Postpartum Meal Prepping

The newborn phase... you either love it or struggle it. I was blessed to have a positive newborn experience. S was a really easy going newborn and those first several months were blissfully beautiful. I don't take that for granted either, it isn't promised for any of my future children, in fact I know it will never be as peaceful as my PP with S. And I know so many who unfortunately have a really hard time right after baby is born.

I credit my well behaved daughter of course, but also the ways I prepared ahead of time. I could go on about what all I mean by that, but let's focus on what this Blog is about. Meal prepping! Something I love and am passionate about doing before each baby comes! I decided to meal prep at 37 weeks pregnant with S (that part I regret. I wish I had started a little before then. My feet were swollen and I could barley stand on them long enough to make a meal). But I made them anyway!

And talk about LIFE SAVER. I meal prepped enough for 2 1/2-3 months postpartum depending on the meal. And desserts lasted MONTHS after that. Those meals saved me energy and time I was able to spend focusing on my sweet band new baby. It allowed me to spend more time in bed in the mornings (resting throughout the day in general), actually being able to "nap when the baby naps", not having to make myself a snack when hungry while breastfeeding and not having to do the dishes or clean up after meals. I'm serious. It was the best decision I made to prepare myself months to come after having a baby.

It's the one thing I recommend to every new momma I talk to.

I want to share a list of the meals I prepped with S and that I will be prepping again this pregnancy -- starting in the next few weeks. (I have actually made a handful of these meals already this week and have them in the deep freezer). Things are moving forward and I am getting so excited for baby girl to join us in a few short months!

S, the bump and I in the kitchen this week making meals.

I hope to be able to link each of these recipes once I have time to add more to the Blog, but for now I want to give any expectant momma a look into what I will be doing for my family and hopefully give you a place to start planning on your own.

Please don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions about specific recipes in the meantime. That gives me an idea on which ones to share first here on the Blog.

If you are nearly due or don't have time to make many meals, I would highly recommend at least making yourself smoothies, a few breakfast meals, and an immediate PP Labor meal. (Which I will specify what that is and why it's so important).

In my future "to blog list", I have a post about why smoothies are such a staple in my home and why everyone should add them to their diet. I will go into minor detail later in this post when I share a couple of my favorite smoothies I will be making for my PP Meal Prep.

Because we eat homemade meals 98% of the time in my home, I came up with a way to only need to cook two meals a day, everyday. I cook breakfast every morning (though sometimes, like currently, I have meal prepped 1-2 weeks worth of Breakfast for B, S, and I). And I also cook dinner everyday. I make sure to cook large enough meals at dinner to have leftovers for the next day though. Large meals = leftovers for lunch! I am still cooking nearly three times a day though... because S is always demanding more food. She is a busy and big little eater.

Or I am making a dessert to enjoy for the next couple of days. Or making Kefir. Or Kombucha... or, you get the point. :)

9 month S eating sweet potato.

This method of making a large meal for dinner, enough to have leftovers for lunch, is how I meal prep too. Ideally, I'm making enough for maybe 4-6 meals, with everything I make. Which meals I'm anywhere from doubling to tripling each meal I list down below. We eat the same meal a couple times in a couple months. Rotation of meals is key here!

After making a meal -- I pre-portion, wrap, label, then seal them up together and put them in the freezer. They will read something like: "Serving (6) Lunch/Dinner. Precooked Meatloaf, Green Beans, and Cheesy Potatoes. 10-5-22." And if they call for something like buns that's not with the meal, I will notate on the outside Ziploc "Serve with Buns". Or something like that.

Now with S, I need to account for more food in each portion. She eats SO MUCH. I am not sure yet but I will likely make half of the "portions" bigger and label them that they will be ones to share with her. She does eat every meal with us -- I don't make her separate food, so this works out great for us.

Before sharing my list, I want to say that we don't typically eat many carbs in the mornings. Well I do... but when I'm not pregnant (or breastfeeding, which has been a couple years now) I'm not. But postpartum I already know the carbs my body will be needing to recover and breastfed (2 littles at once!) so my breakfasts are a little carb heavy. Truthfully, a lot of my meals are. But every morning we will have a smoothie and there are casseroles my husband can choose from that won't be carb heavy.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a075fe_a2ce35d36cc642daa84f65d15c0fb27d/480p/mp4/file.mp4

Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole prepped this week.

I remember PP with S how nice it was to have B look at a list I had printed out for us, and ask me what I wanted from the list for breakfast. He could choose something totally different than me if he wanted. It really is like eating off of a meal at a restaurant! Except I know all the ingredients are clean, healthy and made with love. :)

Here is my (3 month) Postpartum Meal Prep List:

(This should be enough for 3 months worth of meals *guesstimate*) Servings are in parentheses,

Click Below for printable PDF.

(3 month) Postpartum Meal Prep List.pdf

Download PDF • 23KB

*I will also say it will be overwhelming to try and prep 3 months worth of meals if you have never prepped before, so I would stick with single meals first and go from there -- not doubling each recipe or only making a few.

