Postpartum Soup
See below for my commentary on WHY this soup and these ingredients.
RECIPE
1 large butternut squash
2-3 large sweet potatoes
1 bunch of celery
1-2 red onions
1 large bag of multi-colored carrots (I usually use around 9 carrots)
2-3 green apples
A whole lot of garlic (because YUM)
Fresh ginger
Fresh turmeric
Ghee (can use coconut oil)
Bone broth (best if you can make this from scratch, but totally fine store bought as well!)
2 cans of coconut milk
Extra Spices I like to add: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Himalayan Sea Salt, Ground Pepper
Toppings: Pumpkin Seeds and Pesto
This is a double batch, intended to make A LOT of soup. My goal is that they will be able to enjoy several meals of this right away, have some for leftovers AND freeze some for later. I purchase all organic and/or locally sourced ingredients for my clients to ensure they are getting really quality food. There will be leftover Ghee and I also leave that for my clients, reminding them how beneficial it is to use during these postpartum days.
Preheat Oven to 420*
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and add a few dollops of Ghee.
Start the chopping (first seven ingredients)! I make pretty rough large pieces because it will all eventually be blended. I peel the squash and sweet potatoes, but keep the skins on the apples and the carrots.
NOTE: Save all of your veggie scraps (yes, even the onion peels) in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer. When the bag is full, simmer those scraps with some fresh herbs (like rosemary, oregano or thyme) to make veggie stock!!
Add a few more dollops of Ghee to the top of your pile of veggies. Sprinkle some spices on top if you want.
Bake till the house smells amazing and the carrots are soft when poked with a fork (around 20-30 mins) stirring once.
Add all roasted veggies to stock pot on the stove top. Add the coconut milk and half of the bone broth. Grate the fresh ginger and turmeric into the pot. Add more Ghee if you feel it is needed. Let it simmer on the stovetop (medium to medium-high) for about 20 minutes so flavors start to blend. Turn heat off and use an immersion blender till soup is creamy. Add more bone broth to get desired texture.
Use the same baking sheet and spread pumpkin seeds in an even layer and bake till they start to brown and make popping sounds (about 10-20 mins). Be sure to stir every 5 mins so the seeds can evenly brown.
Serve with a spoonful of your favorite pesto and sprinkle the yummy pumpkin seeds on top for a little crunch.
Enjoy!
my why…
The days (and weeks) after giving birth are a blur of feeding, sleeping - or at least trying to sleep, pooping - or trying to poop, and countless hours of staring at your new babe. You have waited for these days for months…and they may be exactly as you had imagined…or nothing like you could have expected. Either way, the Fourth Trimester is a time of healing and resting.
“The spectrum of women’s experiences is wide after childbirth, encompassing the woman with minimal maternity leave and the one who plans to stay home indefinitely. But pretty much everyone experiences how the first forty days are inherently imperfect, rife with confusing and clumsy moments, dotted with messy and awkward parts, and sometimes even streaked with melancholy. If you can create space for all the ups and downs, including challenging feelings, and if you can do just a few small things to take good care of yourself during this time, you can help to create the conditions recommended by the old wise ones. You can enjoy a safe, supportive, healing environment that benefits mother and baby today and in the future, and practice staying connected to yourself even while taking care of another. The transition into motherhood - or motherhood again - is an incredibly important time of your life, and there is always an opportunity to bring sacredness into the experience of caring for a new baby.”
- The First Forty Days | The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother, by Heng Ou
With the goal of bringing warmth back into your body and soul, this soup is a perfect option, regardless of the season. Blending the vegetables lends to an easily digestible meal that your digestive track will thank you for. Healing, nutrient dense bone broth is an excellent source of collagen and coconut milk is rich in healthy metabolism boosting fats. Warming spices such as turmeric (a utero-tonic that helps stimulate the uterus return to pre pregnancy size, and a powerful anti inflammatory great for healing post birth), and ginger (improves digestion as the digestive organs return to normal post birth. It’s also a lactogenic herb that supports milk supply).
My role as your doula extends beyond education, empowerment and documentation and into this precious time as you ease into parenthood. To cook in your kitchen as you relax with your little. To fill your home and your senses with the warm smells of roasting vegetables. To hand you a bowl of love that warms your heart and revitalizes your soul. THIS is what postpartum days should look like.
IT WOULD BE AN HONOR TO SUPPORT YOUR BIRTH STORY.
Hi Friends! My name is Lindsey Eden. I am a Birth Photographer & Videographer and a Birth & Postpartum Doula serving Denver, Colorado and surrounding areas.
I am social, love connecting with new people, talking birth, laughter and will probably have my camera in hand (or close by) if we meet in person.
This work is my calling. This is my bliss. I would be honored to connect with you and support you along this journey.
