Things to Consider When Meal Prepping for Pregnancy

There are two types of meal prep you want to consider when getting food ready for yourself. This could include both 1) meal prepping for yourself when pregnancy leaves you too exhausted to pack a lunch and 2) meal prepping for postpartum so that food and nutrition is an easy, streamlined process.

The good news is that both of these meal prep goals involve the same strategies! Meal prepping for pregnancy or postpartum both involve the creation of easy, nutritious, low-toxin meals that are freezer-friendly and reheat with ease.

Two Types of Meal Prep

When meal prepping for pregnancy, you want to make two things happen. The first, is you need to make sure that you have something quick and easy on hand to grab and go when you only have a few minutes for a lunch or late dinner. The second is that you want a real, hearty meal available for when the whole family is sitting down to dine but you don’t have the time or energy to get out for groceries, assemble meals, and cook them all while holding a hungry, snuggly, and possibly crying newborn.

Whether you’re a busy pregnant mama or looking to the future after your little one arrives, you need both meals for yourself to grab and go as well as something that you don’t need to think about when it comes to a sit-down meal for everyone else, too.

Toxins When Meal Prepping for Pregnancy

Nobody wants to think that their food can be harming them, and the good news is that it isn’t, most of the time. Most foods are nutritious and beneficial to include in a well-rounded healthy diet. However, we can run into a few problems when considering toxins with our food, especially considering toxins that may be added to the food, or that may leach into the food through packaging.

Pesticides and Preservatives

The heart behind these food toxins is actually good. Of course we want pests to stay away from our crops, and we want our food to be protected from rot and degradation! However, the chemicals involved in accomplishing these tasks actually harm our health in doing so. In order to make sure that you family has the healthiest meals possible whether you’re eating for two or cooking when your arms are full, look for:

• Foods without preservatives addedd, like sodium benzoate, EDTA, potassium sorbate, nitrates and BHA, BHT or TBHQ
• Pesticides added to non-organic food and animal feed are a huge problem. Look for organic labeling whenever available.

Note: Other food additives, beyond preservatives, also can be harmful. I recommend avoiding artificial sweeteners like aspartame an acesulfame potassium, natural flavors, food dyes, and carageenan to name a few.

The good news is that apart from pesticides, if you are choosing whole foods to cook and meal prep with, you really don’t need to worry about the other additives.

Toxic Packaging Materials

Now, the downside about a grab-and-go meal strategy is that the packaging we sometimes use to do so can also pose risks to our health. Materials like plastic and aluminum leach into our food and can affect neurodevelopment of baby, hormone balance, cancer risks and more. Microplastics have been found in everything from the brain to the placenta, and it’s never something we want more of. Instead of disposable aluminum trays or plastic containers, consider the following ideas:

• Stainless Steel Casserole Dishes: This is the most cost effective product I’ve found on Amazon, comes in a pack of two, and can be reused over and over again. If you stock up on 8-10, you can easily prep several dinners that will last for multiple days for a meager investment and cultivate a habit of doubling any recipes you bake or cook going forward.
• Silicone Freezer Bags: Instead of meal prepping for pregnancy in Ziploc freezer bags, consider reusable silicone ones. While silicone is not ideal for hot food applications, they are safe for cold use, and provide a similar layer of freezer protection.
• Glass Jars: The standard for food preservation is usually Ball Jars, which are available in most grocery and home improvement stores. However, if you’re not actually using them for canning, the metal lids can easily corrode and stop being usable over time. These adorable freezer jars have plastic lids (which won’t be touching your food) and hold up better for repeated use. I recommend using individual serving jars like this for meal-prepped broths and soups. They also come in neutral colors.

