Breastfeeding recipes if your baby has colic

Here’s the thing you need to hear about infant colic and the mother’s diet: for most babies, the mother’s diet isn’t the main cause of colic. Infant colic is, in large part, the digestive system maturing, and it happens between week 2 and around 3-4 months. Cutting foods blindly is usually frustrating and probably won’t solve anything.

That said, there’s one scenario where the mother’s diet does matter, with solid evidence behind it: CMPA (cow’s milk protein allergy). And there’s a handful of foods where the evidence is weaker but worth trying. This guide is the map: what to try first (the things with evidence), what to try after (the anecdotal ones), neutral recipes for in between, and a way to tell whether your diet is actually the cause.

What the evidence says (and what it doesn’t)

Here’s the short version, no need to go searching:

Category	Evidence	What to do
CMPA (cow’s milk protein)	Solid. Affects 2-3% of babies. Cutting maternal dairy resolves symptoms in 2-4 weeks if this is the cause	Try first. Cut for 2-4 weeks.
High maternal caffeine intake	Moderate. 300+ mg/day is linked to a more irritable baby	Cut down to less than 200 mg/day (1-2 small cups)
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, raw onion	Weak. Mixed studies. The idea that maternal “gas-formers” pass to the baby is contested	Only try if CMPA doesn’t apply and the baby still has symptoms
Spicy food / strong spices	Anecdotal	Cut down if it’s easy, don’t obsess
Legumes	No clear evidence. Blended (hummus, peeled red lentil) is usually tolerated better	Don’t cut from the start

Main source: systematic review in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Gordon et al., 2019) on dietary modifications for infant colic. The strongest evidence is for CMPA; the rest is weak.

Structured 14-day elimination plan

Doing this step by step, instead of cutting several foods at once, is what lets you actually know what’s going on. Here’s how it works:

Days 1-3: baseline

Eat normally. For 3 days, write down what you eat and how the baby is doing (hours of crying, intensity, time of day). That’s your baseline. Without it you can’t tell whether a change worked.

Days 4-17: cut cow’s milk protein (CMP)

Cut all dairy:

• Milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, cream (all from animals)
• Read labels: casein, whey, lactoserum. All of those are CMP
• Products with hidden milk: cookies, breads, sauces, cured meats

Plant-based swaps:

• Milk → oat, almond, or soy milk (calcium-fortified)
• Yogurt → coconut or unsweetened soy yogurt
• Cheese → tofu, hummus, avocado, tahini
• Butter → olive oil, avocado

Keep the rest of your diet the same during this phase. Don’t introduce more changes at the same time: if you change everything, you can’t tell what worked.

Days 18-21: evaluation

Compare the baby’s symptoms in days 14-17 with the baseline (days 1-3):

• Did the hours of crying drop noticeably? Probable CMPA.
• No change, or barely any? Probably not CMPA. Bring dairy back without guilt.

Days 22+ (if CMPA was ruled out): try other triggers

Only if the previous phase didn’t work:

• Cut caffeine to less than 100 mg/day (half a coffee in the morning)
• Cut raw gas-formers: raw broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. Gently cooked, they don’t have the same effect
• One change at a time, watch for 7 days, then decide

6 neutral recipes for the elimination phase

Recipes that don’t contain potential triggers and are easy to keep up.

1. Quinoa bowl with tofu, pumpkin, and basil pesto

Ingredients:

• 70 g raw quinoa
• 100 g grilled firm tofu in cubes
• 150 g roasted pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon dairy-free pesto (basil + pine nuts + garlic + oil + lemon)

Preparation: rinse the quinoa under the tap until it stops foaming. The saponins shouldn’t be eaten and rinsing washes them away (they can also leave a bitter taste). Cook until the grains open. Pan-grill the tofu and mix with the roasted pumpkin and quinoa. Top with the pesto.

Why it works: no dairy, plant-based first, pumpkin is very well tolerated and there are no foods typically associated with gas.

2. Baked salmon with sweet potato and green beans

Ingredients:

• 130 g salmon without bones (vegetarian alternative: 130 g pressed firm tofu)
• 200 g peeled sweet potato in slices
• 100 g green beans
• Olive oil, lemon

Preparation: preheat the oven to 180 °C. Bake the sweet potato for 15 minutes. Add the salmon (or tofu) and the beans and bake another 12 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork (cooked through, no translucent parts in the center). Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Why it works: anti-inflammatory omega-3s, no dairy, vegetables that are easy to digest.

3. Carrot, pumpkin, and ginger cream

Ingredients:

• 200 g peeled pumpkin
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 small potato
• 1 cm fresh ginger
• 500 ml vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation: cube the vegetables and simmer them in the broth for 20-25 minutes until very soft. Add the grated ginger in the last 5 minutes. Blend until smooth. Drizzle the raw olive oil on top right before serving.

Why it works: sweet vegetables, anti-inflammatory ginger, gentle on the digestive system.

4. Roasted chicken with basmati rice and cumin carrots

Ingredients:

• 130 g chicken breast (vegetarian alternative: 130 g firm tofu or tempeh)
• 70 g raw basmati rice
• 1 medium carrot in sticks
• Cumin, turmeric, olive oil, lemon

Preparation: marinate the chicken (or tofu) with lemon, cumin, and turmeric for 10 minutes. Sauté in a pan with a little oil until cooked through (no pink, about 8-10 minutes per side for a thick breast). Meanwhile, cook the basmati rice following the package directions and sauté the carrot sticks for 5 minutes.

