7 Nourishing Soups for Postpartum Recovery

After bringing a tiny miracle into the world, your body is working hard to recover. You deserve some delicious and nourishing meals to help you on your postpartum journey. Enter: Soup! Soups are a fantastic way to stay hydrated, get essential nutrients, and enjoy warm, comforting meals that are easy to digest.

Ingredients like chicken, fish, legumes, and seaweed help with muscle repair and replenish iron stores after blood loss.

Vitamins and Minerals: A variety of vegetables (carrots, spinach, squash) in soups provide essential vitamins for immune support.

Digestibility: Warm, cooked foods are often easier on the digestive system during the postpartum period. 

Today I’m sharing 3 recipes that I highly encourage you to try while your postpartum. (Pro tip: make them in your 3rd trimester to freeze and have on hand for easy meals postpartum or share with your caretakers so they can make them for you while you’re healing.

7 Nourishing Soups for Postpartum Recovery

Seaweed Soup - seaweed is rich in many great minerals and nutrients including magnesium, calcium, zinc, potassium, iodine, omega-3 and 6, plus vitamins A, C, E, and B. It’s a postpartum powerhouse. I love this recipe for Miyeok Guk (Korean Beef Seaweed Soup) from Korean-American mom Hyosun. The bonus addition of beef adds protein!

Green Papaya Fish Soup - Chinese and Vietnamese postpartum food traditions include lots of green papaya. It is said to help with lactation, and that is probably due to it’s high levels of vitamin A and iron. It’s also a great source of folate, magnesium, potassium, calcium and vitamins A, C, E and K. It can help boost immunity and balance electrolyte levels. A true superfood! Try this recipe from Simply Mommie, Angie.

Oxtail Soup - a staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine this soup is filled with nutrient dense ingredients and bone broth. The Oxtail cut includes bones and tendons giving you the best of minerals and gelatin and collagen. It also includes anti-oxident rich goji berries and digestive healing ginger. It’s delicious! Here’s a recipe from Yangs Nourishing Kitchen.

Bone Broth-Based Soups: Bone broth is rich in collagen, vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids that support the healing of connective tissues and joint support. Chicken noodle, wonton soup, or simple sipping broths are great options.

Korean Seaweed Soup (Miyeok Guk): A traditional staple, this soup is very high in iron, which helps replenish blood lost during childbirth.

Lentil or Chickpea Soups (Dal, Stews): Legumes provide protein and fiber, important for energy and digestion. Adding spinach can boost the iron content.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup: This is a balanced meal with protein from chicken, electrolytes and hydration from the broth, and fibrous starch from the wild rice.

A bonus soup is a favorite of our founder who was born and raised in Jamaica. In the caribbean soups are apart of daily life. Soup is definitely on the menu as least one day of the week and it has a designated day, Saturday. Soup on a Friday or Saturday is a staple in most home from pumpkin, chicken to red peas soup, it’s a must. Here’s a recipe.