In the lead up to birth and in the postpartum period, I suggest eating slow cooked soups and stews. If you are not a vegetarian, I highly suggest slow cooker beef stews, chicken/turkey soups, yams, beets and cooked dark green vegetables. This allows for maximum nourishment with minimal effort for your digestive system. Smoothies and salads are okay, but try to favour the warm and cooked foods, especially in the first few weeks of postpartum.
Try cooking up some big batches of soups and stews in the last month of pregnancy, eat half and freeze the other half for postpartum.

Below are some go to recipes for labour and postpartum (and a few low glycemic pregnancy breakfast options):

Labourade (electrolyte drink for during childbirth)

1/3 cup fresh lemon or lime juice (for energy)
1/3 cup liquid honey or maple syrup (for energy)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Pink Himalayan salt (prevents dehydration)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (calms the stomach- this is optional)
2 crushed calcium/magnesium tablets/capsules or liquid (relaxes muscles and needed a lot during childbirth)
Add enough water to make up 1 litre, then add either an additional cup of red raspberry tea or a cup of your favorite juice to flavor the beverage.

Instructions:
Blend together and pour into ice cube trays or drink "straight" during labour/childbirth. Also good after if you are noticing a lot of thirst as your milk comes in.

Major Milk Makin' Cookies
Recipe by Kathleen Major

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour  (or Gluten free oat flour if needing GF)
1 3/4 c. oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

3/4 c. almond butter or peanut butter 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. flax
3 T brewer's yeast

1/3 c. water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 c. (12oz) chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
In a large bowl, beat almond butter, butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, brewer's yeast, flax and water until creamy. Mix in eggs.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Mix in nuts and chocolate chips.
Add oats slowly, mixing along the way.

Place balls of dough onto greased baking sheets or baking stones. Press down each ball lightly with a fork.
Bake 12 minutes.

Emilie’s grain free-protein pancakes

Makes 6 pancakes (roughly 2-3 servings)

¾-1 banana (ripe but not frozen and super mushy)

4 eggs

¼ cup of coconut flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions: Mash the banana in a large bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients in and blend with a hand blender. Blend until you have a smooth, slightly frothy texture.

Heat up your frying pan, add some coconut oil or ghee and make the pancakes as you normally would. Flip pancakes once you start seeing bubbles.

Pancakes should be nice and fluffy. They can also be made the night before and just heated up the next day, for those who don’t have much time in the morning.

Toppings: almond butter (or grass fed butter), blueberries, raspberries, strawberries

Gluten Free Coconut flour lemon blueberry muffins

1/3 - 1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (fine sea salt)

6 large free range eggs

zest from 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup grass fed butter melted (or avocado oil)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup blueberries (also good with blackberries)

Preheat oven at 350F. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.

Beat wet ingredients until frothy. Mix in dry ingredient. Fold blueberries in gently.

I like to use silicone muffin cups. But if you don't have any, use paper or just greasy the muffin tin.

Bake until the tops are brown, and the kitchen is filled with the sweet smell of muffins. Sorry...I inherited my French grandmother's lack of timing ...or measuring things... maybe 20-25 mins?

Witch Hazel Postpartum Pads

While your body is healing in postpartum, witch hazel should be your go-to product. It helps relieve swelling and can also reduce the size of hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Witch Hazel also relieves pain of a sore perineum and speeds healing time. You can put it right on your skin, in a sitz bath or make these fantastic postpartum pads with it. Buy some large overnight pads, saturate in witch hazel. Often people suggest sticking them in the freezer. The cool pads will reduce inflammation and itch, and the witch hazel will soothe and ensure prompt healing of a sore perineum. With that said, in Chinese Medicine, cold around the uterus is not suggested after birth, so another option is to have either warm or room temperature-soaked pads, or sitz baths. If the idea of ice on the perineum is just too appealing, then just remember to stop the cold version as soon as the initial swelling is down.