Why it works: neutral protein, basmati is the most digestible rice, and cumin helps with gas.

5. Homemade hummus with cooked vegetables and toast

Ingredients:

• 200 g cooked chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Vegetables to dip: steamed carrot, steamed zucchini, whole-grain toast

Preparation: blend the chickpeas with the tahini, lemon, garlic (if using), and olive oil until you get a creamy paste. Add a splash of water if it’s too thick. Steam the carrot and zucchini for 8-10 minutes until tender. Serve the hummus with the vegetables and a slice of whole-grain toast.

Why it works: blended legumes (no intact skin = less gas). Plant-based, high in protein and calcium (tahini).

6. Zucchini and potato tortilla

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 200 g potato in thin slices
• 1 small zucchini in slices
• Olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Preparation: soften the potato and zucchini in a pan with a little oil over low heat for 12-15 minutes until tender. Beat the eggs and stir in the vegetables. Cook the tortilla 3-4 minutes per side over medium heat, making sure the egg is fully set.

Why it works: no dairy, no foods typically associated with gas, gentle and nutritious.

Calcium swaps if you cut dairy

If you cut dairy during the test period and it was your main calcium source, here are the most calcium-dense plant-based sources:

• Calcium-fortified soy milk: one of the best options (check the label says “calcium-fortified”).
• Calcium-set tofu: read the label, not every tofu has calcium.
• Tahini (sesame paste).
• Almonds, ideally activated (soaked).
• Cooked dark leafy greens: kale, watercress, mustard greens.
• Cooked broccoli.
• Dried figs.

Combining 3-4 of these throughout the day usually covers calcium needs during breastfeeding. If the test period stretches beyond 2-4 weeks, it’s worth checking in with your healthcare provider. And as a general rule: making informed decisions is always better than guessing. If you suspect your diet might be behind the colic, talk to a professional before making big changes if you can.

How to track the baby’s reactions (this is what makes the plan work)

Without some kind of log, “the baby is better” or “the baby is worse” is subjective, and breastfeeding on little sleep skews your perception. Here’s what’s worth noting during the plan:

• Total hours of crying per day (an estimate, not minute by minute)
• Time of day when the crying peaks
• Feeds during the day (how many, how long)
• Diapers (wet, bowel movements, color/consistency if anything looks unusual)
• What you ate (general summary, not obsessive)

Keeping all of this in a notebook works, but between feeds, diaper changes, and sleep deprivation it usually turns into another source of stress. In memobebe you can log feeds, diapers, and daily notes with one tap, and have it all in one place when you need to look back (for example, at the pediatrician’s appointment). The point isn’t to micromanage you: it’s so when someone asks “how is feeding going?” or “when did the heavy crying start?” you have the answer without straining to remember. For the full picture on daily logging, see how to track your baby without losing your mind, and for context on normal feeding rhythms, how often a newborn eats and cluster feeding.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to see an effect from cutting dairy if it’s CMPA?

Cow’s milk protein takes 7 to 14 days to leave the maternal bloodstream. That’s why the elimination plan is at least 2 weeks, ideally 3. If there’s no clear change after 14 days, it’s probably not CMPA.

Do I have to cut lactose too?

No. Lactose intolerance is about sugars, and lactose doesn’t pass through breast milk. CMPA is about proteins (casein and whey), which do pass through. So you cut “dairy” for the protein, not the lactose.

Can I keep drinking coffee?

Yes. Caffeine is considered safe in breastfeeding up to 200 mg/day (1-2 small cups). Beyond that, it can be linked to a more irritable baby. If you’re on your second or third coffee, try cutting back and watch.

If legumes give me gas, do they give the baby gas?

This one gets mixed up a lot. The gas you produce (the kind that forms in your gut when you digest legumes, broccoli, etc.) doesn’t pass into the milk or to the baby. Breast milk is made in the mammary gland from the blood, not from gut contents. What can pass into the milk are certain food components (fragments of cow’s milk protein, caffeine, alcohol), and those are what can cause discomfort in some sensitive babies. If you want to try cutting legumes for 7 days to see if your baby reacts, go ahead and watch. Most mothers don’t notice a difference.

What if nothing works and the baby keeps crying?

It’s probably common colic (not related to maternal diet). Infant colic resolves between 3 and 4 months without any dietary treatment. In the meantime, what does help: babywearing, gentle rocking, white noise, sucking (breast or pacifier), and getting the latch checked by a certified lactation consultant (IBCLC). If the baby also has significant reflux, poor weight gain, or blood/mucus in the stools, talk to the pediatrician.

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In most babies with colic, the mother’s diet isn’t the main cause. What’s happening is the digestive system maturing, and it resolves on its own between 3 and 4 months. The clearest exception is CMPA (cow’s milk protein allergy), where there’s a direct causal link and cutting maternal dairy resolves the symptoms. That’s why the structured elimination plan in this guide starts there. In the meantime, good tracking helps you make decisions with information instead of guessing. If you want a tool to keep you company through this and make daily logging easier, memobebe is built for this.

Find more on breastfeeding in our breastfeeding section.