Cozy, Nourishing Foods for Postpartum

Fall has a way of making us crave exactly the kinds of foods a postpartum body needs: warm soups, roasted root vegetables, slow-cooked meats, nourishing grains, baked apples, and plenty of warming spices.

We crave these foods as the weather gets chilly and crisp for a reason, too. After pregnancy and birth, your body is working so hard to heal, replenish nutrient stores, support hormone changes, and if you're breastfeeding, to produce milk around the clock. You don't need a super complicated diet plan to get through this season, but you do need enough food, enough protein, plenty of nutrients, healthy fats, and meals that are actually easy to digest and eat.

Traditional postpartum food practices, including principles from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, emphasize warm, cooked, soft and nourishing foods after birth. At Restorative Roots, we follow these same principles for our postpartum meals, focusing on soups, stews, broths, cooked grains, warming spices, and nutrient-dense animal foods (including organ meat!)

So if you're building a postpartum meal plan for fall, or stocking the freezer before the baby arrives, these are some of the foods we would put at the top of the list this autumn. 

1. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of our favorite fall foods for postpartum recovery because they're comforting, naturally sweet, easy to digest when cooked, and packed with nutrients.

Sweet potatoes are one of nature’s nourishing carbohydrates. They’re particularly rich in beta-carotene, which the body can convert to vitamin A, along with vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and carbohydrates to support energy needs. Postpartum is not the time to be afraid of carbohydrates, your body needs adequate fuel to recover, heal, and care for your baby.

Your body needs energy to heal. If you're breastfeeding, you're also using additional energy and burning calories to produce milk. Pairing a nourishing carbohydrate like sweet potato with protein and healthy fat creates a much more satisfying postpartum meal than trying to survive on salads or snack foods.

Easy ways to eat more sweet potatoes postpartum:

• Roast them with ghee and warming spices

• Add them to soups and stews

• Mash them with butter or ghee

• Add them to a breakfast bowl with eggs

• Use them as the base of a nourishing grain-and-protein bowl

Try this recipe:

Ayurvedic Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

This recipe combines sweet potatoes and carrots with ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, and coconut milk for a warming, comforting soup.

Postpartum tip: Make a double batch and freeze individual portions so you have something nourishing ready when you're hungry and holding a baby.

2. Winter Squash

Butternut squash, acorn squash, delicata squash, and other winter squashes are practically made for postpartum fall meals. 

Like sweet potatoes, squash provides complex carbohydrates along with fiber, carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and other micronutrients. One of the biggest benefits postpartum is how easy squash is to turn into a complete meal.

Roast it. Blend it into soup. Add it to a stew. Mix it into rice. Pair it with chicken or beef. Soft, warm, nutrient-dense food doesn't need to be complicated.

Easy ways to eat squash postpartum:

• Roast cubes of squash with ghee, cinnamon, and sea salt

• Add roasted squash to a bowl with chicken and rice

• Blend squash into soup

• Add it to a slow-cooked beef stew

• Stuff roasted squash with ground beef and herbs

Try this recipe:

Butternut Squash Curry Soup

This is a particularly good postpartum meal because it turns seasonal squash into a warm, soft meal that can be prepared ahead and reheated easily. 

3. Pumpkin

Pumpkin isn't just for pumpkin spice lattes (although we love those, too).

This fall favorite is an easy way to add fiber, beta-carotene, potassium, and carbohydrates to postpartum meals.

Pumpkin is incredibly versatile. You can add it to oatmeal, soups, muffins, pancakes, baked goods, smoothies, or savory dishes. It has a very mild flavor so it won’t overpower your dish. For postpartum recovery, we especially love pumpkin when it's incorporated into a warm breakfast, soup, or snack.

Easy ways to eat pumpkin postpartum:

• Stir pumpkin into warm oatmeal

• Add it to pancakes or muffins

• Blend it into a creamy soup

• Make pumpkin chia pudding

• Add pumpkin puree to a warm breakfast bowl

Try this recipe:

Soft Chewy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Blondies (Vegan & GF)

They're an easy treat to make in bulk and they freeze wonderfully. No artificial sweeteners or additives, plus they’re grain and gluten-free! Save for a snack or dessert when you need something convenient and clean that can be eaten one-handed.

4. Apples

An apple straight from the fridge might not be the first food we'd reach for during the early postpartum period. That’s because raw cold fruit can be hard on digestion those early weeks.

But a warm, cooked apple with cinnamon? Absolutely. Apples provide fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants, and cooking them makes them soft and easy to incorporate into warm postpartum meals.

