Postpartum recovery is hungry work, and it tends to happen with one hand while holding a baby. This is the smoothie I come back to: real food, a decent amount of protein and iron, and no cooking.
The recipe
- 1 cup milk of your choice
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup frozen mixed berries
- ½ frozen banana
- 1 large handful of spinach
- 1 tablespoon almond or peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon honey, if you want it sweeter
- Ice as needed
Blend until smooth. That is the entire method.
Why these ingredients
- Greek yogurt — protein and calcium, and it makes the texture thick enough to feel like a meal.
- Spinach — iron and folate. Blood loss at delivery makes iron worth paying attention to, and you genuinely cannot taste it.
- Berries — vitamin C, which helps your body absorb the iron from the spinach.
- Flaxseed — fibre and omega-3s. Fibre matters more than usual in early postpartum, and most people know why.
- Nut butter — fat and protein, so you stay full past the next feed.
Make it easier on yourself
Build freezer packs. Portion the berries, banana, and spinach into bags, one per smoothie. In the morning you tip a bag into the blender, add the liquid and yogurt, and you are done. Ten minutes of prep buys you a fortnight of breakfasts.
Variations
- More protein: add a scoop of a protein powder you already know agrees with you.
- Dairy-free: coconut or oat yogurt and any non-dairy milk.
- Chocolate: a tablespoon of cocoa powder and half a date.
- Extra iron: pumpkin seeds blend in better than you would expect.
If you are managing a food allergy in yourself or your baby, check each ingredient against your own situation. And if you were prescribed an iron supplement, this smoothie is a nice addition to it, not a replacement for it.
The honest version
Some days you will make this. Some days you will eat crackers over the sink. Both are fine. The point of having a recipe like this is that on the days you have five minutes, you do not also have to make a decision.
Want personalized support?
Recovery, feeding, and actually eating something are all connected.
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