Meal Prepping for Pregnancy Recipes

During the postpartum period, or even if you’re meal prepping to eat these dishes during pregnancy, nutrition is more important than ever. Consider the following strategies when meal prepping for pregnancy:

1. Lower Carbohydrate (In moderation)

• Blood Sugar Stability: After childbirth, many women experience fluctuations in blood sugar levels. A lower-carb diet can help stabilize blood sugar, preventing energy crashes and promoting consistent energy throughout the day.
• Avoiding Insulin Resistance: Some women may face insulin resistance or have higher blood sugar levels during pregnancy (e.g., gestational diabetes). Postpartum, focusing on lower-carb meals can support insulin sensitivity and help with long-term metabolic health.
• Weight Management: Postpartum weight loss or maintenance can be supported by consuming fewer refined carbohydrates, which can prevent fat storage and cravings. A more balanced approach helps maintain a healthy weight without drastic spikes or drops in energy levels. While weight loss should not be a top priority postpartum, eating nourishing meals will help your body naturally level out at the rate that is most appropriate for oyu.

2. High-Quality Animal Protein

• Muscle Repair & Recovery: Childbirth is physically demanding, and the body needs to repair and rebuild muscle tissue after the exertion of labor. High-quality animal proteins (like chicken, beef, turkey, eggs, and fish) provide essential amino acids that support muscle recovery and tissue healing.
• Breast Milk Production: Protein is also critical for producing breast milk. Amino acids from protein-rich foods are the building blocks of the milk, supporting both quality and quantity for breastfeeding moms.
• Hormonal Balance: Protein helps in balancing hormones, including the ones responsible for mood regulation (like serotonin and dopamine). Postpartum hormonal shifts can cause mood swings, so supporting hormonal health with protein is crucial.

3. Complex Fiber

• Gut Health: After childbirth, many women experience changes in digestion, including constipation or slower gut motility. Complex fiber (found in vegetables, legumes, and some whole grains) promotes regular bowel movements and supports gut health, which is vital for overall health during recovery.
• Blood Sugar Regulation: Fiber helps to slow the absorption of sugars in the bloodstream, preventing sharp spikes and crashes in blood sugar. This is important for postpartum recovery, especially if the body is recovering from insulin imbalances.
• Satiety: High-fiber foods also help keep you feeling fuller longer, reducing the tendency to snack on less nutritious foods or overeat. This is especially useful if you’re managing weight while also needing more energy for breastfeeding or caring for a newborn.

4. Slow-Cooked Meals

• Nutrient Retention: Slow-cooking, especially when using methods like stewing or braising, helps retain more nutrients in foods, particularly minerals and vitamins that are sensitive to heat. The longer cooking time at low temperatures allows for better extraction of nutrients, especially from tougher cuts of meat, bones, and fibrous vegetables.
• Digestibility: Slow cooking also breaks down proteins and fibers, making them easier to digest, which is helpful for a postpartum body that might be more sensitive to foods.
• Ease of Meal Prep: Slow-cooked meals are perfect for batch cooking, which is a huge benefit when you’re short on time during the postpartum period. A large pot of stew, soup, or curry can be made in advance, stored, and reheated as needed, saving time and effort. I recommend a slow-cooker with a latch-on lid for easy transport, and programming like this Crock Pot Cook & Carry.

5. Additional Benefits for Postpartum Health

• Anti-Inflammatory: Many slow-cooked dishes, especially those featuring bone broth or grass-fed meats, contain nutrients like collagen and gelatin, which help repair tissues and reduce inflammation. After childbirth, inflammation is common, and foods that support recovery can promote healing and comfort.
• Hydration: Slow-cooked meals like soups and stews can be rich in water, which is vital for hydration—important for breastfeeding and overall recovery.
• Comfort & Healing: Comfort foods are often slow-cooked, providing not only nourishment but also emotional support during a time of physical and emotional stress. The act of eating well-cooked, hearty meals can be soothing and help mothers feel nurtured during a challenging recovery period.

