Lize Esterhuysen - Registered Dietitian & IBCLC

24/12/2025

13/11/2025

😶‍🌫️🫩Feeling like your energy (and patience) are running on fumes? 😅 The end of the year can drain you — but your plate can help you bounce back, or at least help you to survive the next few weeks. Here’s how to eat for calm, focus, and steady energy through the chaos.🥳

🧠 3. Support your nervous system:
🥦Magnesium: leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, almonds, dark chocolate (70%+)
🥚B vitamins: eggs, dairy, chicken, tuna, wholegrains.
🍓Vitamin C: citrus, peppers, berries
🐟Omega-3s: tuna, salmon, walnuts, flaxseed for mood and focus

🥗 1. Keep blood sugar steady
😵‍💫Stress and fatigue worsen when blood sugar fluctuates.
🥙Eat regularly (3 balanced meals, snacks depending on your lifestyle/requirements).
🐟🍞🥑Include protein + fibre + healthy fat at each meal (e.g, eggs + toast + avo; chicken + brown rice + veg; tuna salad, wholewheat wrap).
🍿🍠Swap refined carbs for slow-releasing carbs like oats, sweet potato, brown rice, and wholegrain bread, popcorn.

♥️My go-to tips:♥️
🔪1. Cook in bulk. This saves time and energy and you know the family dinner of tomorrow is sorted!
🥘2. One-pot Casseroles. Throwing everything into one pot - easy - why not! You cover all food groups and limit clean-up afterward. Add Brown Rice, Stock, Protein and Veggies!
🍚3. Pre-cook wholegrains and store in the fridge. This saves time for 3-4 future meals. Made quinoa - great, you are sorted for tonight's chicken salad, tomorrow's beef sosaties and veg and you can use the rest with meatballs in 2 days time.
🐔4. Rotisserie Chicken - Use with veg and whole grains. Then, Chicken salad, whole-wheat wrap, and if there are still leftovers, a chicken mayo whole-wheat sandwich for the win!
🥚5. Eggs are wonderful! Use for breakfast, snack, lunch or dinner! Prepare a supper frittata with added vegetables in just a few minutes!

06/11/2025

Find the free recipe in the comments!!!

Let me know what you think and share a photo of your version!

03/11/2025

The Koala Hold can be a very comfortable position and help to achieve a deeper latch.

How to tips:
1. Ensure your baby's head and neck are well supported.
2. Ensure a deep latch where the chin and both cheeks are touching the breast.
3. Ensure good back support for yourself with cushions/comfortable chair in which you can sit in an upright position.

This position is ideal if you or your baby prefers to sit upright, if you are struggling to achieve a deep latch with other positions, as it may be easier for your baby to have greater neck extension, or if your baby has a recessed chin.

Tip: If you are struggling to get the angle right and feel you have to lift the breast too much, drop your knee. This will lower your baby's position.

01/11/2025

Whales produce around 200 litres of breastmilk per day and the fat percentage ranges between 35-53%! How amazing is this🥰🐋

30/10/2025

One of THE BEST ways to support breastfeeding and ensure a good beginning is to prioritise skin-to-skin.

This should be the norm and standard care directly after birth and is a handy tool for a variety of situations.

From breastfeeding difficulties to toddler tantrums, skin-to-skin can help ❣️calm your baby, ❣️ improve and help build their GUT microbiome, ❣️result in better breastfeeding rates, ❣️better regulation of temperature and glucose levels and❣️calmer breathing and heart rate just to name a few.

Your baby FEELS and HEARS your heartbeat, FEELS safe and familiar, SMELLS your milk, HEARS your voice and is close to the breast for easy access.

These benefits don't stop after the first few days. Skin-to-skin can make things so much easier for you and your baby as you move into the 4th trimester together.

Skin-to-skin is also for the dad's! This can be such a precious bonding time for them as it increases the Oxitocin levels in his body - This hormone helps with bonding❣️

23/10/2025

FREE HANDOUT illustrating a simple technique to help babies latch during engorgement developed by the amazing Jean Cotterman. Full permission to share. Download "Reverse Pressure Softening for Parents" by scrolling to the bottom: of this page: https://nancymohrbacher.com/pages/free-downloadable-lactation-handouts

23/10/2025

Acid suppressants are commonly prescribed for reflux in babies.

Although sometimes needed, the risks vs benefits should be considered carefully as the impact these medications have on the GUT microbiome is immense.

Possible reasons for the reflux symptom should be explored and addressed if your baby is fussy, unhappy, and bothered by the reflux.

22/10/2025

22/10/2025

Specialised immune cells, called CD8+ T cells, live in breast tissue for decades after childbirth, protecting against breast cancer for up to 50 years a study found. To read the full study follow this link: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2500663-breastfeeding-causes-a-surge-in-immune-cells-that-could-prevent-cancer/?fbclid=IwdGRjcANljs9jbGNrA2WInmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeFNx3p7OW1iaW6NsMH23AcFVfvQ5A3Hs5unWe3wP_iGJPD2ctq7safoP32PU_aem_8_eUa9Ge6E3GYR3qpsihTQ

20/10/2025

Postnatal wellness session done as part of Moore Southern Cape's wellness day last week Friday!

We discussed important topics that form part of this timeline and had some fantastic questions from this group of amazing women!

15/10/2025

Leer jou kind wat kos in hulle lyfies doen
🍓🥕Bessies en groente 🫐🌽

Voorbeelde hoe om daaroor te gesels vir die ouderdomme 2-4 en 4-6jaar