It can be hard to find the time and energy to eat well when you’re in the thick of parenting a new baby - cue your postpartum doula, equipped with recipes and kitchen know-how to nurture and nourish. Nourish You is our series of favorite recipes, highlighting seasonal ingredients in healthy recipes, to fuel the postpartum period.

As postpartum doulas, nourishing our clients is the heart of the work we do. Some days, it may look like providing emotional support or doing the household tasks that keep your home humming along so that you can focus on the important work of bonding as a family. Other days, it might involve a quiet flurry of activity in the kitchen (possibly wearing your baby in a wrap or other carrier) to prepare meals and snacks to feed your whole family.

Nutrition can play a key role in recovery for the birthing parent, including improving energy, protecting against perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and preventing bone density loss over the long-term. For both parents, eating food that you enjoy and that is good for your body can be extra supportive during a time of transition and sleep deprivation.

Our damp, gray, chilly PNW winters call for creating coziness! For Bridgetown Baby doula Mindy Baldwin, winter is a perfect time to nourish new families with the easy warmth, deliciousness, and nutrition of baked oatmeal.

“I love this recipe for many reasons,” Mindy shares. “It’s healthy and filling, it can be thrown together with basic ingredients that most households have, and it can incorporate all kinds of yummy add-ins.”

Mindy’s Baked Oatmeal
based on a recipe from Cookie and Kate

3 T butter or coconut oil, divided
1 apple, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2/3 cup chopped nuts
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1.75 cups milk (dairy or alternative)
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or frozen berries
2 tsp brown sugar or raw sugar (optional)

Like many of our favorite recipes, this is one that can easily flex to incorporate seasonal ingredients or ingredients that you have on hand (apples and pears in the fall and winter, cherries and berries in the early summer, stone fruit in the late summer, or frozen fruit in any season), and can be made vegan, gluten-free and low-sugar. So have fun making it your own family favorite!

How Mindy prepares baked oatmeal for Bridgetown Baby postpartum doula clients

Baked oatmeal takes minimal prep, especially if you’ve had the chance to prep beforehand - for example, by laying out all the ingredients and measuring utensils you’ll need ahead of time, using nuts and seeds you’ve pre-roasted, or buying toasted nuts. Here’s the quick run-down, with a link to a more detailed recipe below:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While heating, place 1.5 Tbsp of butter of coconut oil in 8x8 dish and let melt in oven. Dice apples and add to pan; mix in butter before placing back in oven to finish preheating.

• Toast chopped nuts in oven on cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes (or use pre-roasted nuts, to save time).

• In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

• In a glass bowl, melt 1.5 Tbsp butter or coconut oil and add syrup or honey, vanilla, milk, and egg and whisk until combined.

• Remove baking dish from oven and spread cooked apples, along with 1 cup berries (frozen or fresh) on the bottom. Add the dry ingredients to cover the fruit and then drizzle the wet ingredients to cover the oatmeal mixture.

• Top with the remaining berries and sprinkle with brown sugar for a sweet crunch (optional).

• Bake 45 minutes, til the top is golden brown. Cool a few minutes before serving.

• Serve on its own or top with yogurt, whipped cream or additional fresh fruit.

• Have fun and adapt - this is a very forgiving recipe! For less or no sugar, sub mashed bananas and mix in. Sub flax eggs for vegans. Add coconut flakes, ground flax meal or hemp hearts. Try different nuts or seeds. Reheat leftovers or eat cold.

And that’s that - simple, flexible, packed with nutrition and good taste, and it can be eaten any time of the day. It also lasts in the fridge and can be prepared and baked as muffins and frozen for a quick snack or meal later on. For more details and variations, this recipe is the basis for Mindy’s yummy winter baked oatmeal.

Here are some other kitchen tips from Bridgetown Baby’s postpartum doula team - for maximum taste, good health and ease of preparation:

• Buy fresh at your local Portland, Oregon-area farmers market or through produce delivery services like Milk Run or a local CSA (community supported agriculture)

• Group like tasks, such as cutting all ingredients, and then clear the workspace of extra implements (bonus if you give the implements a quick wash or put them in the dishwasher so that clean-up isn’t so daunting at the end)

• Cut extra fruits or veggies to use for snacking or other meals during the week

• Get up to speed on how to store ingredients correctly for health and best flavor

• Learn how to best freeze foods so you can set aside a portion or two to pull out on an especially busy day

• Check out other recipes on the Bridgetown Baby blog

• If you need support to afford nutritious food, check out resources like WIC, OR Food Assistance, and Urban Gleaners

The postpartum experience - as you grow your family and feed your littles - is a period of intense nurturing. It’s a beautiful time to let your village nourish you, whether through meals delivered by friends, snacks prepared by visiting family, or the experienced household management (and kitchen witchery) provided by postpartum doulas.

May you eat well, love fiercely, and grow in good health!

Love,

Your Bridgetown Baby Team

Photos: Natalie Broders