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The plan for this week includes some lactation boosting foods, some family crowd pleasers, and some very quick and easy ideas because we need to be realistic. This is my meal plan – a target, not a requirement. Sometimes I stray from the plan, and there’s certainly no reason to feel pressure to follow it. When you’re a mom you really only get ‘pockets’ of time around the kids schedule and needs. It may be 10 or 15mins here and there, and I use that to chop veggies or cook rice, or get other prep done. When I was making the chickpea tomato salad for example (which is literally such an easy dish that it takes less than 10 minutes to assemble) I was interrupted twice. I just stopped what I was doing, fed my babe, and then came back to it.

I will once again enjoy the work I put in before the baby came by taking advantage of a few of my freezer items – the Cinnamon Apple Oat Bake, Smoothie packs, and Fennel Orange Chicken.

I realized later that I missed some ingredients on this list! I had to send my husband to the store on his way home from work to pick up my Baked Ziti ingredients (see recipe below).

Meatless Monday

Apple Cinnamon Oat Bake (freezer meal)

From my postpartum freezer meal prep, I had forgotten how much this recipe made! I definitely don’t need all of this in one week, so I thawed it out just slightly enough to be able to divide it in half, and refroze the rest. It’s about 10 servings total. (That missing corner down below was from the day I made it, a cook has to taste her work 😉

Chickpea, Pesto, Tomato Mozz Salad

This is delicious and so stinking easy, I’ll be revisiting it often.

INGREDIENTS (makes 2 servings)

•  1/2 pint chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 of an English Cucumber, sliced into thick rounds and then quartered
• 1/2 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
•  2 Tbl pesto (this time I used jarred, but my husband makes an amazing pesto – I’ll include that recipe next time….)
•  1/4 cup shredded mozzarella (this would be amazing with fresh mozzarella, but I was keeping it simple and reducing the number of items on my shopping list this week)
•  Salt and black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• Assemble all ingredients in a bowl, mix and enjoy !

What to do with the other half can of chickpeas? I roasted them – makes a really good snack and very easy. Heat oven to 350 degrees, cover chickpeas in a generous amount of olive oil, lightly salt and roast until crispy, about 20 mins. You’ll definitely want to blot with paper towel to get some of the oil off after roasting.

Vegetable Stir-Fry w/Soy free Teriyaki Sauce

Have you noticed how soy seems to be an ingredient in EVERYTHING? Even things where its pretty unexpected. In general, I’m trying to avoid too much soy, so I went searching for a good stir-fry sauce without it, and found a Paleo Teriyaki. You can of course use bottled teriyaki or another sauce to keep it simple if you prefer. If you are making the sauce, my advice is to make it ahead of time (in one of those mom pockets of time).

Soy Free Teriyaki Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup coconut aminos
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice or water
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1/8 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tsp tapioca flour (optional- if you want your sauce to be thicker, I did not use)

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the coconut aminos, orange juice, honey, ginger, garlic and chili flakes in a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat. If you are using tapioca flour, mix it with 2 tablespoon of cold water and add the mixture into the sauce and cook until thicken. If not using tapioca, just simmer the sauce until thickened.

Veggie Stir-Fry

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

• One bell pepper, roughly chopped
• One white onion, diced
• handful Mushrooms, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbl olive oil
• 1 green onion (optional) sliced
• 3/4 cup brown rice (dry)

INSTRUCTIONS

• First cook the rice, this can also be done early (even the day or 2 before). I cooked a double batch (1.5 cups dry) so that I would have some ready for my pesto rice salad later in the week. I used my rice cooker per manufacturer’s instructions.

• Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok, over high heat.
• Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, sprinkle with salt, and cook covered for about 15, or until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally.
• After onions are caramelized, remove them and place in a small bowl; set aside.
• Add the mushrooms, peppers, celery and teriyaki sauce and simmer uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes, or until slightly reduced.
• Add the onions back to the skillet and cook for about 1 minute
• Put 3/4 cups of rice into each (2) bowls and divide the vegetable & sauce mixture amongst them
• Sprinkle green onion on top (sesame seeds would also be good to add)

Tuesday

For Breakfast I just heated up another piece of the Apple Cinnamon Oat Bake and made a decaf cappuccino.

I actually didn’t end up making the Pesto Rice salad today because I still have some leftover Beef Chili from the weekend, and didn’t want to waste it. So I’ll push the Brown Rice Salad to Wednesday.

Since I didn’t have to make breakfast or lunch (and baby girl has been sleeping a lot today) I decided to make the PB & Jam cookies. I actually wasn’t sure if I would end up making these this week or not (I planned to, but wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it happen) as they are more effort for a ‘snack’ than I might have available, but it worked out. They are a great postpartum snack because they include some of our lactation boosting superfoods (oats and flax) and they are filling and tasty.

