16: Postpartum Nutrition and Easy Meals for New Moms with Chelsea LeBlanc, RD

Chelsea LeBlanc is an award-winning registered dietitian, media personality, recipe developer, and nutrition expert in Nashville, TN. She runs a nutrition communications company and virtual private practice where she helps career-driven women plan and prep quick and easy meals on a budget. She frequently contributes to multiple media outlets––including Eat This, Not That!, Well + Good, MSN, and Eating Well.

Passionate about reducing food waste, she promotes sustainable meal planning and preparation, guiding her clients to make mindful decisions that save money, minimize waste, and simplify healthy eating. Through her virtual private practice and contributions to various media outlets, she empowers individuals to adopt simple strategies to reduce food waste in their daily routines while sticking to a budget.

Find Chelsea on Instagram and check out her website 

What We Discuss:

• How to prep meals and snacks before giving birth (and what to prep!)
• Easy postpartum snacks and one-handed meal ideas
• How to accept "survival mode" and still nourish yourself
• How to accept help — and ask for what you actually want
• Why perfection isn’t the goal (and what to aim for instead)
• Tips for starting solids and early allergen introduction

Make sure to leave a rating for the podcast!

Transcript

Sarah Schlichter (00:00)
Welcome to the Managing Mealtime Badness podcast where we try to make feeding kids and feeding families a little bit easier and less stressful. Today's guest is Chelsea LeBlanc. Chelsea is an award-winning registered dietitian, media personality, recipe developer, and nutrition expert in Nashville, Tennessee. She runs a nutrition communications company, virtual private practice, and helps career-driven women plan and prep quick and easy meals on a budget.

With a diverse background encompassing clinical practice focused on heart health, outpatient nutrition counseling, and health coaching for a diabetes prevention program, Chelsea possesses a wealth of experience and expertise within the nutrition field. She's passionate about reducing food waste, promotes sustainable meal planning and preparation, and helps guide her clients to make mindful decisions that save money, minimize waste, and simplify healthy eating.

I think you're going to love this conversation with Chelsea. She is a new mom to her first baby girl and she's going to walk us through all of the tips for meal prepping for a baby, eating and handling that postpartum period, making easy meals and making nutrition feel more sustainable. So without further ado, let's get to the conversation with Chelsea. Hi, Chelsea. So excited to have you here today. Can you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself?

Chelsea LeBlanc (01:25)
Sarah, I'm so excited to be here with you. ⁓ Yeah, so I am, my name is Chelsea LeBlanc. I'm a registered dietician nutritionist and I live in Nashville, Tennessee. ⁓ So I own a virtual private practice and nutrition communications company where I help, you know, career-driven women plan and prep quick and easy meals on a budget. ⁓ My most recent news is that I had a baby back in October.

So I have definitely kind of getting into more of the mom space. We were talking a little bit before I've got like some nap time meal things on my Instagram. Emmy just turned seven months, so we're doing, or is about to turn eight months now. So we've gotten into baby blood weaning. So I'm just really, really excited to be here and share some of my experiences with you all.

Sarah Schlichter (02:18)
Yes, and I've loved following along, just having been through it myself, it's always, you you want to savor those moments and you always, you know, look back and miss them. So, and I know it can be hard in the moment, but thankful for you for being here, sharing your time. And I was wondering if you could share a little bit about how your postpartum journey has been, you know, these past eight months, what has surprised you most and kind of walk us through what you're willing to share.

Chelsea LeBlanc (02:47)
Absolutely. ⁓ So, Emmy was born in October. ⁓ So, like we were saying, she'll be eight months next week, which is just wild. ⁓ Time really does fly. ⁓ And honestly, I didn't think that I was going to love the newborn phase. I've always been one of those people that's like, okay, I want babies, I want a kid, but give them to me whenever they can hold their head up. And then I definitely didn't want to have a C-section, which I ended up

needing and so like as I was you know pregnant and going through all of this I was like my gosh like this is just hard you know I want I've always been such an active person I wasn't able to like move like I was able to and I couldn't eat like I wanted to and like clearly I had a very positive positive outlook so I was just like my gosh this is going to rock my world but then when Amy came

I loved it. I loved the newborn phase. Like the little like sleepy snuggles and the little tiny stretches and she would like open her mouth with her eyes closed like looking for milk. It's just like, it's so precious and it's so leading. ⁓ But it's so challenging too because like all that to say, it's like you're trying to learn how to take care of the tiny human.

