What to Eat in Week 1 Postpartum (Meals and Snacks for Recovery)
All of the recipes I’m sharing here are from my upcoming cookbook, The Nourished Mother: Healing Recipes and Family Food for Postpartum + Beyond, now available for pre-order!
One of my best friends just gave birth and to help her heal, recover, and take items off her to-do list, I’m making and dropping off nourishing meals and snacks each week.
Over the next 6-weeks, I’m going to show you how I’m using the recipes in my new postpartum and early motherhood cookbook, The Nourished Mother, to nourish my friend based on the science of postpartum nutrition and the realities of new mom life!
Although I’ll be cooking and delivering these meals to her fresh, many of my recommendations below are freezer-friendly and perfect for stocking your freezer in advance.
What should you eat in week 1 postpartum?
The first week with a new baby can be a bit of a haze: the best moments of love and joy combined with the stark realities of deep physical recovery after a marathon of labour and birth, rapidly shifting hormones, and taking care of a newborn 24/7.
First things first: After you give birth, if there’s a specific meal, snack, or food you want - absolutely enjoy it! You deserve it, and food is such an amazing way to comfort us in this time of change.
From the nutrition and healing lens, my focus will be on meals that are soft and warm, easy to digest, and full of the nutrients needed most for healing and recovery: protein, minerals, healthy fats and lots of fuel.
The Nutritional Focus in Week 1 Postpartum
In these first days, your body is:
Starting the process of healing tissues after birth (whether vaginal or cesarean).
Resetting digestion, which can be sluggish and sensitive after birth.
Shifting hormones — which impacts mood, energy, and milk production.
Foods that are warm, soft, easy to digest, and rich in protein, minerals, and healthy fats are ideal, where colder foods like salads and smoothies might take a pause — cooked, simple, nourishing foods will feel best this week.
Here’s exactly what I made for my friend in Week 1 Postpartum.
What I made: Bone Broth Elixir
Bone broth is one of my top postpartum foods for a reason. It’s rich in collagen and amino acids that support tissue repair after birth, along with minerals like calcium and magnesium that help restore what pregnancy and breastfeeding deplete.
I always love recommending bone broth as a first food after birth - my clients often bring a thermos or mason jar filled with broth to the hospital with them!
The most common road block I hear, however, is this: I don’t like the way plain bone broth tastes! I wish I could but I can’t just sip it like tea.
That’s where this Bone Broth Elixir comes in. In a simple 5-minute recipe, you simmer bone broth with warming, delicious spices like ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric and a little bit of honey and ghee to finish with a warming drink that is so tasty!
Beyond the nutrition, sipping a warm mug of broth is grounding and soothing when digestion feels tender and energy is low. It’s a great way to pack in the nutrition via a simple mug or thermos and no need for forks or knives.
What I made: Cardamom Quinoa Pudding
Soft, liquid heavy dishes like congee and rice pudding are central to the early postpartum food traditions in many parts of the word. In the first week when digestion is particularly sensitive, warm and soft foods are easier to tolerate and are so nourishing, especially when made with healing spices, bone broth and full milk - you need all the nutrition you can get right now!
The recipe I love for a warm breakfast or snack subs out the rice for quinoa to add in a complete protein source while keeping all of the elements that makes this a nourishing comfort meal.
What I made: Stewed Pears with Goji Berries + Cinnamon
Raw fruit can be harsh on the digestive system immediately after birth, so cooked fruit is a gentler way to enjoy the benefits. Stewing pears with warm, healing spices, ghee, honey, and bone broth makes them soft, warm, and easy to digest, while still delivering fiber, vitamin C, and hydration. They’re sweet and comforting, and feel like a small act of care in a week when so much energy is directed outward.
I love these on top of the quinoa pudding, a warm bowl of porridge, or pancakes!
What I made: Healing Simple Lentil Soup
For the first week postpartum, simple is the key word. When your body is in a sensitive state of healing, taking the pressure off of your digestive system with simple meals like this is exactly what you need.
This simple healing soup uses red lentils, which are one of my top early postpartum foods for soups and stews: they’re high in protein and iron for healing nutrition, and when cooked, they become super soft and easy to digest.
In this soup, I pair them with bone broth for added minerals, warming spices like turmeric and cumin for their anti-inflammatory properties, and cooked spinach for folate and iron. The result is a deeply nourishing, one-pot meal that can be eaten by the bowl or sipped from a mug when sitting down for a full meal isn’t realistic.
What I made: “Birth Day” Snacking Cake
You just gave birth, there’s so much to celebrate! It’s a Birth Day, so cake is called for you, don’t you think?
I developed this “Birth Day” Snacking Cake so that you can enjoy celebratory food and still know you’re giving your body the healing nutrition it needs! It’s the perfect snacking cake for your whole family and even your birth team, whoever is around in those first few days.
This snacking cake is baked with oats, nut butter, and full-fat coconut milk for steady energy, along with cooked strawberries for sweetness and antioxidants. It’s nutrient-dense enough to stand as a snack, yet festive enough to mark the arrival of a new baby.
Why These Meals Are Perfect For Week 1 Postpartum
The first week after birth is all about supporting your body’s natural healing process. These recipes bring together:
Protein and minerals to rebuild recovering tissues post-birth and replenish nutrient stores.
Gentle, easy-to-digest meals to support a sensitive postpartum healing digestive system.
Warmth and grounding to support healing and your energy during the postpartum hormone shifts.
Joy and comfort — because food is also emotional care in the sensitive early postpartum time.
Prepping Week 1 Postpartum Healing Recipes
If you’re prepping for your first week postpartum, I hope this gives you some inspiration for meals that are simple, warm, and nourishing - exactly what your body will crave.
Don’t worry about doing it all — small, intentional choices (like a bowl of lentil soup or warmed up piece of Birth Day Cake) can make a real difference in how you feel.
If you’d like to make the exact recipes I mention here, you can pre-order my second cookbook,
The Nourished Mother: Healing Recipes and Family Food for Postpartum + Beyond right here, or through your preferred retailer!
Here’s to a nourished postpartum and early motherhood season!