Meal prep with a newborn doesn’t look like neat rows of matching containers. It looks like one hour, on a day when someone can hold the baby, that makes the rest of the week easier. Here’s how to spend it.
A big pot of soup or chili
Chicken, lentil and vegetable soup or turkey and bean chili. Portion it into containers you can heat with one hand.
A tray of roasted vegetables
Sweet potato, carrots, peppers and onions with olive oil and salt. Add them to eggs, grains or wraps all week.
Hard-boiled eggs
Cook a dozen while the oven runs. Peel half right away so they’re ready to grab.
Overnight oats, three jars
Oats, milk or yogurt, berries and a spoon of nut butter. Breakfast for three mornings, ready before you’re awake.
Oat and date energy bites
Oats, dates, nut butter and a pinch of salt, rolled into balls. Perfect for night feeds.
A night-feed snack box
Nuts, cheese cubes, crackers and dried fruit in one box by your feeding chair.
Shop once, think less
Keep a running list on your phone of the five or six meals you actually like, and rotate them. Decision fatigue is real when you’re short on sleep, and repeating favorites saves you a decision every night.
Let people help
When someone asks what they can do, say “a meal.” A friend who drops off a lasagna is giving you an evening off. Freeze half for a harder day.
For nursing moms
If you’re breastfeeding, aim for steady meals and snacks rather than eating less. Your provider or a lactation consultant can help with questions about your own needs.
Your one-hour game plan
- Start the soup or chili first, since it takes the longest.
- Get the vegetables in the oven straight after.
- Boil the eggs while both are cooking.
- Mix the overnight oats and roll the energy bites.
- Fill your snack box, then portion the soup once it cools.
By the time the hour is up, breakfasts, lunches and snacks are mostly handled, and dinner only needs a protein and a grain.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have questions about eating while breastfeeding, or about your own needs, talk to your provider or a lactation consultant.
See what’s in the meal guide→
