Fueling Your Journey: Essential Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy and Postpartum Recovery… Animal Protein, Veggies, and Potato/Cauliflower Puree!
Nutrition can play a huge part in our pelvic health especially for people who are pregnant and postpartum. There is so much information out there about what the ‘best’ nutrition plan is to fuel your prenatal journey or your postpartum recovery, however, it’s really dependent on the individual!
For most though, having a meal with a higher protein and fat content as compared to carbohydrates is preferred to reduce risk of gestational diabetes, improve hormone regulation, and provide nutrients to baby. It’s also suggested to eat foods higher in fiber to help gut health!
This meal is my most fancy yet! On the menu we have:
❤️Animal protein has tons of Vitamin B12 which is good for your muscles and baby’s nervous system development
❤️ Zucchini has folate which is important for baby’s neural tube development (aka, reduce risk of spina bifida)
❤️ Red pepper has Vitamin C which is needed for for baby’s teeth and bones and for mom to absorb iron
❤️ Potato and cauliflower purée has Vitamin B6 and magnesium which is needed for brain development, nervous system regulation, and immune system upkeep
❤️In the purée there are dairy products which provides healthy fats to stabilize blood sugars and calcium which is needed for bone health
Ingredients
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
2 small Yukon gold potatoes
1 head of cauliflower
Animal protein of choice
2 glugs of olive oil
1-2 TBSP of butter
1/2 cup of heavy cream
Measure cheese with your heart
Seasonings of choice
Steps
Fill a pot with water, place it on the stove, and turn the heat up to high.
Place a large skillet on the stove and turn the heat up to medium/medium high.
This video shows me sautéing veggies first then making chicken thighs, that’s because I only have two burners! So to cook the meat you can either grill it, bake it, or get another skillet out and cook everything at the same time! Make sure to cook chicken to 165 degrees. Beef can be ready at 135 degrees.
While water is boiling and the the skillet is heating up, cut up your veggies.
Once the skillet is hot, pour olive oil into the pan then add zucchini and red pepper. Add seasoning. Cook until desired tenderness.
Once the water is boiling, add potatoes and cauliflower to the pot. Cook until fork tender.
While everything is cooking, add heavy cream, butter, cheese, and seasoning to your blender.
When the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked, drain off the water and add the veggies to the blender. Blend to desired thickness.
Plate everything and enjoy!
