During this tiring time of bringing a newborn baby home from the hospital, the last thing on your mind is rustling up a gourmet dinner that takes hours to prepare!  It is easy to grab the boxed food from the freezer or wander around the grocery store going down the middle aisles reaching for canned, or boxed food.  But as your postpartum doula here in Orlando, If one of my errands for you, is grocery shopping and preparing a healthy dinner for you, I try to skirt myself around the perimeter of the store as much as I can, so that I know you are eating healthy.

Eating healthy of course is great for the body, but it is also good for the mind.  Baby brain is a problem we are faced with during pregnancy and even following the birth.  We forget where we put our keys, we forget appointments unless we have reminders.  There is so much going on and I am here to help you. One way I can start is by shopping for you, cooking for you and chatting with you as the crock pot bubbles with it’s contents full of deliciousness!

If you don’t have a crock pot I really suggest that you get one.  They are a God send when you are adjusting to life with a newborn baby.  I love my crock pots and still use them at least once a week.  I have two.  One that is suitable for one to two people that can fit approximately 2 chicken breasts with not much room for leftovers.  I feel that a larger crock pot is better during the postpartum period so you can have your meal cooked for you through the day (makes the house smell lovely too) and your partner will love walking in the door after work with dinner ready as he/she can serve it to you on a silver platter for all of your hard work!

So without further ado, here is your recipe ….

I can always pick up a crock pot for you as well as the ingredients on my way over for our postpartum doula visit and give you a 5 minute lesson if cooking is not your forte!

If you are using a larger crock pot than the one shown in the video above …

1. Throw in 4 chicken breasts. If using a small crock pot, you can usually only squeeze in two breasts.
2. Add a jar of salsa…I try to find a jar that has the ‘least’ amount of sodium in it.
3. A handful of fresh cilantro.
4. Some sliced *jalapeno approximately 4 slices (if you are not breastfeeding or if baby is used to spice throughout your pregnancy)  Not shown in the video.
5. Sweet corn. Preferably not in a can (canned food has a lot of sodium)
6. Black beans that have been soaked overnight (again, preferably not from a can as they have a lot of sodium). Not shown in the video.

Switch your crockpot onto ‘low’ and cook for approximately 4 – 6 hours…

The chicken will shed and will be so tender and the flavors will be just delicious as they slow cook all day!

Serve with brown rice, or tortillas and some lime wedges and avocado.

Hopefully you will have some leftovers that you can heat up for lunch the next day or for your partner’s dinner again, the following night.

WASH HANDS AFTER TOUCHING!!

*If you are slicing fresh jalapeno’s DON’T FORGET TO WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE you touch the baby or yourself.  Jalapeno’s left on the fingers, burn nipples, lips, eyes if not washed thoroughly!!

Too much sodium doesn’t help with water retention which a lot of women carry after being pregnant. Of course the sodium intake doesn’t help if you feeling bloated or if you are carrying excess baby weight that you wish to lose.

Claire xo