On the last day of my confinement, I was feeling a little melancholic. While I was looking forward to 'breaking out of jail' and enjoying a hot bath every day, I was also thinking of how I would need to cook my own meals soon. After all, I had settled my meals for the past 28 days with thanks to Tian Wei Signature (read my review here) and although I knew sooner or later I had to step back into the kitchen, I wasn't very keen on the idea.
Yup, cooking has never been my forte and it's not something I look forward to. I do it purely for the sake of letting my kids be able to eat home cooked, healthy food. Considering that I was still in my postpartum recovery period, I was not knowledgeable about what ingredients would benefit me, help to nourish my body or speed up the recovery process.
At that time, the baby just turned a month old and I was struggling with pumping every 2-3 hours as he was not able to latch properly. I must say that was a hassle which drained my energy and made me exhausted, along with making me worry constantly if I was producing enough milk for him. Did I mention I still had three older kids and a house to look after and I was solo parenting on most days?
So, you can imagine how relieved I was to find out about ReLacto, a first-of-its-kind catering service in Singapore which provides breastfeeding mums with healthy food packed with lactation-boosting ingredients to support them in their motherhood journey. I took up a 21-day lunch package with them which allowed me to feel less stressful in the morning as my lunch would be delivered right to my doorstep, enabling me to focus on looking after the baby in the morning. Even though I still had to prepare simple lunch for the kids and subsequently dinner for all of us, having my own lunch settled for a few weeks in a row took a load off my shoulders. Let me share with you more about how the experience was and answer some of the queries you might have.
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How is ReLacto different from Tian Wei Signature?
ReLacto offers a wide range of food in its menu which is professionally planned by their in-house dietitian and award-winning chef. It includes lactogenic ingredients that help to improve the supply and nutritional quality of breast milk, as well as nourishing ingredients that support postpartum recovery.
While both Tian Wei Signature and ReLacto offer meals with recovery and nourishing benefits for new mums, ReLacto’s menu has a wider variety of dishes as it has fewer limitations on the ingredients. It is designed to help mothers celebrate the end of their confinement - yippee!- yet continue to consume a healthy and nutritious diet, which is especially important if you are a breastfeeding mom.
I was stoked to see that my first meal from ReLacto contained steamed PRAWNS! Except for fish, seafood was not in the menu during my confinement so this was really a delight to tuck into. Furthermore, the prawns were big, fresh and juicy. Yummy!
My first meal which left a good impression: Steamed Prawns with Garlic Vermicelli and Broccoli, Braised Mushrooms with Tofu and Minced Meat, Coconut and Ginseng Soup, Spinach Quinoa Rice, Black Bean Black Sesame Drink
What does a ReLacto meal typically consist of?
Similar to Tian Wei, each meal from ReLacto usually includes a staple, a meat dish, a vegetable dish, a soup and tea. The staple, meat and vegetable are kept in biodegradable containers while the soup and tea are stored in thermal flasks which have to be returned. All of these are kept in a thermal bag which will be left on your doorstep at the stipulated timings every day.
One thing to note is unlike Tian Wei which provides longan red date tea (which I loved!) for every meal, ReLacto varies it from week to week and I've tried their black bean black sesame drink, lemongrass fenugreek drink, roselles black date drink and mulberry herbal drink. Not all of them appeal to me but since they help me to build up my milk supply, I'm actually willing to drink anything and I love that they are served hot.
I love the creativity in their dishes: Pork and Apple Curry, Braised Eggplant with Minced Meat, Tomato and Pumpkin Fish Soup, Butterfly Pea Rice, Black Bean Black Sesame Drink
Example of Vegetable dish: Shanghai Green with Conpoy
Example of Meat dish: Roasted Chicken, Achar
Example of Soup dish: Seabass Tofu Soup
Example of Staple dish: Millet Rice
What packages are available?
The packages vary and you can choose from the 7/14/20/21/28 day options and whether you prefer double meals or just one meal a day (lunch OR dinner). If you wish to have a taste beforehand, you can opt for the signature trial meal too. For details and costings, go here.
Can I skip delivery on weekends?
This was what I did as I knew we would usually be out on weekends so I wanted to have the meals delivered to me on weekdays only. In this way, I could make my package last 'longer' and also not worry about having to rush back when we took the kids out on weekend mornings.
