Cooking is without a doubt one of my favourite things to do for the families I support.

There is so much that I do as postnatal doula that is helpful and filling a new family's with a fridge or freezer full of delicious food that is also nutritious is at the top of the list. 

I advocate eating lighter meals in the beginning. Heng Ou explains in her book The First Forty Days:

'After the energetic expenditure of birth and almost ten months of of having your abdomen organs pushed into a tighter space, your digestion is considered to be a little slower and weaker than normal, so it's time to eat gently for a while before back into high gear.'

When you're ready and feeling like something a bit more filling, this fish pie is great.

This fish pie recipe from Jamie Oliver is both of those things. I made it recently for one of my doula clients and she's requested it several times since.

The recipe makes a very generous six portion so this one is great as freezer filler. Make it ahead of time and prepare it up to the point of cooking. Portion out into smaller serving container and pop into the freezer. When you fancy it, all you need to do is warm it in the oven and enjoy.

Not only is it the ultimate in comfort food but it's full of new mum nutritional powerhouses including salmon which is full of protein and DHA and spinach which is an iron powerhouse and full of calcium - all important things for a new mum's postnatal nutrition.

To boost the nutrition even further on this one you could swap the white potato for sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A and C and a great source of calcium and iron.

If you want to learn more about how to nourish yourself and eat well in the early days and weeks after you've had a baby, check out my Mothermoon Workshop taking place on the 28th of January. As a bonus, all attendees will also receive a recipe booklet filled with recipes that are easy to make, delicious and nutritious to ensure you're not just living off biscuits and cups of lukewarm tea!