At Restorative Roots, our postpartum nutrition philosophy emphasizes cooked fruits and vegetables, particularly during the early weeks after birth, rather than relying heavily on cold and raw foods.

Easy ways to eat apples postpartum:

• Simmer apples with cinnamon

• Add cooked apples to oatmeal

• Make homemade applesauce

• Add apples to a slow-cooked pork or chicken dish

• Bake apples with butter, cinnamon, and walnuts

Try this recipe:

Cooked Apple with Cinnamon

This simple combination is included in the Restorative Roots Postpartum Recipe Guide and is exactly the kind of low-effort food that works well during the early postpartum period. Simply peel and chop an apple, add it to a small saucepan with a splash of water and cinnamon, and simmer until soft.

Add a spoonful of grass-fed butter or ghee for healthy fat. You can add this over warm oatmeal and yogurt for a more full meal.

5. Bone Broth

If there is one ingredient we would encourage postpartum moms to keep stocked in the freezer, it's bone broth.

Bone broth is a nourishing base for soups, stews, rice, congee, sauces, and grains. It also gives you an easy way to add flavor and protein to meals without creating another complicated dish.

Bone broth contains collagen and amino acids such as glycine and proline. The exact nutrient content varies depending on how it's prepared, so think of it as a supportive food rather than a miracle cure.

Easy ways to use bone broth postpartum:

• Sip it warm from a mug

• Cook rice in it

• Use it as the base for soup

• Add it to mashed potatoes

• Use it to make congee

• Add it when reheating leftovers

Try this recipe:

Nourishing Bone Broth Recipe

Our bone broth recipe uses bones, vegetables, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt, and filtered water. It can be prepared in an Instant Pot, stock pot, or slow cooker and frozen for later use.

Postpartum freezer tip: Freeze bone broth in individual portions so you can grab exactly what you need for a single meal or warm single cup. 

6. Grass-Fed Beef

Beef isn’t just a solid protein source. Beef is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. It’s packed with highly bioavailable iron, zinc, B12, selenium, and essential B vitamins, making it one of the most concentrated sources of several nutrients that support energy, blood health, and recovery. 

Iron is particularly important to think about after birth because pregnancy and delivery can affect iron stores, especially when blood loss occurs.

Don’t think of beef as just eating a thick cut steak, think about incorporating it into easy-to-digest postpartum meals like soups, stews, meatballs, and slow-cooked dishes to maximize nutrients.

Easy ways to eat beef postpartum:

• Add ground beef to soup

• Make a slow-cooked beef stew

• Make meatballs with cooked vegetables

• Add shredded beef to rice bowls

• Make chili with bone broth

Try this recipe:

Burrito Bowl (sub chorizo for grass-fed ground beef)

Or try our customer favorite: Mongolian Beef Stew

Our Mongolian Beef Stew combines ground beef with beef heart and liver, bone broth, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and coconut milk. It's a perfect example of turning beef into a warm, nutrient-dense postpartum meal.

This is also one place where organ meats can quietly make their way into the postpartum diet without requiring you to eat a plate of liver.

7. Pasture-Raised Chicken

Chicken is one of those foods that deserves a permanent place in the postpartum freezer.

It's versatile, easy to digest when cooked properly, and provides high-quality protein needed for tissue repair, muscle recovery, and overall nourishment. Since chicken has a relatively mild flavor, it works in almost everything.

Easy ways to eat chicken postpartum:

• Shred it into soup

• Add it to rice and vegetables

• Make chicken congee

• Use it in a nourishing curry

• Cook chicken thighs slowly in bone broth

Try this recipe:

Ginger, Turmeric, Chicken and Cauliflower Soup

Or try our customer favorite: Creamy Chicken + Rice Congee

This is one of the best examples of a postpartum meal that checks multiple boxes at once.

The Restorative Roots' version slow-cooks jasmine rice in bone broth and combines it with pasture-raised chicken thighs, chicken liver, garlic, onion, lemon, and butter.

It's warm, soft, protein-rich, and easy to eat, which is exactly the kind of meal that makes sense when you're recovering from birth and caring for a newborn.

8. Oats

There is a reason oatmeal has been a postpartum staple for generations.

Oats provide carbohydrates, fiber, iron, magnesium, and other nutrients while also being incredibly easy to prepare. They're particularly useful when you're breastfeeding and waking up hungry at all hours of the night.

Instead of grabbing a packaged granola bar at 3 a.m., keep a batch of nourishing oatmeal or oat-based breakfast foods ready to go.

