Ayurvedic Recipes for the First 42 Days of Postpartum

I get asked so often what my favourite meals are for postpartum mummas, so I thought I’d share some of my go-to meals for postpartum mothers.

My approach to health and wellbeing, for myself and the mothers I serve, is rooted in the principles of Ayurveda.
I studied Ayurveda in India, where I spent six months studying yoga.
Ayurveda is a whole wellness system that looks at how our inner world relates to the outer world, and how we can bring harmony to ourselves through not just food, but practices and ways of living.

The journey of giving birth and moving from being pregnant to no longer pregnant is considered Vata-aggravating in Ayurveda. The key to postpartum care of the mother is to calm Vata (the ether and air elements). After birth, a mother is full of the mobile, light, dry, and cold qualities due to the loss of energy, blood, fluids, and the physical space once occupied by the baby. This means the new mother, and those taking care of her, need to create an environment and diet that is as calming, warm, and nourishing as possible as to not aggravate the natural Vata state she now finds herself in.

When Vata is aggravated, it can manifest as anxiety, overthinking, poor digestion, constipation, light or disrupted sleep, low energy, and difficulty grounding.

In this post, we’ll focus on the food side of things. Ofcourse there are many things I offer to new mothers that focus on balancing out Vata and bringing the mother into harmony, for eg, belly binding, abyhanga etc. But this post is about food as medicine.

I see time and time again how food becomes medicine, or misfire, in the early days after birth.

Let’s explore how Ayurveda can support your body, mind, and spirit during postpartum through simple, warming, nourishing foods designed to rebuild and reweave you.

Why Postpartum Nutrition Matters

To balance out the Vata dominance in a new mother, we aim to offer foods that are easy to digest, calming, and that restore Agni (digestive fire). In Ayurveda, a strong digestive fire is essential for recovery.

Ayurveda encourages foods that are:

• Warm and cooked (not cold or raw)

• Oily and moist (to counter dryness)

• Easily digestible (to support a weakened digestive fire)

• Mildly spiced (to gently kindle digestion)

• Naturally sweet (sweetness is connected to the heart and grounding)

• Sattvic (pure, nourishing, and soul-supporting)

The First 42 Days: A Window to Rebuild

Traditionally, the postpartum period is known as the Sacred 42 Days — a time when rest, care, and the right nourishment set the foundation not just for recovery, but for a mother’s health for the next 42 years.

In those early weeks, mothers are supported well by:

• ✨ Slow-cooked grains

• ✨ Broths and soups

• ✨ Ghee and warming spices

• ✨ Herbal teas

• ✨ Iron- and calcium-rich stews

• ✨ Easily digestible proteins like mung dal, soft-cooked lentils, and slow-cooked meats

These foods don’t just rebuild the physical body, but also help support the energetic body too.

A Few Things to Note:

• While many associate Ayurveda with vegetarianism, this ancient healing system recognises meat as medicinal, particularly during times of deep depletion, like postpartum. When sourced ethically and prepared with warming spices, slow-cooked meats and broths offer a deeply grounding and rebuilding quality.

• Ayurveda believes in the power of energy, and intention.  And the belief we can absolutely alchemise the energetic make up of our food when we view what we are eating as medicinal. So while I follow these principles I’m also a big believer in eating in what intuitively feels good  and trusting that what nourishes the soul nourishes the whole body. It’s a balance of magic and natural biology that I think your intuition can only guide you.
  

My Go-To Postpartum Recipes

These recipes are inspired by or adapted based on Ayurvedic principles that I serve by:

Warm Spiced Milk

• Organic milk

• ½ tsp ghee

• ⅛ tsp cinnamon

• ⅛ tsp cardamom

• 2–3 cloves

• 1 tsp honey (or maple syrup)

Add ghee and spices to a pot, then add milk. Bring just to a boil, then turn off heat. Let cool slightly before adding honey.

Warm Spiced Porridge

• Oats

• Ghee

• Warming spices: cloves, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, cinnamon, turmeric

• Milk of choice

• Honey

• Orange zest

Activate spices in ghee, add oats and milk, and cook until creamy. Serve with ghee, orange zest, and honey.

Kitchari

• 1 cup moong dal

• ½ cup basmati rice, rinsed

• 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp mustard seeds

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp coriander

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• Pinch of asafoetida (hing)

• 1 inch ginger, grated

• 1½ cups mixed vegetables

• 5 cups broth or water

• 1 tsp sea salt

• Fresh herbs to garnish

Cook dal and rice with water and hing until soft. Add vegetables and cook 10 mins more. Separately, sauté spices in ghee until fragrant and mix into the pot. Season and garnish.

Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup

• 2 tbsp ghee

• 1 leek

• 1L chicken stock

• 400g chicken breast, chopped

• ⅓ cup white short grain rice

• 2 eggs

• ⅓ cup lemon juice

• 2 tbsp parsley

Cook leek in ghee, add stock, chicken, and rice. Simmer 20 mins. Whisk eggs with lemon juice, temper with hot soup, then stir into the pot. Garnish with parsley.

Beef Stew (from Jo Whitton's Simple Healing Foods)

• Ghee

• 500g stewing beef

• 2 cups beef or chicken stock

• 1 leek

• 2 celery stalks

• 150g carrot, cubed

• 200g pumpkin, cubed

• 250g baby peas (frozen)

• ½ cup parsley

• 3 tsp mixed herbs

• 60g tomato paste

• Salt and pepper

Brown beef in ghee, set aside. Deglaze pan with heated stock. Sauté leek and celery, return beef and stock to pot. Add herbs, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Simmer 1 hour. Add vegetables, cook uncovered 20 mins, then serve.

Lamb Shank and Veggie Soup

• Ghee

• 2–3 kg lamb shanks

• 1 leek

• 1 tsp black pepper

• Handful thyme sprigs

• 4 rosemary sprigs

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1 cinnamon quill

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 sweet potato, diced

• 1 large carrot, sliced

• 3 celery stalks, chopped

Fry leek in ghee, brown shanks with salt and pepper. Add herbs and spices, cover with water, and cook on low 4–6 hours. Remove meat, shred, return to pot. Add vegetables, simmer 20 mins. Garnish with parsley and cinnamon.

Ginger Chicken Congee

• 1 cup long grain rice

• 8 cups water

• 6 chicken thighs (bone-in)

• 1 large knob ginger, sliced

• Tamari

• Salt

• Fresh coriander

Rinse rice, add to pot with water, ginger, and chicken. Bring to boil, reduce to low, cover and simmer 1–1.5 hours. Remove chicken, shred, and return to pot. Serve with tamari, ghee, and coriander.

Lemony Fat Bombs (from Nourishing Those Who Nurture)

• 1 cup coconut butter

• ¼ cup coconut oil

• 2 tsp lemon zest

• 1 tsp honey

Mix all ingredients, press into lined dish, and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Keeps 2 weeks.

Healthy Muesli Bars

(I free-ball this one, so there are no strict measurements!)

• Pitted Medjool dates

• Nuts and seeds of your choice

• Spices: cardamom, cinnamon, or allspice

• Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180°C. Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Press into lined tray and bake until golden.

These are easy to eat one-handed and don’t aggravate Vata like cold sweet treats can. Perfect for the early postpartum days.

Would you like to feel nourished this way? If you're preparing for postpartum or in the thick of it, I offer in-home support in Byron Bay and beyond. My care packages include meals like these, lovingly made and delivered.

With warmth and love, Kim Sexty
Postpartum Doula | Ayurvedic Care | Byron Bay