Meal Prepping Recipes

Here are some of my favorite recipes, to be prepared during pregnancy and enjoyed postpartum, or any time that you’re in need of a nourishing meal. Any soups or stews can easily be prepared ahead of time and frozen in individual servings, or ingredients can be stored together in freezer bags to easily throw in a pot or crockpot at a later time.

Breakfast

• Breakfast Burritos (make with almond flour or cassava tortillas)
• Low Sugar Baked Oatmeal (consider adding 1/2 cup collagen to the recipe)
• Paleo Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins (use unbleached muffin liners and a toxin-free, stainless steel muffin pan)
• Paleo Breakfast Casserole
• Almond Flour Cheddar Biscuits (high protein, low carb)

Lunch/Dinner

• One Pan Chicken Fajitas (prepare and freeze ingredients separately. You can even freeze a pack of tortillas together with the bag of chicken and veggies. Or, serve with rice)
• Veggie-Rich Taco Casserole (make with rice or quinoa)
• Ratatouille Soup (add diced grilled chicken)
• Pasta E Fagioli (omit pasta, if you wish)
• Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken (serve with bagged salad)
• Beef Stew (sub tapioca starch for Paleo)
• Thai Chicken Curry Soup (store rice noodles separately in pantry, or serve with fresh rice/quinoa instead)
• Indian Curry Soup
• Chicken Potato Soup
• Zucchini Lasagne
• Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (no canned soup in this recipe! can omit cheese, and use bone broth instead of milk)
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Cabbage Roll Casserole (can substitute rice with quinoa for higher protein)

Snacks

• Protein Popsicles (made with silicone popsicle molds)
• Protein/Oat Balls
• Pistachio Date Balls (can omit oats)
• Low Carb Peanut Butter Bark

To sum it up, meal prepping for pregnancy is a smart, effective way to ensure that you and your growing family are nourished with wholesome, nutrient-dense meals. By focusing on simple, healthy recipes that are rich in high-quality protein, complex fiber, and slow-cooked goodness, you’ll be setting yourself up for smoother days, both during pregnancy and postpartum. Whether you’re meal prepping for pregnancy to manage your energy levels or preparing meals that support recovery after childbirth, the right foods will help you feel your best. So, take the time to plan ahead, minimize toxins, and create meals that are easy to grab, heat, and enjoy—your body and your baby will thank you.

I’m Dr. Alexandra MacKillop, a functional medicine doctor, food scientist and nutrition expert.

I specialize in women’s nutrition & hormonal health, addressing concerns like longevity, fertility, postpartum, PCOS, endometriosis, and gut symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhea and more.

If you’re looking for a new way to approach your health, I’m here to help you through it.

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Reminder: The information on this post or anywhere else on this blog or other writing is purely educational, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any health condition.

The post Your Guide to Meal Prepping for Pregnancy appeared first on Dr. Alexandra MacKillop.

Starting at just a few days old, our beautiful baby girl developed red spots on her cheeks. We started with the typical “watch and wait” approach for what we and our pediatrician suspected was baby acne, only the blemishes didn’t get better. Instead, they got progressively worse. After a week or so, we realized that we were dealing with atopic dermatitis, not acne. [Note: atopic dermatitis is the technical term for eczema]

We didn’t sweat it at first. After all, our son had broken out in patches of eczema as a baby that cleared up quickly with some good skin care and cleaning up his allergens. We started doing the same for our daughter, using a colloidal oatmeal cream and testing her for food allergies. The spots on her cheeks calmed down at first but a few days later the patches started popping up on her neck, chesk, thighs, elbows and more. We rubbed her down with every cream we could find, pumped her full of probiotics, and even tried bleach baths per the recommendation of our pediatrician (which are exactly as yucky as they sound) to no avail. We also implemented wet therapy, which if you’re not familiar involves putting your baby to bed in wet pajamas. It seemed promising for a few days until she flared up worse than ever and back to dry pajamas it was. Thank goodness. Even the steroid creams didn’t work, which in some ways was a relief becuase that was really the last thing I wanted to be lathering on my infant.