Easy ways to eat oats postpartum:

• Make warm oatmeal with cinnamon

• Add cooked apples or pumpkin

• Stir in nut butter or ghee

• Add chia or ground flax

• Make overnight oats and gently warm them before eating

• Make oatmeal congee

Try this recipe:

Chia Oatmeal Congee

Or, our customer favorite: Very Berry Oatmeal Congee

For an even more substantial breakfast, top your oats with cooked apples, cinnamon, nut butter, full-fat yogurt, or another protein source.

9. Warming Spices

Some of the most powerful ingredients in a fall postpartum kitchen aren't technically foods at all.

They're spices including: ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg can transform simple ingredients into deeply comforting meals.

These spices also have long histories of use in Ayurvedic and traditional food practices for supporting digestion and warmth. At Restorative Roots, we  incorporates warming spices throughout its postpartum recipes, including ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and turmeric.

Easy ways to use warming spices postpartum:

Ginger: Add to soups, rice, tea, and stir-fries.

Cinnamon: Add to oatmeal, cooked apples, pumpkin, and warm milk.

Turmeric: Add to soups, rice dishes, curries, and golden milk.

Cumin: Add to roasted vegetables, lentils, soups, and stews.

Cardamom: Add to oatmeal, rice pudding, or warm drinks.

Nutmeg: Add to pumpkin dishes, oatmeal, and creamy soups.

Try this recipe:

Ayurvedic Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

This recipe is a perfect example of how warming spices can turn simple fall produce into a deeply nourishing postpartum meal. It combines ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, and nutmeg with sweet potatoes and carrots.

10. Root Vegetables

If you're looking for the ultimate category of postpartum fall foods, don't overlook root vegetables.

Sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, rutabaga, and other roots are naturally grounding, hearty, and perfect for warm cooked meals. They're also incredibly easy to prepare in large batches. Roast a sheet pan of root vegetables on Sunday and you've already got the foundation for several postpartum meals.

Easy ways to eat root vegetables postpartum:

• Roast carrots, parsnips, and sweet potatoes together

• Add them to soups and stews

• Mash potatoes and root vegetables with ghee

• Add roasted vegetables to a rice bowl

• Puree them into a creamy soup

We include root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots, and parsnips as part of a nourishing postpartum menu at Restorative Roots.

Try this recipe:

Ginger Carrot Soup

Carrots are an easy postpartum root vegetable to incorporate into soups. The combination of cooked carrots and ginger makes this a simple way to bring more warm, nourishing vegetables into your postpartum meals.

What Should a Postpartum Fall Meal Actually Look Like?

You don't need to eat every food on this list every day. Instead, think about building meals around a few simple components: 

• Protein 

• Nature’s carbohydrate 

• Healthy fat 

• Broth or warming spices.

For example:

Breakfast

• Warm oatmeal with cooked apples, cinnamon, walnuts, and a side of eggs.

Lunch

• Chicken and rice congee made with bone broth and cooked vegetables.

Dinner

• Slow-cooked beef stew with carrots, squash, and potatoes.

Before bed

• A warm mug of bone broth or a nourishing caffeine-free tea or adaptogen hot cocoa.

This style of eating is much more supportive of postpartum recovery than trying to survive on protein bars, cold smoothies, salads, and coffee. 

Don't Forget: Postpartum Food Needs to Be Easy

Knowing what to eat postpartum is only half the battle. The other half is actually having food available when you're exhausted, hungry, touched-out, and holding a newborn. A theoretically perfect postpartum meal isn't helpful if it requires 90 minutes of chopping and three dirty pans.

That's why we love meals that can be made in large batches, frozen, reheated, and eaten from a bowl like soups, stews, congee, cooked grains, slow-cooked meats, roasted vegetables, and warm breakfasts.

These foods can nourish you without asking you to spend your entire day in the kitchen. If you're preparing for a baby, this is exactly why we recommend building your postpartum freezer  before you give birth.

Recipes & Resources to Build Your Fall Postpartum Meal Plan

If you're looking for more ideas, start with our Ultimate Guide to Fall Postpartum Meals and our Postpartum Recipe Guide.

You can also read Nutrient-Dense Foods for Postpartum Recovery for more foods to incorporate into your postpartum meal plan.

And if cooking is the last thing you want to think about after having a baby, that's exactly why we created Restorative Roots.

Our postpartum meals are made with organic ingredients, regenerative, and pasture-raised meats, and slow-cooked in small batches with regenerative bone broth, then delivered frozen so they're ready when you need them.