There's no handbook. ⁓ My milk hadn't come in, so it was like trying to pump, trying to feed her, giving her bottles because she didn't have enough milk, so she was underweight too. So it's just like, it's all this stuff and you're like trying to heal and trying to sneak in some sleep whenever you can. So there's a lot that is kind of put on the mom whenever you have a baby.

And so I feel like nutrition a lot of times kind of takes the back burner because you don't have time. However, it's so important to help you heal and to give you energy. So I'm really, really excited to kind of talk about some things that were helpful for me during that time.

Sarah Schlichter (05:04)
And I guess kind of just rewinding a little bit, did you do any meal prep during those last, the last trimester, last weeks of pregnancy leading up to it?

Chelsea LeBlanc (05:14)
I did, ⁓ so let's see here. I did a lot of stocking my pantry and my ⁓ fridge. Freezer, I did a little bit in the freezer, but the hard part about the freezer is that there's limited space. And then once you start, if you start pumping and like saving any of that milk, then like your space becomes even more limited.

⁓ So for my freezer, really tried to do, like I did grilled chicken tenders because those were really, really easy just to like take out and put on things. ⁓ I cooked a lot of like grains. So I had brown rice and quinoa and like ⁓ Ziploc bags because those are really easy to like just kind of lay flat, exactly like grab and go. I did chili.

I did, you could do like soups and that sort of thing too, because once again, those were easy to lay flat. And then I also did like a baked ziti because I mean that did take up more space, but it was very easy just to pull out of the oven. I mean, pull out of the freezer, pop in the oven, you're good to go there. ⁓ And then in my pantry, I really, really tried to make sure that I had easy like quick protein sources. So I had protein bars.

trail mix. I did ⁓ like protein shakes in our fridge, peanut butter. ⁓ I had some like hummus, pre-chopped veggies, all of that kind of stuff that I made sure that I had on hand before baby got here so that way I was able just to grab things easily.

Sarah Schlichter (06:57)
Yeah, from a preparation standpoint, it sounds like you were on top of it. Like, all of that stuff is actually similar to what I've prepped. And I love the soups because postpartum, I just feel like so cozy and nutritious and warming and your body is all out of sorts, but it just feels like it's kind of helping recovery too and hydrating.

Chelsea LeBlanc (07:18)
for sure. Yes. yeah. That's a great, that's a great point. Yeah. Because hydration is so important. my gosh. Like I've never been more thirsty. You're nursing. It's wild.

Sarah Schlichter (07:31)
I tell people I ate so much more during the early nursing period than marathon training. it is, I mean, your body has gone through a marathon over and over again and you're still, you know, sustaining life. So the hunger, the thirst, yeah, through the roof.

Chelsea LeBlanc (07:48)
yeah.

Sarah Schlichter (07:49)
So many new moms are healing, breastfeeding, feeling sleep deprived, as I'm sure you've been through. And maybe we go through time and time again, again, seasons of motherhood. So what are some realistic ways that you nourish yourself during this time without kind of adding stress to the plate?

Chelsea LeBlanc (08:09)
So one of the biggest game changers for me, and I don't know what took me so long to get on this train, was grocery delivery. So I had never done it before, and I don't know why. Like, I don't know what my hold back was. ⁓ I think maybe part of it was like I've always been super, and I think that's one of the things that has kind of shifted as I've become a mom. I've always been super, super focused on budget.