Pleasantly surprised to see Mee Tai Bak! This meal consisted of: Braised Tofu with Abalone Slice and Spinach, Marmite Pork Chop, Herbal Watercress Chicken Soup, Stir Fried Mitai Noodles with Pork, Lemongrass Fenugreek Drink
Can I view the menu and make any changes?
Yes, you can view the menu online at https://relacto.com.sg/menu by entering your preferred start date. It is helpful to look through the menu as you can ring them up in advance to make changes or exclude certain ingredients.
Does the food contain any MSG?
NO! All their meals do not contain any MSG, phew!
Did the meal help to boost my milk supply?
That is a tricky question to answer because apart from lactation meals, I also took lactation brownies, lactation tea, formula milk for breastfeeding mums and I worked hard to pump regularly and keep the supply coming. Yup, I really wanted to be able to totally breastfeed my little one despite his poor latch.
Nonetheless, it was plain to see that my meals from ReLacto consisted of milk-boosting ingredients like papaya, fennel, fenugreek, garlic and ginger and I was glad for that - I wouldn't have known how to cook these dishes on my own. While I struggled to even pump out 30ml in the first couple of weeks, I slowly but surely established my milk supply and could pump over 100ml each time in the second month. It definitely helped that I felt less stressful when the phototherapy ordeal was over - yup, he had a pretty severe case of jaundice - and I kept telling myself to relax and stay positive too.
Now, the baby is also growing well and the PD was surprised by how fast his weight gain was. Born at 2.58kg, he was nearing 5kg when he was just over two months old and she was very pleased and surprised to see that. She even told me that since my milk supply was stable and he was latching much better, I could stop pumping too. Woohoo! So yes, I'm a confident breastfeeding mom now and I am determined to nurse my baby for at least 2-3 years.
How did the food taste like?
It was surprisingly delicious! I would definitely say that ReLacto's food tasted more flavourful than my confinement meals without being overly salty. I looked forward to each day's meal because it was not only tasty and nutritious but satisfying too.
Always happy to eat fusion food, this was a hit! Impossible Spaghetti Bolognese, Black Pepper Wagyu Beef Cube, Broccoli with Smoked Bacon, Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup, Lemongrass Fenugreek Drink
What are some of my favorite dishes?
Besides those that I've shared above, here are some of my other favorite dishes.
Steamed Tiger Grouper, Superior Fragrant Soya
Chinese Yam and Peanut Soup
Wok Fried Shanghai Greens with Pork
This was one of my favorite meals: Fortune Herbal Chicken, Wok Fried Sliced Pork With Pea Shoots, Lactating Tofu Skin Fish Soup, Tri Colour Rice and Mulberry Herbal Drink
Impossible Meat Lemak Rendang, Coconut Flakes
Braised Vegetable Curry (Sayur Lodeh)
Ginkgo Pig Stomach Chicken Soup
Stir Fried Mitai Noodles with Pork
Thai Style Steamed Sea Bass
This was quite a unique mix of dishes: Hakka Braised Pork with Yam, Braised Mushrooms with Spinach, Shimeji Chicken Soup, Fried Brown Rice with Corn, Mulberry Herbal Drink
Can other family members eat the food too?
Yes, they can! There were days when the girls would stay back in school so my lunch was spent with the boy (and the baby who only needs milk). Sometimes, we would share the food and I would just whip up something extra like sunny side up or sausages for him. These dishes from ReLacto are packed with nutrients so they can suitable for his growing needs too. He usually loves the soup, meat and and fish! Of course, these dishes are still meant for me to 补补身子 so I might just get takeaways for him so that I can fully reap the benefits and enjoy my meal.
Yes, I definitely would as this makes our life so much more hassle-free and makes us more confident as breastfeeding mums too. It makes me feel at ease knowing that I am eating well-balanced, healthy meals since these nutrients are passed on to the baby and having them delivered right to my doorstep is a convenience worth paying for. Morever, I love the taste, quality and variety of food they offer. Since this is the start of a stay-home period for all of us, this can come in handy and save us a good deal of trouble as we are already overwhelmed with home-based learning, chores and looking after the kids.
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81 Tagore Lane, TAG A, #01-11
Singapore 787502
Phone: +65 6360 1000
Email: [email protected] Website: https://relacto.com.sg/ Disclosure: This is a sponsored collaboration between A Happy Mum and ReLacto. All opinions are my own.
