The Ultimate Guide to Postpartum Freezer Prep Meal Ideas
Bringing a new baby into the world is a joyous and life-changing experience, but it also comes with its challenges, especially when it comes to finding time to cook and eat nutritious meals.
Part of the reason I write my postpartum cookbook, The Nourished Mother, was because I saw how much my postpartum clients struggled with eating well (and eating at all) with all of the changes of having a new baby at home.
And, I saw the consequences of being under nourished in postpartum - more exhaustion, more brain fog, longer healing, and a harder time with life with a newborn.
Postpartum freezer meals are the ultimate lifesaver during this time, offering convenience and ready-to-go ideal nourishment for healing, recovery, breastfeeding, and mental health without any of the work while you are resting and bonding with baby. It’s why I included 6 different postpartum freezer meal plans in The Nourished Mother!
In this ultimate guide, we will explore how to choose the right types of meals for freezing, storage tips, essential tools, and a wide array of meal ideas to keep you well-fed during the postpartum period. Yay for getting postpartum prepped!
What are the best postpartum healing foods?
Postpartum healing foods are foods that are either in an ideal form for your healing body or are excellent sources of the key nutrients your body needs to support your healing, mood, energy, and breastfeeding requirements. Some healing helper foods include:
Fats: Such as coconut milk, ghee, olive oil, salmon, egg yolks, and nuts and seeds, which are crucial for hormone production, energy, and mental health. Fats also support your digestive system and hydration, reducing the risk of painful constipation.
Protein: The most important macronutrient for postpartum tissue repair and muscle recovery. This includes sources like meat, fish, eggs, and plant-based proteins like lentils and beans. In my postpartum recipe, I’ll often pair animal proteins rich in the collagen-building amino acids you need for tissue healing with the fibre-rich plant proteins that support your hormones.
Whole grains: Provide sustained energy and are a good source of fiber to support your energy levels and digestion. Postpartum is definitely not the time to cut out carbohydrates. Your body and mind require them more than ever!
Colourful vegetables and fruit: Packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that aid overall health and recovery.
In the early postpartum stage, I often include cooked forms of colourful vegetables with lots of fluid to best support your healing body and digestive system, as cooked vegetables are gentler and easier to digest since the cooking process breaks down their harder-to-digest fibres. Stewed fruit with warming, healing spices, like the Stewed Pears with Goji Berries and Cinnamon and Stewed Berries with Chia in The Nourished Mother, are also a wonderful way to get in healing-friendly antioxidants.Hydrating foods: Like bone broth, soups and stews, which help maintain hydration and are gentle on the digestive system. You need more hydration than ever in postpartum to support the massive hormone shifts happening in your body, meet the needs of the healing cells, and create breastmilk.
Why stock your freezer with postpartum healing foods?
Pregnancy (and breastfeeding!) is a very nutritionally expensive task! Because so many nutrients are needed to grow a human, a postpartum mom is often depleted in key nutrients by the time baby is born. Being nutritionally depleted can lead to low energy, fatigue, irritability, low mood, hair loss, low libido, and difficulty recovering.
Eating nutrient-dense foods can support your recovery as your body works to repair tissues that were damaged during birth, shift to postpartum mode (the biggest hormone shift in your life), combat postpartum stress and sleep deprivation, and replete the nutrients you need to feel good, recover well, and feel like yourself.
Many of the symptoms considered ‘normal’ postpartum, including deep fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, hair loss, sleep difficulties and more can be worsened by, or even explained by being under-nourished, not eating enough, and being low in key nutrients, especially minerals like iron. That’s why every single recipe I develop for postpartum has been written to make it easier for you to get in these most needed nutrients (Sometimes I even name the recipes after the nutrient it helps you optimize, like in these Magnesium Magic Bars!).
Additionally, what you eat postpartum can also be beneficial for breastfeeding (both your milk supply and the nutritional composition of the milk you make can be impacted by what you eat).
And of course, stocking your freezer with postpartum healing foods means you don’t need to think about meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep, cooking or clean up in your early postpartum stage and can instead rest with your baby, knowing your freezer is full with meals that will meet your hunger and make you feel cared for, and nourishing snacks you can reach for or toss in your bag, any time day or night. Even having a couple of meals and snacks ready to go can make a massive difference!
it’s the number one thing second and third time moms tell me they’re going to prioritize the next time around! It truly does change your postpartum experience.
