My Natural Labor & Postpartum Meal Preparation Guide
Is it just me or did I blink and now I am 40 weeks pregnant and waiting on my second baby’s arrival? Maybe it’s the fact that this time I had to chase a 2 year old around all pregnancy, but it really has flown by for me!
One of the most important things for me to prepare for this pregnancy was ensuring I would be nourished during my upcoming labor and immediate postpartum. If you’re having a baby soon or plan to in the near future, you should read this blog post because I cover the snacks that I plan to have on hand during labor and meals that I have made ahead of time and frozen that are quick, easy, nutrient dense and affordable! As always, ingredients are of the utmost importance for all of my recommendations, along with being nutrient dense and balanced!
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Nourishing Labor Snack Ideas
One of my main focuses for preparing for delivery is having the proper snacks to have during labor! Since I am not birthing at a hospital, I am able to snack throughout labor. So, I want to ensure that I have snacks that are blood sugar balancing, so I have the most energy possible during labor. Here’s my list of what snacks I am keeping on hand for delivery:
Plenty of fresh, organic berries and watermelon slices
Hydrating and electrolyte balancing
Organic apples + almond butter
Protein + carbs = energy
Homemade protein balls (get the RECIPE HERE)!
My special, more protein rich recipe (most are made with heavy carbohydrate content)
Nitrate-free meat sticks (here’s my favorite meat sticks)
Protein, protein, protein!
Organic cashews + Organic pumpkin seeds (my favorite pumpkin seeds)
Healthy fats
Organic Power Snack Bites: Cacao & Goji Berry (here’s my favorite brand)
These have some ingredients I don’t love but it will be a nice sweet treat
Smoothie made with my favorite protein powder (my favorite, clean protein powder)
Berries, bananas, and 20g of protein = plenty of energy
Cheese sticks
Healthy fats
Electrolytes for my Kangen Water (I drink 9.5 pH)
I LOVE the Taylor Dukes brand of electrolytes. If I am in a pinch, I will use LMNT brand but I don’t love their ingredients.
If you’re curious about Kangen Water and it’s uses- check out this post!
If you’re interested in ensuring you’re having blood sugar balancing snacks and meals, you should check out these links below!
My Postpartum Freezer Meal Stock
After having a baby, replenishing our nutrients is essential. I remember after I had my first baby, I thought I’d pull out all the stops and make all the food. I even planned to utilize The First Forty Days book, which I definitely believe in but who in the hell has the time to do all of that? Not me. Especially not after my traumatic birth experience the first time (you can read my homebirth/emergency hospital birth story here). This time, I stocked my freezer with some easy, nutrient dense meals. Each of these are balanced nutritionally, easy to make and affordable.
Instant Pot French Onion Pot Roast
This is hands down my favorite meal. I like this recipe a lot and I have done it in a slow cooker instead of an Instant Pot (they scare me, ha ha) on low for 6-8 hours. I also do not use the Better than Bouillon cube it recommends because the ingredients are horrible- just FYI. Instead, I just use a quality mineral salt and season to my heart’s content. I generally pair carrots and green beans with this meal.
Healthy Beef Stew
This is definitely a perk of having a baby born in January- the cold weather (even in South Alabama). Nothing warms me up and makes me feel better than beef stew. A lot of recipes have added, unnecessary ingredients that are full of junk. This is the cleanest recipe I have found and I absolutely love it. It warms up great!
Creamy Spinach Turkey Meatballs
I can almost guarantee you’ve never had meatballs like these! Instead of being in your traditional red sauce, this cream base is a nice change. It’s made with ground chicken and ground turkey, which honestly normally kind of grosses me out. However, this is DELICIOUS and is not gross at all. There is SO much flavor and it thaws and reheats well! We normally have our meatballs with spaghetti squash, but you can obviously pair this with an organic noodle of your choice, too!
Turkey Sweet Potato Chili
If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I LOVE sweet potatoes. This recipe is the most delicious chili because it has that hint of sweet and spice that I could literally eat for every single meal.
Vegetable Soup
Who doesn’t love a good veggie soup? It’s nutrient dense, but it generally lacks protein content. So, I normally pair this with a grilled chicken breast on the side. This recipe calls for V8 juice, which I do not use/like in general. So, I just sub 2 cans of diced tomatoes with the juice instead!
Don’t have time to meal prep? I have the answer!
One of my friends turned me on to this option and I cannot believe something this spectacular exists. Mama Meals is an organic postpartum meal delivery service that I cannot wait to utilize in the next few weeks after baby boy arrives! Their meal options are seriously incredible and extremely nutrient dense. After following them on Instagram, I realized how much quality and hard work they put into their meals and how they truly understand nutrient density for the postpartum period. You can get $20 off your order of $200 or more by CLICKING HERE (applied to your cart automatically)! This would be the perfect gift to give your new momma friends or to gift yourself!
Wishing you a happy and healthy delivery!
