I love summer eats as the fields and markets are abundant in an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables. Summer eating also feels so much easier with a bbq and a salad, it is so satisfying. A trip to a local market also serves as a low key outing, get some free vitamin d and enjoy the social interaction getting out of the house as a new parent.
However not all seasons are created equally as friendly to get outside so it's important to be prepared for your postpartum transition or as some call it, the fourth trimester.
During pregnancy, you focus on eating a variety of healthy options, taking a prenatal vitamin and making sure you get that water in! Are you prepared for postpartum? Many new parents struggle with the demands of a newborn paired with a lack of sleep as well the lack of motivation to complete household tasks including preparing meals.
If you are breastfeeding, your body needs roughly an additional 300 calories per day to create breast milk as well ensuring that you drink a glass of water during or following each feed/pump.
Following the birth of your baby, your body requires time to heal, nutrient dense foods to assist with nourishing the body as well the additional foods for baby's nourishment.
Figuring out what to eat for a meal or a snack (one-handed), can be tough in the moment and many new mothers either just don't eat or easy to make poor choices when nothing is prepared.
Here's where an extremely useful tool comes into play. A meal prep session. I'm not talking about preparing a few bags or jars of oatmeal or protein balls for quick snacks, I'm talking meals and nutrient dense fast snacks to ensure you're getting the most nutrients and taking the stress out of your day deciding what to make for dinner.
Prior to the arrival of your baby, we recommend as many of these as your freezer permits. It can also be a great resource to purchase a small deep freezer (or as a shower gift), and put it in your basement, kitchen or garage.
You can create a meal prep session with friends, family or have us come into your home and make the meals for you! These are my favourite sessions with expecting parents (postpartum ones too) as we chat about all things baby, postpartum body and new routine as we create meals and snacks.
Here is my top 10 list for what to prep for your fourth trimester:
1. Protein muffins: including protein, oats, nuts and veggies (chocolate or berries optional)
2. Twice baked potatoes
3. Sheppard's Pie
4. Lasagna
5. Crockpot bags
6. Protein pancakes
7. Stew or chili
8. Soup
9. Smoothie bags
10. Enchiladas or burritos
Here's my top 5 list for what to prep fresh each week (or twice each week)
1. Vegetable sticks: carrot, celery, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel. peppers
2. Above veggies can also be used to add to salad or roast a pan of veggies
3. Hard boil eggs
4. Bake a pan of bacon
5. Protein yogurt
Meal prep sessions serve to ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients daily to assist in healing, optimal bodily function (including the bowels) and keeping that breast milk rich for baby.
These sessions include personalized menu planning designed with dietary needs and preferences in mind when provided by our team.
So if you've got the time and want to try this on your own or with a friend, enjoy and create some great options to prepare you for a successful fourth trimester!