So I'm like, I don't want to have to like, you know, pay for the tip. I don't want to have to like pay for an additional fee or anything like that. I don't want to pay for like the convenience of having things like pre-chopped or whatever. Like I'll do it all myself. So that way it's less expensive. I don't have time for that now. It's great for another phase in my life. That will be wonderful. But having things pre-chopped and having frozen items, having

like just stuff that's already kind of done for you, pre-made sauces, all that kind of stuff has been a lifesaver. But grocery delivery has been huge. And then the other thing too was like asking for help. So we don't have a ton of family here. Thankfully, my parents did come and stay with us for about a week after Emmy was born. So that was like, so, helpful. But like I did have a lot of

friends that were, you know, offering to make meals or to do things or whatever. And sometimes like you're really, really tired and you don't necessarily want to visit and that's okay. Like they still want to help out. So like, ⁓ I even had, you know, a friend of mine come and ⁓ I was so tired and my husband just like went to the door and got the stuff and he was like, Chelsea, like, you know, finally just got to sleep. And they're like, no problem. Like just dropped it off. Like, so like people want to help.

Let them help.

Sarah Schlichter (10:07)
It can be hard, you know, release all these expectations, accept the help.

Chelsea LeBlanc (10:13)
Uh-huh, for sure. So I think that that was a big thing. The other thing too was like, I live in the South. So a lot of times when people offer to bring stuff, they like tend to bring casseroles and really heavy type items that I'm like, I don't know if that's really my favorite. And so, you know, they want you to be happy. So I found too that being like, hey, like I'm really

you know, kind of craving a bowl from Cava or I'm really craving a salad with grilled chicken. Like that sounds so good. Like that kind of like helps them guide like their decision and then gives you something that you want to.

Sarah Schlichter (10:57)
That's a great point and it might feel uncomfortable, you know, asking for what you want, being a little bit more direct, but at the same time, like you said, they don't want to waste their time making something that you're not going to eat or buying something that you necessarily want. yeah, give them that direction. They're here to help.

Chelsea LeBlanc (11:16)
for

sure. So I think those are two things. And then if your significant other does not cook prior to baby, then it might be helpful to teach them some easy things that they can do. Because a lot of what I found is that a lot of the effort is really, really put

on the mom just because you know if you're nursing like the baby just really really needs you in those beginning phases. So I have really leaned on Kevin so much more than I have before just to help you know prep some stuff for dinner or get some veggies like together for me or make a pinwheel that I ate for lunch or whatever. So that really just kind of helped to take off like some of the burden too.

Sarah Schlichter (12:11)
That's a great point and I love that point of thinking about it like adding that to the prep phase before baby comes like maybe having a list of easy snacks or meals or Like you said the frozen items are like pre chopped that makes it easier for them especially if they lack direction or just aren't used to taking that initiative in the kitchen

Again, if you're tied up with baby, you do need that help. finding, you know, put them to work is kind of how I like to say it because they have the hands. ⁓

Chelsea LeBlanc (12:44)
They

they do. yeah, well, I mean, and that's kind of how I felt. Kevin was like, what can I do? What can I do? And I'm like, I don't know. Because it's just a challenging time, but that was something that they can do, and that was easy. Another thing too is whenever we got any type of food from restaurants or takeout or we were cooking, it would double up. We would double up on everything. And then that way we had

leftovers. So if we ordered pizza, we ordered two because we know that we were going to eat it. Like, ⁓ you know, whenever we were cooking, we would just try to do double of it just so that way you weren't having to do it so, so much. And then you could have leftovers too.

Sarah Schlichter (13:29)
Great. And it's not really taking you any more time. You you're just, you're doubling things, but at the same time, you're saving hours for a future meal. So.

Chelsea LeBlanc (13:38)
Exactly. And then I think we kind of already touched on this, like just stocking your fridge, freezer and pantry with some things before baby gets here. So that way you have them to grab from. And then I think one of the biggest things too that I did was keeping like a snack basket by my bed. ⁓ Just because you are so hungry. And I think I was like shocked, like, because I've never like

I've never been like a late night snacker. But you would wake up like, Vamish, and I was like, like putting things, like shoving bars and all that kind of stuff in my mouth. So, and then our pantry is downstairs. So I just made sure that I had kind of bars. I had a little mini fridge in my room that I could keep like some like protein shakes in. I had little like peanut butter pouches, just things that were really easy just to kind of snack on in the middle of the night.