PB & Jam Cookies

I got the recipe from Sweet Peas and Saffron, who is a meal-prepping goddess, and I didn’t make any modifications.

INGREDIENTS (yields 6 cookies, I kept 3 for this week and froze 3)

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 2/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 6 tablespoons jam of choice (I used no sugar added Smuckers Fruit & Honey, and yes those are my son’s matchbox cars in the background)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Melt coconut oil in a large bowl. Stir in the peanut butter, eggs, vanilla and honey until smooth.
• Add the rolled oats, flour, baking powder and ground flax. Mix until completely combined.
• Scoop out 1/4 cup portions and shape them on the baking sheet into a round cookie with an indent in the middle.
• Spoon in 1 tablespoon of jam in the center of each cookie.
• Bake for 13-15 minutes, until edge around the bottoms start to brown.
• Cool completely before storing away for 3-4 days in a sealed container.

Infused Water

For this week, I’m doing cucumber ginger infused water since I needed those ingredients for other dishes as well. I took 1/4 of an English cucumber, chopped and 2″ of ginger, peeled and chopped. I will refill the water in the jug over the next 2 days as needed, then dump the cucumber/ginger and make a fresh batch on the third day.

Baked Ziti w/ Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2lb ziti pasta
• 1lb Ricotta Cheese
• 1/2cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 3 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 3 cups pasta sauce – I recommend a hearty sauce with garlic for this dish
• 3 cups shredded chicken (I recommend a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to keep this simple)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook ziti in boiling, salted water until al dente (firm).
• Drain pasta and place in a large bowl
• In a medium sized bowl combine the Ricotta and half (1.5cups) Mozzarella
• Add cheese mixture to ziti and mix
• Grease a 9×13″ pan (or separate into two smaller pans to freeze half for another meal – this is what I did)
• Cover bottom of dish with half of the sauce
• Spoon the ziti mixture over the sauce
• Add chicken evenly through the dish
• Cover with remaining sauce
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and the remaining mozzarella cheese
• Bake for 20 to 30 mins
• Remove from oven and let stand for 10mins for easier serving

Wednesday

OK – yesterday my little one slept really well, and was on a regular schedule eating every 2-3hrs and sleeping in between – it was great, but it didn’t continue through the night. Last night she wanted to feed pretty constantly from 1AM to 5AM, and was very unhappy anytime I’d put her down. So lets just say I’m exhausted today, and I foresee miss fussy pants will continue today as well (so far at least).

So I didn’t make an omelette this morning, but just warmed up some more Apple Cinnamon Oat Bake, and my coffee today is half and half (half caffeinated, half decaf) because mama needs a pick-me-up. Luckily my toddler was happy to have some Oat Bake as well, and I was able to gobble up my breakfast in 5 minutes flat.

Sometimes, the little one just want to be held, so let yourself get nothing done and just be with the newborn. I know how quickly this period flies by and I want to make sure I spend that special time with my baby and give myself a break if everything else (except for my son, of course) falls by the wayside.

I’ve been drinking this Organic Milkmaid tea Organic Milkmaid Tea by Earth Mama | Supports Healthy Breastmilk Production and Lactation, Herbal Breastfeeding Tea Supplement, 16 Count – its delicious and I feel like it does help with supply, but today I got the perfect message on my teabag, it says “its OK to not love every single minute”. Isn’t that the truth? Some days its hard to have a newborn, that’s a fact – and we need to take it easy on ourselves (and each other). Sometimes I feel like Supermom and other days it feels like a struggle, but I know I love this little lady and that is all that matters in the end!

I did manage to make my lunch, even though it took a couple tries to get through it. I was able to feel some sense of accomplishment for eating a healthy lunch!

Brown Rice Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette

I found this recipe at From the Larder, to keep it simple I left out the fresh parsley and dill (I added the almonds after I had snapped the pic).

INGREDIENTS (for two servings):

• 175 g brown rice
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 yellow pepper diced
• ½ red onion finely chopped
• ½ cucumber de-seeded, diced
• 150 g cherry tomatoes halved
• 40 g flaked almonds toasted
• 2 large handfuls parsley finely chopped
• 1 medium handful dill finely chopped

pesto vinaigrette:

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• juice of ½ small lemon
• 4 tablespoons pesto (any kind, homemade or shop bought – whatever you have in your fridge)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cook the brown rice according to the packet instructions then leave to cool (or hopefully you have some leftover cooked rice from Monday)
• Meanwhile mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl and add to the rice once cool.
• To make the vinaigrette, whisk the Dijon and lemon along with some salt and pepper in a small bowl until thickened.
• Whisk in the pesto then drizzle in the olive oil whisking all the time until the dressing has come together.
• Pour over the rice salad, mixing in well.
• Store the salad in the fridge until needed.

