What to Eat in Week 5 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 had her baby, and I’m cooking my way through my new cookbook, The Nourished Mother: Healing Recipes and Family Food for Postpartum + Beyond (now available for pre-order!!) in order to bring her the best healing meals and snacks for her postpartum to help her heal, take a huge item off her to-do list (and stress!), and support her nervous system, mood, and breastfeeding too!
We’re in week 5 already, which is wild! She and baby are settling into more of a rhythm, but this stage of postpartum brings its own challenges — continued fatigue, ongoing recovery, and the daily reality of feeding a baby around the clock. This week is all about meals and snacks that rebuild nutrient stores, support milk supply, and keep energy steady.
Missed weeks 1-4? Grab them here:
What to Eat in Week 1 Postpartum
What to Eat in Week 2 Postpartum
What should you eat in Week 5 postpartum?
By week 5, you may feel like you’re coming out of the immediate haze of the first few weeks, but energy might be low as your recovery and adjustment to newborn life is ongoing. Your body continues to need deep nourishment — not just quick fuel, but nutrient-dense meals and snacks that help restore what’s been depleted in pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding.
That’s why its so helpful to have intentional, ready-to-go meals prepped in the freezer in advance, or dropped off by friends and family as the weeks go on. I’m a huge fan of being direct when loved ones ask you how they can help - send them a snapshot of the recipes you feel like from The Nourished Mother and ask them to make them for you! They want to help, and they’ll be happy to cook a meal for you!
This week is a good time to focus on protein-rich meals, mineral replenishment, and one-handed, calorie-dense snacks (that can act as full meals!) that make it easier to eat enough while caring for your baby.
The Nutritional Focus in Week 5
By the fifth week postpartum, the focus is on:
Rebuilding nutrient stores like iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and B vitamins that are crucial for recovery, energy, and hormone balance.
Protein and healthy fats to stabilize blood sugar and keep energy levels more even.
Choline (especially if breastfeeding) — needed in higher amounts to support your baby’s brain development and your own memory and mood.
Eating enough calories with hearty meals and snacks to sustain milk supply.
Practical meals that are batch-cooked, easy to grab, or one-handed.
What I made: One-Handed Crispy Tacos
By week 5, one-handed meals are still everything and can be the very best thing you freeze in advance or ask friends to prep for you! One-handed snacks are great, but a full meal that you can eat one-handed or turn into 6 different meals? The best!
One of my favourite chapters in The Nourished Mother is called Prepped Proteins, where I give you one protein recipe and 5 different ways to use it in easy meals, depending on what you feel like and what groceries you have one hand.
One of my most-used Prepped Proteins (it’s always in my freezer!) is the Southwest Beef + Black Bean Skillet that you can easily turn into nachos, enchiladas, a protein-packed breakfast with eggs, or my personal fave, these one-handed crispy tacos!
They’re packed with seasoned beef, black beans, quinoa, broth and salsa, then pressed and crisped into a folded tortilla that you can actually eat with one hand while holding a baby.
They’re protein- and fiber-rich, giving steady fuel while also being incredibly satisfying. This is the definition of a real-life postpartum meal: nutrient-dense, delicious, and practical.
What I made: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Protein Muffins
You can always find me baking with oats, natural sweeteners and protein-boosting add-ins like Greek yogurt, almond flour and extra eggs — especially for postpartum snacks. These Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Protein Muffins combine protein from Greek yogurt and almond flour with complex carbs from oats, and just enough sweetness from chocolate chips to make a soft, perfectly pumpkin spiced muffin you can enjoy this week and freeze for future you!
You’ll notice that this recipe makes 2 dozen muffins - which was on purpose! One of my postpartum and motherhood cooking rules that I use in The Nourished Mother Cookbook is that if you’re going to spend your limited time and energy in the kitchen, it should pay off double (or triple fold!).
So you don’t have to do the double-up math here - you can make the recipe exactly as written and have enough to freeze for next week (or perhaps your upcoming postpartum!).
They’re perfect for a quick snack, or to keep by your feeding chair for middle-of-the-night hunger. Pumpkin adds fiber and minerals, and the balance of protein + carbs makes them great for energy and milk supply support, too.
You can find the recipe for these Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Protein Muffins right here.
What I made: Repletion Herbal Latte Mix
This latte blend is made with the herbs Alfalfa and Shatavari — both known for their ability to replenish vitamins and minerals after birth and support a mother holistically.
If you’ve ever heard of the NORA tea-blend, alfalfa is what gives it the “A”! Alfalfa is one of the most postpartum supporting herbs as it has minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, plus vitamins C, K and several B vitamins.
It’s also used traditionally to support breastfeeding and milk supply, may be supportive to your digestion, and is a perfect mix for this latte.
In this recipe, I combined Alfalfa with Shatavari, another herb used traditionally in postpartum and mother care known as the ‘queen of herbs’ in Ayurveda.
Shatavari holds promise as an herb that can improve milk supply and lactation, support your nervous system and hormones, and is seen as a restorative and rejuvinating addition to postpartum healing nutrition.
I’ve used it here in the traditional way of preparing it with a grounding and mineral rich fat - milk!
By week 5, you may feel stretched thin physically and emotionally. Having a warm mug of something calming and nutrient-dense can be a simple ritual that helps you feel more supported and nourished.
What I made: Broccoli Cheddar Frittata
Eggs are one of my favorite postpartum foods — they’re quick, versatile, and incredibly nutrient-dense. One of the star nutrients in eggs is choline. If you’re breastfeeding, your needs for choline go up because it’s essential for your baby’s brain development and your own cognitive health. And did you know you can absolutely batch-cook and even freeze eggs so that you don’t have to make them each day?
My favourite way to batch-cook (or freeze) eggs to cook once and eat multiple times (energy saving is key!) is to make a large baking tray style frittata.
It’s super easy to pack in eggs, other proteins, and a variety of vegetables to maximize the nutrition and energy you get from one dish without spending more time in the kitchen.
It can be tricky to get in enough vegetables and fibre postpartum when you don’t have as much time or energy to cook. But here’s the thing - you need those veggies and fibre to avoid painful constipation, keep your blood sugar balanced, stay full and satisfied, and feel good.
A frittata is a perfect pack-in-the-veggies meal and since the vegetables are cooked, it’s easier to digest and more friendly on a postpartum digestive system.
In The Nourished Mother, I included 3 different sheet-pan style egg dishes you can prep ahead, batch-cook or freeze and you can grab the recipe for the Sheet Pan Sausage + Veggie Breakfast Burritos right here if you’d like to try one now!
Why These Meals Are Perfect For Week 5 Postpartum
The fifth week after birth is about deep nutrient repletion and steady fuel. These recipes were chosen to offer:
Protein-rich meals and snacks for healing, energy, and milk supply.
Mineral-dense foods and herbal blends for replenishment.
Choline from eggs to support brain health for mom and baby.
Practical, make-ahead options that work for real postpartum life.
One-handed meals and snacks that make eating possible during caregiving.
Prepping Week 5 Postpartum Healing Recipes
If you’re prepping ahead for Week 5, or you’re in it right now, focus on hearty, protein-rich meals and nutrient-dense snacks that make it easy to eat enough. Think crispy tacos you can walk around with, muffins and frittata you can prep once and eat all week, and lattes that deliver minerals in a soothing ritual.
Every recipe in this post comes from my cookbook,The Nourished Mother: Healing Recipes and Family Food for Postpartum + Beyond,
which you can pre-order here to support your body, mind, and family in the weeks and years after birth!