Breakfast:

- Sausage, Egg and Cheese English Muffins (8)

- Breakfast Burritos  (12)

- Breakfast Hash Casserole (8)

- Ham Cheese Breakfast Casserole (8)

- Sausage Cheese Breakfast Casserole (8)

- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Casserole (8)

- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal (8)

- Apple French Toast Casserole (6)

- Pancakes/Waffles (12/12)

- Frozen Bagels/Toast (2 loaves of each)

Smoothies:

- Chocolate Tart Cherry (15)

- Vanilla Chai (15)

- Super Greens (15)

- Carrot Cinnamon (15)

- Berry Blast (15)

- Piña Colada (15)

Lunch/Dinner:

Soups:

- Chicken Noodle Soup (immediate PP meal) (4-6)

*Make this as nutritious as possible. Preferably with bone broth and as many veggies as you like.

- Chicken Enchilada Soup (4-6)

- Cheesy Hamburger Soup (4-6

- Broccoli Cheese Soup (4-6)

- Chicken Pot Pie Soup (4-6)

- Tomato Soup (paired with pre-made grilled cheese) (4-6)

- Veggie Beef Stew (4-6)

- Chili (4-6)

Solid Meals:

- Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Broccoli (4-6)

- Chicken Fajitas served with Tortillas (4-6)

- Chicken Fried Rice (6-8)

- Sloppy Joes (frozen buns) (8)

- Taco Meat (served with frozen tortillas/tortilla chips for nachos) (8)

- Liberty Classic Pasta (4-6)

- Chicken Pot Pie (4)

- Beef Pot Pie (4)

- Chicken Alfredo Pasta (4-6)

- Pork Loin, Asparagus, Sweet/Potatoes (4-6)

- Spiced Stuffed Peppers and Turmeric Rice (6)

- Lasagna (4)

- Chicken Enchiladas (4-6)

- Meatloaf, Cheesy Potatoes, Green Beans (4-6)

- Coconut Chicken, Parmesan Asparagus, Sweet/Potatoes (4-6)

- Hawaiian Chicken, Rice (4-6)

- Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (4-6)

- “Hamburger Helper” (4-6)

- Thai Turkey Basil Stir Fry (4-6)

- Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Corn (4-6)

- Beef Stroganoff (4-6)

- Chicken Quesadillas, Mexican Rice, Black Beans (4-6)

- Pizza (2-4 Pizzas) Pre Topped

Desserts:

- Oatmeal Chia Bars (20)

- Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Crisp’s (20-30)

- Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bananas (50)

- Oat Brownies (20-40)

- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (20)

- Oatmeal Muffins (20-30)

- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Premade)

Extras/Snack Foods:

- Granola (homemade)

- Unsweetened apple sauce

- Cheese

- Crackers

- Jerky sticks

- Nuts

I want to link some of the cleaner wheat products/ store bought items I'll buy rather than make here:

Food For Life English Muffins: https://www.foodforlife.com/products/english-muffins

Dave's Killer Bread English Muffins: https://www.daveskillerbread.com/products

Food For Life Tortillas: https://www.foodforlife.com/products/tortillas

Siete Tortillas: https://sietefoods.com/collections/tortillas

Food For Life Bread Toast: https://www.foodforlife.com/products/breads

Dave's Killer Bread Toast: https://www.daveskillerbread.com/products

Dave's Killer Bread Bagels: https://www.daveskillerbread.com/plain-awesome-bagels

Food For Life Buns: https://www.foodforlife.com/products/buns

Dave's Killer Bread Buns: https://www.daveskillerbread.com/21wgs-burger-buns

The easiest way to start meal prepping is to either set aside time here and there to make a meal, double batching meals you're already making and freeze them, or dedicate several days and knocking it all out at once.

I would suggest starting with what I stated earlier I believe to be the most important things to have prepped which are: smoothies, a few breakfast meals and an immediate PP Labor Meal. Here's why I say that:

1. Smoothies: you can pack them full of nutrients your body needs daily, but also ones you need to help while breastfeeding and healing. It's the perfect way to get the healthy things in your diet you have a hard time getting enough of. Like super greens, nuts and seeds, collagen/bone broth, probiotics, vitamins and minerals, fruits and veggies. What's not to love about that? They are also extremely easy to prep ahead of time. Just get all the ingredients you need together, get several freezer zip lock bags and fill them up with all your ingredients. Label and freeze and when you're ready, break them in half and add to your blender with milk or water. It's that easy! This was one of my top favorite things I meal prepped for B and I. And now little S loves her smoothies, so this is perfect for the whole family!

2. Breakfast Foods: Breakfast is the first meal you'll want when you start your morning and slow mornings with a newborn are SO nice. Also, when B went back to work, I wanted to easily have meals ready for him in case I wasn't up yet. If you have multiple littles, this gives you a break from a busy morning making the whole family a meal to get the day started. It's also one of the easiest on the PP list to prep. If you like Casserole's, you can easily make enough for several weeks in just a few hours of prepping! Throw in your favorite veggies and protein with eggs and bake! Or an oatmeal casserole, French Toast Casserole, etc. (All recipes I hope to be sharing here soon)!

3. Immediate PP Labor Meal: I know many won't be home to enjoy this for potentially several days because of being in the hospital, but having a meal waiting for you at home is SO nice! Chicken Bone Broth Soup is my favorite meal for recovery. It's hydrating, easy to digest, and you easily get nutrients through the broth, and from all the veggies, spices and protein you add. It's a calming and soothing meal you just can't beat in my books. Along with some cheese and crackers... mm mm mmm.

I hope this list helps encourage you to plan ahead and make things easier for yourself if you are expecting or if you know someone who is! Make a meal for them that will last several days and bless that sweet family and baby!

Happy Cooking!