Thursday

Today little miss and I ventured out into the world for the first time (other than her doctor’s appointments). We went to the coffee shop where I shamelessly enjoyed a delicious donut and iced coffee (decaf) and then the grocery store. I didn’t attempt a full shopping, just fruit, veggies and essentials. I plan to order the rest via delivery from Whole Foods, which is such an awesome service – definitely take advantage of grocery delivery if your local store offers it! I do find that I don’t receive the best produce when I go with the delivery option though, which is why we made our little trip. It was great to be out and about, and she basically slept the whole time (cars tend to have that effect) so I’m declaring it a victory!

Tuna Tomato Melt

This is a great little lunch. Low carb but filling, and looks pretty too! I got the idea from Skinnytaste but just made my typical tuna salad that I like (I don’t use mayo) and I’ve included my recipe below – and snuck in some Cape Cod chips.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 servings)

• Tuna filets in olive oil – I love this brand, high quality and they also have flavors like w/oregano or w/jalapeño (which would work great for tuna salad). Its even more expensive in the store so I like to buy via Amazon for a better price! I use all the tuna and about 1 tablespoon of the oil in the jar to mix into the tuna salad
• 1 tsp Mustard (I use the olive oil from the tuna and mustard as the ‘sauce’ of my tuna instead of mayo)
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 large tomatoes
• 2 slices cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

• Mixd the first 5 ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Set oven to Broil and arrange rack 1 note down from top
• Slice the top of each tomato and clear out some of the seeds.
• Fill each tomato shell with half of the tuna salad
• Cover each tomato with 1 slice of cheese
• Broil tomato sandwiches for ~2 minutes until cheese is fully melted

I moved my freezer meal – Chicken with Orange and Fennel – to today, just wanted to take advantage of work that was already done 🙂 The important thing to remember for the freezer meals is to thaw overnight or very early in the morning before you plan to cook it. This one, (recipe in my post on freezer meal prep) cooked on low for 6 hours and was really tasty – something a little different with chicken is always welcomed.

Friday

I still had a little Apple Cinnamon Oat Bake left, so I finished it off for breakfast. I made it a little special with strawberries, blueberries and whip cream – my toddler had some berries in whip cream too!

My mother-in-law is visiting from out of state (to meet her new granddaughter!) so we were a little off plan today – we went out for pizza for lunch! So I’m going to push the turkey sloppy joes to next week, we have to be flexible!

Saturday

Brunch! I am happy to report we successfully went out to brunch with both kids and it wasn’t a disaster. This may never happen again….

French toast with blueberry compote, bacon, coffee, chicken and waffles for my husband – delicious!

She’s in there – I promise! This nursing/carseat/stroller cover is a lifesaver – I use it to cover her up in public, it shields her from some of the noise and light in a restaurant for example (which helps keep her calm and sleepy) but I also use it on her stroller to completely shield her from the sun (just be careful it doesn’t get too hot in there) and then its also a nursing cover/scarf – score!

Chicken Wild Rice Soup – Instant Pot

You may have noticed I like gadgets – kitchen gadgets. This has been especially true since becoming a mother – where before I may have been able to perfectly cook rice on the stovetop every time, now I prefer the dump it and leave it approach. As my toddler likes to say, “I too busy”. The rice cooker is definitely one of my most used items, it is great for meal prep because you can make a batch of rice or quinoa on Sunday for healthy meals throughout the week!

For rice or noodle based soups, I always cook the rice/pasta separately. If I’m making a big batch of soup (and plan on enjoying the leftovers) I definitely don’t want leftover rice in there – it ‘drinks’ up all the broth and gets totally mushy. I find it works better to cook it separately, then just add a little into each individual bowl when its time to serve it – then the next day I do the same and can enjoy the leftovers longer. This recipe is inspired by The Kitchen Magpie, but I made a handful of changes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 white onion diced
• 3 carrots peeled and diced
• 3 stalks celery diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 cup wild rice, dry

This recipe only calls for two chicken breast, and the package comes with three, so I saved one that I’ll bake tomorrow and use for salads/lunches next week.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cook wild rice in rice cooker or other method
• While rice is cooking, add all ingredients except rice into the instant pot
• Press the Soup button and cook for 45 minutes
• When ready, remove the chicken breasts onto a plate and shred them. Mix back into the soup.
• To serve add ~1/5th of the rice to each bowl and spoon in soup.
• Store leftover rice separately from leftover soup

Tomorrow (Sunday) I’ll mostly eat leftovers – my remaining PB & Jam cookie, soup, etc and start prepping for next week. Here’s my next postpartum meal plan: