How My Infertility Journey Is Guiding the Evolution of My Personal Chef Business (Postpartum Meals!)
Updated: May 24
They say we create the product we need and I couldn't agree more.
Since 2018, my goal has been to bring healthy, comfortable food to people while catering to special diets and requests. I've done meal prepping, dinner parties, cooking classes, small retreats, and more. I've challenged myself in many ways and grown more than I could've imagined. While I've enjoyed all of this, things began to shift in 2023. I became burnt out on creating new menus week after week (while accommodating many dietary restrictions leaving me with limited options) and no longer felt passionate about my work. I was in the middle of fertility treatments and wedding planning, so I stuck with it for as long as I could since I didn't have the time to plan the next steps for me and my business.
My now husband and I began trying to conceive in January 2021. After a while of it not working, we moved on to surgeries, IUI's, and IVF. It was a long and exhausting road filled with so many emotions. It's now May 2024 and we're still without a baby, however, I feel we're getting closer! Throughout this journey, I've read many books. Took online classes. Joined Facebook groups. Continued to work with a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ultimately, did anything I could to learn about (in)fertility as well as prepare for all things pregnancy and postpartum. A few times, I felt called to work in this field in some capacity, but never thought seriously about what that would look like. I even started researching how to become a doula at one point, but that didn't entirely resonate with me. Then one day while reading one of the many pregnancy-related books I've acquired, it hit me; healthy food is important to women's health and I know healthy food!
I've heard many stories of moms eating a burger or something similar after giving birth, so I never really thought about the importance of healing food postpartum until I started diving into everything on my fertility journey. I fully support eating whatever your body is craving after birth, however, I wish I had known more about these warming, nutrient-dense foods before my fibroid surgery and my egg retrievals. And as someone who knows they need a C-section (thanks to my fibroid surgery), I'm grateful to now be equipped with the knowledge of what to eat postpartum to support my body as best I can. Easy-to-digest, soft, warming foods are critical during these healing times, especially for new moms. And a bonus is having them ready to eat and not having to cook them yourself! Because let's face it, not all of us have a support team nearby that can cook these foods for us, and we may not have the time or energy to do it ourselves. That's where I come in. The foods I needed on this journey and will hopefully need again, are now the foods I'm creating for others. If you're an expecting parent, I recommend adding this service to your baby registry as I've designed this service to make it easy to gift meals.
I am so excited to combine my newfound passion for fertility and pregnancy with my knowledge of healthy, plant-focused cooking and share it through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). I've followed many TCM principles throughout the past 10 years and am proud to incorporate some of them into the food I'm creating. Many of these principles are the same ones found in the book The First Forty Days. While there is some healing benefit to incorporating bone broths and other animal products as the book mentions, I find those options to be already widely accessible. Instead, I am creating these foods with a plant-based focus for those who choose to eat that way. That said, if you eat animal products, you can easily add them to any of these dishes!
Ready to learn more about the foods I'm creating and the ethos of my business? If so, read on!
All of the meals I'm creating use foods that are soft, warming, sprouted, easy to digest, nourishing, nutrient-dense, and contain healthy fats
They're organic, plant-based (except honey which can be swapped for maple syrup), gluten-free, and low in salt
In my cooking I only use non-toxic cookware, filtered water, wood cutting boards (no plastic!), and Redmond's Real Salt which naturally contains 60+ trace minerals
My food never contains seed/vegetable oils or refined sugar. These recipes only use olive and coconut oils and local raw honey (or maple syrup when requested)
Last but not least, I compost all of my food scraps and keep my kitchen as low waste as possible
With all the excitement of a new baby, new moms often don't get the postpartum care they need. I'm here to help that. There is a lot of care and focus that goes into working with these nutrient-dense foods. Because of that, these meals may help postpartum moms with physical and emotional recovery, milk supply (if you choose to breastfeed), hormonal balance, and energy levels. They'll also afford new parents more time with their newborn and less time worrying about what to cook and eat. In addition to postpartum, these meals may also be helpful for people recovering from surgery, who have experienced pregnancy loss, or anyone wanting a nutritious, anti-inflammatory, healing meal. Please remember to always check with your doctor and make sure these foods are safe for any condition you may have.
The foods I'm creating are fairly simple. They're not fancy, gourmet meals, but rather, intended for nutrition and sustenance. The menu focuses on soups and stews with some other treats to choose from, like the dreamiest chocolate mousse that my husband couldn't stop eating! You can eat the meals however you prefer, but they're designed to start with broths/seaweed soup and work your way up to the heartier soups/stews. I'm starting with a smaller menu and may add items over time. Do you have an idea for a dish you don't see listed? Reach out and let's discuss! I'm always happy to accommodate special requests when possible.
Menu and more details launching soon!
Food delivery services will be available in Southern California. If you have any questions about placing an order, gifting meals, or anything else, please reach out to me at melissa@forkinplants.com and I'd be happy to discuss!
Some books I'd recommend for fertility and pregnancy-related topics:
Thanks for reading!
Xo,
Melissa
We do not diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental or emotional condition and nothing on our website, its content or in our services is intended to diagnose, treat, heal, cure or prevent any illness, medical condition or mental condition. Forkin’ Plants provides personal chef services. Our services are not medical advice. Melissa Glazewski is a plant-based personal chef, not a licensed medical professional. Nothing on our website, in our Content or in our Services should be construed as healthcare advice or as a substitute for a consultation with a licensed medical professional who can review and advise you on your specific situation. Anyone choosing to implement any information on our website or in our Services should obtain prior medical clearance from a licensed medical professional to declare them sufficiently healthy, and determine that the information on our website or in our services is appropriate and useful for them. If you choose not to consult with a healthcare professional before using any information on our website or in our Services, you assume all risk for any and all results. Do not disregard professional medical advice, stop taking medications, stop any treatments or delay seeking professional advice because of information you have read on our website, or received from us. Working with us is not a guarantee of any results. Forkin’ Plants owns all copyrights to the materials presented here unless otherwise noted.
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