Sarah Schlichter (14:37)
Yeah, you bring up a great point. I had the mini fridge too for the same reason. And then sometimes if I had to pump during the night, I have to call the staggers and put it in the fridge, you know? And I think I don't even remember the regulations. it can, after freshly pumped is safer four to six hours. I'm not quite sure. But I was just like, the fridge is here, so I'll just put it in.

Chelsea LeBlanc (14:58)
Yeah, that was that was huge. If you have to go downstairs to a fridge, get yourself a little mini fridge. They're not expensive. Right. And then yeah, it saves you a lot because you're already like tired.

Sarah Schlichter (15:15)
the snacks you mentioned are store-bought convenient items and I heard you say like protein bars so I guess we're trying to tell moms like things that'll fill you up so you know fruit is great but it might not necessarily quench that hunger when you're breastfeeding in the middle of the night so having some proteins some healthy fats like you said the peanut butter packets ⁓ I did a lot of like oatmeal bites and you can buy them too and freeze them but with peanut butter and chia seeds and

you know, different flavors of that to have on hand too.

Chelsea LeBlanc (15:48)
Speaking of that, that's a really great gift for a mom or like if like you need to bring something over. ⁓ I had somebody make me some like protein balls or like oatmeal balls and some baked oatmeal squares that I just like put in my freezer and then was able to kind of like grab those. So that was like a super helpful gift for me. If you're looking for things to bring to a mom. ⁓

Sarah Schlichter (16:15)
For sure. mean, it's gonna it's gonna go to use

Chelsea LeBlanc (16:19)
Mm-hmm. Yep, for sure.

Sarah Schlichter (16:21)
You did some of the prep beforehand. You had some friends helping out looking back to kind of those first few weeks. Was it kind of survival mode? Was it just pulling things out of the freezer that you made beforehand and just sneaking bites here and there when you could? So how did you really focus on nutrition?

Chelsea LeBlanc (16:40)
Yeah, I swear it was full survival mode probably for like a month. I feel like my mind was just so hyper focused on like trying to get her to eat and gain weight and figuring out how to pump and like doing all these different things that like you literally like don't know how to do. So having those things that were already ready and then things that I could eat with one hand because something that I didn't

realize or expect is that like okay It would take her like whenever like a baby is first learning how to nurse like it takes them so long And she would fall asleep like it's so you're like trying to like wake her back up and I'm like, my god, I'm so hungry Please hurry And so really having like

one-handed things that I could grab and like eat while I was feeding her because like actually like sitting down for a full-on meal for like the first month wasn't really practical. So like grilled chicken tenders that I could just like pop in the microwave and then put like with like a little sauce or whatever ⁓ and then like some like pre-chopped like

cucumbers or bell peppers and some hummus. That was really easy. ⁓ I did a lot of pinwheels. I would make those either or get Kevin to make those like the night before or whatever. And then that way I could just pop and eat one of those like with one hand. ⁓ Let's see, edamame was another good one, like the in shell edamame, because you could just like pop those in the microwave and then just snack on those. ⁓

Yeah, like it was, really was like, wish that I could say like, yeah, I had this like perfect plan, but it was just kind of like whatever I could see and find that I was able just to like grab for about the first month was, was kind of what I was doing.

Sarah Schlichter (18:53)
And I think we have to normalize that. I was the same exact way. mean, survival mode, probably more than a month. It's just like, I think the prep that you can do ahead of time really does serve you well, because you really have minutes to eat. Like you need something quick. You're not going to be cooking elaborate meals. You still need to be resting and recovering, of course. So that's important. And then you just need to be eating often, especially if you're nursing, because you're just so hungry, replenishing. ⁓

the fluids, the nutrients that you're giving the baby. So yeah, I think there's no perfect postpartum and thanks for being real and sharing yours. think more important than focusing solely on the nutrition is just making sure you are getting that food in. You're gonna get the protein, carbs and fats through a variety of foods, but having that regular intake will be super helpful.