It was all-the-time-itching for our poor little one and we were just barely getting by: Eucerin ointment followed by a thick layer of Aquaphor, and finally full body footie pajamas to reduce scratching. It kept her from bleeding, at least, but her skin was still red, rashy, and super flared up all the time.

What Finally Changed for Us…

It always seems to go like this, but one day I accidentally happened upon some research about ozonated olive oil as an innovative treatment for skin disorders including infant eczema. I was majorly skeptical at first because the study seemed too good to be true…an 80% improvement in less than 5 days with a completely clean safety profile But the more I searched PubMed, I saw more of the same. The research was extremely promising and I couldn’t for the life of me find anything that pointed to toxicity, or any reason that we shouldn’t try it for our daughter.

So, we tried it. And it worked.

The results were incredibly shocking.

You can see in the pictures above what a tremendous change it was. The top photo is her left leg about 4 hours after we first applied the cream and the bottom picture was 40 hours later (so really only 36 hours after the first picture.) You can see that the redness and inflammation have calmed down and the skin is actually regenerating. She clearly isn’t as itchy because she doesn’t scratch at every opportunity, and she hasn’t had any broken skin since we started using the cream. The left picture is her beautiful, clear face today.

But there’s always a down side, isn’t there For us, and for other people who have tried it, I think, the scent of the cream is intense. It smells like ozone, which makes sense because ozonated oil is produced by bubbling ozone gas through olive oil until it becomes solid. The ozone is how it all works actually, as the ozonides formed from bubbling ozone into the oil fill a dual purpose of killing the Staphylococcus bacteria responsible for making such angry red skin in the first place, and also stimulate healing of the tissue itself.

The smell really stuck around, though. Within those few days with just twice daily application, our daughter, her clothes, her bed, and anyone who touched her (i.e. me) smelled strongly of ozone. Of course, it was worth it to keep her safe and healthy (things she was objectively not when so darn flared up) but I figured if there was a way I could make the ozone oil less odorific, that’d be great. So, I combined the ozonated oil with shea butter and coconut oil, two natural emollients that have pleasant but potent scents of their own, and they did a fabulous job taking the ozone scent down several notches and helping lock in moisture to the skin, something the ozonated oils didn’t do as well because you only need such a thin layer to treat the redness.

But I still had some questions…

Why was nobody talking about this?

Smells aside, ozonated oils work for infant eczema. They worked for our daughter and it worked in the research, so what really baffled me was why in the world nobody was talking about this. I had never, ever heard of ozonated oil before. Our pediatrician had never heard about it, I’d never learned about it in school (and mind you I am trained in natural medicine), and I had spent hours upon hours scouring the internet for some missing link that would help our baby. Never did I come across anything about ozonated oil for infant eczema. To me, this was a major problem.

Topical creams are not root cause solutions, but sometimes you just need something that will calm down the suffering, especially when it’s a baby at stake. I’m still investigating what’s going on with my daughter’s gut that led her to develop such uncontrolled eczema in the first place, but in the meantime I’m so grateful that we found something that keeps her comfortable.

Please, for the sake of you and your baby’s skin, try it! I so wish that I had learned of and tried it myself sooner. And if you do try it and it does help you, please let me know so I can celebrate too!

If you loved what you read here, check out these related posts:

• Psoriasis vs. Eczema
• The Gut-Skin Connection

I’m Dr. Alexandra MacKillop, a functional medicine physician, food scientist and nutrition expert.

I specialize in women’s health & hormones, addressing concerns like fertility, disordered eating, PCOS, endometriosis, dysmenorrhea (painful periods), PMS symptoms like bloating and mood changes and more.

My goal is to help you achieve better health than you could ever imagine.

Learn more…

The post Natural Eczema Treatment (that really works!) appeared first on Dr. Alexandra MacKillop.