler Event! It started yesterday, people, so get yourself down to Aldi. This week I picked up:

This Nuby Baby-Led Feeding Set. All of these dishes, cups, containers, and utensils (and a handy carrying bag) for £4.99! I mean, I saw one bowl with a spoon in Mothercare last week for £5. Just saying.

This not-Bio Oil. I oiled my belly twice a day with coconut oil when I was pregnant, and I was so proud to not have stretch marks. Until three weeks before my due date, that is, when I woke up with a really low belly and the San Andreas fault line under my belly button. For those last few weeks, I dreaded looking in the mirror each day as my "tiger stripes" got bigger and bolder. Sigh. Fingers crossed that this stuff works! At £3.99, I couldn't pass it up.

A highchair! Little miss Chloe is starting to love her rice cereal, and will need a proper highchair for *real* food soon! We've looked around in a lot of stores, and the next best option was a Joie Mimzy Snacker highchair for £40 (and we were about to get it, too!), until we saw this for £18.99. No lie. So, obviously, it's home now.

My mother-in-law picked up an adorable matching crib bedding set with a hanging crib organizer, and a hooded towel with matching wash mit for when we stay at her house. Also, they have adorable super soft popcorn (we all know it's Minky fabric, but we can't call it that) blankets in pretty, bright colors for £3.99 so one of those might find its way into our house - who knows!

Wardrobe Hacks: Breastfeeding

I. Love. To. Wear. Dresses.

And now I've come to terms with the fact that most of my favourite wardrobe items have to be retired for at least six months, because they're not breastfeeding-compatible. Why oh why is life so cruel?

It's been a learning curve, which started with my hysterical sobbing with a two-week old baby that I couldn't wear any of my existing clothes, except for maternity leggings, yoga pants, and the two nursing tank tops my mom had sent me. 

But as the baby weight gradually began to fall off, and I started having the energy to actually get dressed every day, I learned a few ways to bend my existing wardrobe to make it breastfeeding-friendly. 

Unfortunately, a massive heap of dresses did have to go into storage, but I know I'll see them again before the year is up. Save another rant for another day, but I found the same issues I had with buying maternity clothing in the UK applied to nursing clothes as well: high street shops don't stock it, and most of it that does exist is poor quality, horizontal stripe t-shirts and outdated designs. If anyone reading this has millions of pounds (or dollars) that they'd like to invest, there's a huge gap in the maternity clothing market in this country that I'd love to tap into. But I digress...

I've only needed to buy a handful of new wardrobe items so far, so here are some of my favourite nursing outfits to our together, without busting the bank on (not-so-attractive) "nursing" clothing. 

Shirt Dresses

Button-down styles are a breeze to nurse in. Even half-button-down will do the trick (just try on and "test" how far they button down). I found a chambray one at TK Maxx that I love; the relaxed fit is pretty forgiving of new-mummy-tummy, and if can be belted once your waistline reappears. Here are a couple of others that I love:

Sleeveless Shirt Dress, H&M, £14.99

Denim Shirt Dress, Next, £28

Belted Shirt Dress, M&S, £55

Wrap Dresses
Universally flattering on almost every body type, wrap dresses can be so easy to breastfeed in. Look for true wrap dresses (not faux wraps) and fabric that has a bit of stretch in it.

Khaki Wrap Dress, House of Fraser, £30

Marrakesh Jersey Wrap Dress, East, £79

Overalls

This came to me the other day as a sort of revelation: Overalls are perfect for breastfeeding! Just un-snap one side (or both), and you're good to go! I have a couple of pairs of vintage corduroy ones, as well as some cute denim overall dresses. 

Brooklyn Dungaree Dress, Oasis,  £48

Bandeau Dresses

Even though spring has just sprung, stores are already beginning to stock some summer dresses. Bandeau dresses, with their stretchy, elastic tube tops, are perfect for pulling down to feed. 

Camie Printed Bandeau Dress, Monsoon, £39

I hope this post helps if you have any worries about your post-baby wardrobe! It's been a learning curve, and I feel like I'm just beginning to get the hang of getting fully dressed each day, with the help of some of the clothes I've mentioned above. Let me know in the comments if you have any more tips for building a breastfeeding-friendly wardrobe!