Postpartum Meals
Let's talk about postpartum food!
One of the most important ways you can replenish your body after birth is by eating delicious, nourishing foods. Even the perfect birth is a major event for your body, and recovery and healing is needed. Foods that promote healing are typically warm, homecooked foods with high nutrition content. Rest is also key, so be sure you've set aside time while pregnant to stock your freezer with prepared meals and have a meal train set up so that friends and family can bless you by bringing meals.
Some of my favorite foods to bring newly postpartum friends are my Nourishing Soup and Lactation Beer Bread. I'm including my recipes below for anyone to use!
Nourishing soup is rich in protein, carbs, and vegetables, and herbs, and can be made vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and/or dairy free. It's warming and aromatic, perfect for a nutrition boost and mood lift.
Ingredients: (no measurement is exact, just don't overfill your crock pot)
8 cups broth - I typically do 4 cups bone broth, 4 cups chicken broth
3-5 cups cubed potatoes
2-3 whole carrots, cut into small pieces
2 leeks or 2 stalks of celery, cut into small pieces
1 whole onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, cubed
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup split peas
Fresh sage, thyme, and oregano, to taste
1 TBS olive oil (or other oil)
Optional: one lb grass fed ground beef, cooked on a skillet with salt/pepper
Optional: parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions:
Turn crock pot onto high and add 1 TBS oil.
While that heats, skin and cut potatoes and carrots, then add.
Next add leeks/celery, onion, garlic, and squash.
Add broth, making sure there's an inch of room above surface.
Then add lentils, split peas, and herbs.
Close lid, leave on high for 4 hours, then switch to low for 2 hours.
Add optional ground beef.
Serve with parmesan cheese or bread.
Lactation Beer Bread is a simple and delicious beer bread recipe using a dark beer (Dragon's Milk is my favorite for this) and with added ingredients traditionally believed to encourage lactation - but remember, the surest way to encourage milk production is with milk removal.
Ingredients: (measurements are more exact this time!)
3 cups unbleached flour
1 and 1/2 TBS baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 TBS melted butter
1 TBS Brewer's yeast
2 TBS ground flax seed
12 oz dark beer (one bottle)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F and grease bread pan.
Whisk dry ingredients while slowly melting butter in small skillet on low heat.
Add half the melted butter to dry ingredients.
Slowly pour beer into mixture, mixing as you pour.
Mix until well-combined.
Add dough to bread pan.
Pour the rest of the melted butter over the top of the dough in the pan.
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hr. Let cool, serve with more butter!
What are your favorite post partum meals?