Food & meal tips for new moms
Welcoming a new baby into your life is an incredible experience, but it also brings a whirlwind of changes that can make meal planning a daunting task. To ease the transition and ensure you’re well-fed in those early, sleepless weeks, it’s essential to prepare in advance.
Here are a few tips to make those early postpartum days a bit easier when it comes to keeping yourself nourished:
Planning & Stocking Up
Months before baby arrives, dedicate some time to meal planning for the first few weeks. Create a simple menu with easy-to-prepare meals. Make soups, casseroles and other easy meal prep ingredients, such as shredded chicken, ground beef, cooked lentils or chickpeas, and freeze them.
Stock your pantry with non-perishable essentials like canned beans, lentils, rice, pasta, whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and healthy snacks (nuts, seeds, granola bars).
Frozen fruits, vegetables, and pre-cooked frozen proteins, such as chicken breasts, or frozen salmon, are lifesavers. They’re nutritious and require minimal prep, so keep them on hand.
In the months leading up to your birth, plan meals and double recipes with leftovers in mind (think big casseroles or soup), then freeze half for when the baby comes.
If it isn’t obvious already, freezers will be your best friend. I recommend buying a deep freeze if you don’t already have one, as they’ll allow you to store a ton of food. Plus, they’re a safer, better option for storing pumped breastmilk.
Shopping Strategies
Take advantage of online grocery pick-up and delivery services. Many grocery store chains offer these services for free or minimal fees, and the cost can be worth it when you’re exhausted, hormonal and hungry.
Buy ingredients that are already prepped, like pre-cut veggies and fruit, for easy snacks to have on hand.
Explore meal kit delivery services to take the pressure off cooking entirely, especially during the early weeks. Many offer discounts for first-time users.
Embrace Flexibility & Ask for Help
Before the baby is born, ask someone to set up a meal train for you. It’s a great way to give your friends and community a way to help you out.
When people visit or ask if you need anything, tell them to bring snacks, lunch or dinner. This isn’t the time to be shy—it’s a perfect time to let people take care of you!
It’s okay to order takeout!
Keep a stash of frozen dinners or microwave meals as a last resort.
Hire a Postpartum Doula
One of the ways I support my postpartum clients is by preparing nutritionally dense, healthy meals and snacks. Postpartum doulas are a fantastic resource for making sure you remember to eat, because honestly? New moms have a hard time keeping up with feeding themselves when they’re laser-focused on feeding the baby. Having someone who can gently remind you to eat something, who can whip up a quick snack while your hands are full, who can meal prep ingredients for dinner later….it’s incredibly helpful.
Looking for an added postpartum nutritional boost? Reach out to see how I can help you stay well-fed post-baby.