Choosing the right meals to freeze for postpartum
When selecting meals to prepare and freeze for postpartum, consider the following tips:
Nutrient density: Focus on meals that are rich in protein, fat, iron, and other essential nutrients needed for healing. Foods like bone broth, slow-cooked meats, and protein-rich snacks are ideal to support this recovery process and your energy needs.
Portion size: Prepare meals in single-serving portions for convenience! Feel free to add in some large family-size dinner meals, but consider your nutrition needs for breakfast, lunch, and in the middle of the night, too! Single-serving portions are much easier and faster to defrost as needed.
Meal variety: Include a variety of meals such as breakfast options, snacks, and dinners. Recipes like these salted maple pecan energy bites, postpartum sheet pan breakfast burritos, and protein pancakes are excellent choices for quick, nutritious snacks, and come in handy when you’re ravenous between meals (healing, newborn care, and breastmilk production are a lot of work, and need lots of calories!)
Having proteins ready goes the furthest: If you don’t have the freezer space or time to prep lots of full meals, consider just making batches of proteins that you can use in many different ways: things like bolognese sauce, steak bites, egg squares, hot honey shredded chicken, southwest beef and bean skillet mix, meatballs of all types, and goes-with everything chicken thighs (find all of these recipes in The Nourished Mother, where an entire chapter gives you prepped protein recipes and 4-5 ways to use each!)
Ease of preparation: Choose meals that can be easily reheated or require minimal preparation once defrosted to minimize the effort required when baby is here. Soups, stews, and individually portioned nutritious snacks are amazing options.
Should postpartum freezer meals all be warm meals?
You may have heard that warm, soupy, broth-based meals are ideal for postpartum, and they are! Here are some of the reasons why:
Digestion: Warm, cooked foods are pre-digested, meaning the harder to digest fibres have already been broken down, making them easier to digest. Warm foods require a bit less energy for digestion in a time when energy is being diverted to other very important tasks (like healing, hormonal changes, and producing breastmilk). Warm foods may also help prevent uncomfortable constipation by promoting bowel regularity.
Nutrient Absorption: Warm, cooked meals have their fibres already broken down, making some nutrients more bioavailable and easier to absorb.
Hydration: Many of the top recommended postpartum freezer meals you’ll find here (and in my guides and cookbooks) are made with bone broth, ghee or coconut milk, which provide fluids and your key electrolyte minerals in a time when hydration is needed!
That being said, the most important thing is that you eat food, any food! In postpartum, getting in enough calories and enough nutrition is so important to your healing, recovery, and mental and physical health that all food is the right food.
If not all of your meals are warm and soupy, that’s absolutely okay. Being fed is the main goal! If you can prioritize warm, cooked meals in the first few days or weeks, that’s a huge win, and doesn’t need to continue long-term.
How to Store Postpartum Freezer Meals
Proper storage is crucial to maintain the quality and safety of your freezer meals. Here are some food safety tips:
Cool before freezing: Always let your meals cool completely before freezing. Placing hot food directly in the freezer can raise the temperature, potentially leading to bacteria growth.
Portion Meals: Freeze meals in individual portions to avoid thawing and refreezing, which can compromise food safety.
Air-tight packaging: Use airtight containers or freezer bags with as much air removed as possible before sealing to prevent freezer burn.
Labeling: Clearly label each container with the name of the dish, date of preparation, and reheating instructions. This helps ensure you’re eating the meals within a safe time frame (sometime within 3-6 months of freezing).
Defrosting safely: Always defrost meals in the refrigerator within a day of when you intend to eat the meals or using the defrost setting on your microwave to prevent bacteria growth.
Essential Tools For Postpartum Freezer Meals
Having the right tools can make your postpartum meal prep more efficient. Here are some essentials:
Glass or silicone containers: For storing meals in single-serving portions, I recommend Silicone Souper Cubes for your meals and snacks. They come in a large variety of sizes and are amazing for saving space! Save 10% with my code: fooddoula10.
Freezer bags: For storing snacks and individually wrapped items like breakfast burritos, muffins and oat bars.
Labels and permanent markers: To label containers and freezer bags with the name of the recipe, date it was made, and any instructions for re-heating.
Slow cooker or Instant Pot: For preparing large batches of meals with minimal effort. I’m a fan of the Dream Cooker, which is both a slow cooker and instant pot in one to save space!
75 meal ideas for postpartum freezer prep
Below you’ll find tons of ideas, as well as links to some of my favourite freezer-friendly meals and snack recipes to freeze for your postpartum.
46. Heal in a Curry
47. Healing Lentil Soup
48. Paprika + Cinnamon Pulled Pork
49. Curried Butternut + White Bean Soup
50. Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup
51. Warming Chicken Stew
52. Freezer Hot Honey, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
53. Veggie-Full Burgers
54. Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
55. Quinoa Fried Nice
56. Lentil and Turkey Meatball Soup
57. Healing Fish Stew
58. Goodness Me Tomato Sauce
59. Slow Cooker Poached Chicken and Ginger Stew
60. One-Pan Chicken in Red Pepper Cashew Sauce
61. Miso Mineral Soup
62. Tuna Casserole
63. Falafel Patties
64. Pressure Cooker Beef Liver & Sweet Potato Stew
65. Everyday Bone Broth
66. Spaghetti and Turkey, Bacon, & Spinach Meatballs
67. Salmon Chowder with Bone Broth
68. Postpartum Curried Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
69. Turmeric Beef Stew
70. Hidden Greens Meatballs
71. Rosemary Chicken Patties
72. Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken
73. Moroccan Chicken Stew
74. Chicken & Black Bean Taco Soup
75. Lentil, Bean, & Turkey Chili
Postpartum Freezer Prep Breakfast Ideas
1. Postpartum Sheet Pan Breakfast Burritos
4. Cardamom Quinoa Pudding with Stewed Pears
5. Golden Milk Warm Chia Pudding
6. Mini Crustless Sun Dried Tomato Quiche
7. Bone Broth Elixir
8. Blueberry Lemon Oat Bake
9. Warm Cacao Oat Bowl
10. Sheet Pan Pumpkin Pancakes
11. Peach and Raspberry Baked Oats
12. Cravings Breakfast Sandwich
13. Broccoli Cheddar Frittata
14. Spiced Sweet Potato + Quinoa Muffins
15. Almond & Oat Breakfast Cookies
16. Egg and Veggie Breakfast Burritos
17. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos
Postpartum Freezer Prep Snack Ideas
19. Salted Maple Pecan Collagen Bites
21. Double Chocolate Toasted Walnut + Sesame Cookies
22. Double Chocolate Lentil Muffins
23. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Protein Muffins
25. Warm Berry Birth Day Snacking Cake
26. Chia Yogurt Bites
27. PBC Oat Cups
28. Chicken Breakfast Sausages
29. Almond Chocolate Oat Bars
30. Lemon + Ginger Carrot Muffins
31. Cookie Dough Bites
32. Carrot Cake Sheet Pan Pancakes
33. Sunflower Flax Energy Balls
34. Banana Coconut Protein Bars
35. Peanut Butter Date Balls
Postpartum Freezer Prep Lunch and Dinner Ideas
36. Slow Cooker Postpartum Healing Pot Roast
37. Rosemary Chicken Noodle Soup
38. Vietnamese Beef Stew
39. One Handed Crispy Tacos
40. Pressure Cooker Chili Lime Pulled Pork
41. Chicken Liver, Beef & Basil Mini Patties
42. Stout + Chocolate Chili
41. Pumpkin Chicken Curry & Rice
42. Chicken, Chickpea + Quinoa Stew with Tahini
43. Chicken & Spinach Enchiladas
44. Golden Mama Healing Stew
45. Coconut Curry with Jerk Meatballs
Where to Get More Postpartum Freezer Prep Recipes
If the recipes above sound delicious to you and perfect for your postpartum freezer meal prep, good news!
These recipes are found across my 3 best-selling postpartum nutrition resources:
The Ultimate Postpartum Nutrition Guide: This is the resource for you if you want an immediate-download super comprehensive guide (and more than 100 recipes) for early and long term postpartum nourishment - for postpartum prep, healing, recovery, breastfeeding, and figuring out the real-life strategies to eating and meal prep with a baby at home. This is like having me as your coach, but at a fraction of the cost!
The Labour and Birth Nutrition Guide: This is the resource for you if you’re looking for an immediate download and specific guide to walk you through exactly what to eat to optimally fuel your labour, birth, and initial postpartum healing days (45 recipes).
The Nourished Mother Cookbook. This is the resource for you if you are looking for a hard-cover cookbook packed with guidance on how to nourish yourself well for the early postpartum days and early motherhood family years, with recipes focused on healing and recovery, one-handed snacks, breastfeeding support, prepped proteins and family meals for mineral repletion (along with not one, not two, but SIX freezer prep plans you can follow depending on your needs, space, and priorities). Available in the US and Canada.
Stocking your freezer with nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals is one of the best ways to ensure you stay well-nourished during the postpartum period. By following these tips and utilizing the meal ideas provided, you'll be well-prepared to handle the demands of new motherhood.