Chelsea LeBlanc (19:47)
sure. And that's the thing too, like I've never been one to, I feel like I keep talking about protein because it is important, but I've never been like on like the high protein trend or like get like getting a ton of protein or anything like that. But it really does make especially like during this phase you really do need more than than you're used to getting. And then whenever you have such a limited time to eat, it really is important to like

get the biggest bang for your buck whenever you are eating. So making sure that like you were saying before, it's got that protein, healthy fats, whenever you can put something in your mouth is really gonna help to serve you a little bit better.

Sarah Schlichter (20:29)
Yeah, and you mentioned edamame. That's a great source. What else can we share with listeners? Like beef jerky is a great one-handed, indigo type snack. Yeah, beef jerky. All of your meats that you can cook with. ⁓ Dairy, yogurt.

Chelsea LeBlanc (20:39)
Of course.

yeah, dairy yogurt. would do cheese like string cheese. That was easy. ⁓ Beans were another really, really easy one because you don't really have to like cook them. You can just add a can of beans to a salad with like some rotisserie chicken or whatever to amp up the protein and the fiber there. ⁓ Let's see. I'm trying to think of some other things. That was something else we did like ⁓ pork tenderloin in the crock pot before we had her.

and then just put that in like a ziplock bag and kind of laid that flat. And then we would just take it. did like a couple of like smaller like quart size ziplock bags with that. And then that way we could take that out, heat it up, it to bowls and wraps.

Sarah Schlichter (21:29)
Like the crock pot doing the pork tenderloin or even like shredding pork

Chelsea LeBlanc (21:34)
yeah, yep, exactly. ⁓ So just some things just to make it make it a little bit easier on yourself because it's it's hard.

Sarah Schlichter (21:43)
Yes, yes, those are great suggestions. Hard-boiled eggs, I did a lot too. They're not my favorite. I like cooked eggs, but when you have one hand and again, limited time.

Chelsea LeBlanc (21:52)
For sure, yep.

Sarah Schlichter (21:56)
So let's fast forward a little bit and talk about starting solid. So how has that experience been as a first time mom going through that experience?

Chelsea LeBlanc (22:07)
Yeah, so it has been so much fun. I feel like as a dietitian, like this is like, my gosh, like I'm finally giving my baby food. So it's like so exciting. But then on the flip side, it's like, and I don't know why I didn't realize this before motherhood. ⁓ But on the flip side, you're like, my gosh, they could choke.

Sarah Schlichter (22:31)
The fear is real.

Chelsea LeBlanc (22:33)
Yes,

like I saw I'm like, I'm so excited to start like giving her solids and stuff. And I'm also like, ⁓ okay. Like she's never had anything other than milk. like what like, and so I think that I've just kind of had to learn like, like, once again, like, I'm a dietician, but I didn't have experience in pediatrics or anything like that. So it's like a whole nother thing that I've been able to learn. And it's been so

much fun because like you don't have to do like the baby foods and all of that kind of stuff like she really can and will eat the foods that that you're eating. ⁓ So I think that some of the things that have been helpful for me I listen to the the baby led weaning made easy podcast by Kate.

Sarah Schlichter (23:28)
Yes, exactly. ⁓

Chelsea LeBlanc (23:31)
Yeah, so I listened to that. I feel like that kind of gave me like a good framework to all of this. Because once again, I'm a dietitian, but I was a newbie. I didn't know, like, what's baby-led weaning? What's baby-led feeding? What are all of these different things? So I think that that kind of helped to give me a framework of what was kind of going on. And then I have the Solid Starts app.

⁓ And then that way, like, I just kind of like look in the fridge and I'm like, okay, we've got bell peppers. How do I like serve bell peppers to my baby? And then you just type in bell peppers and then it tells you like how you can give it to them. ⁓ So I think that's been super, super helpful. And then one of the third things that I think is like super, super important. I got Melina Malkani's book on like food allergy prevention.

And I did not realize that early introduction of all of these foods was so, important. And her, Amy's pediatrician actually recommended that we start introducing peanut butter and almond butter whenever she was four months old and just mixing it into fruit puree. So we kind of started with that. And then I was like, okay, I need to learn.

little bit more about allergy introduction and like how to do this safely and ⁓ that sort of thing. So her book was super, super helpful with that. So those have kind of been my...yeah.

Sarah Schlichter (25:08)
No, great recommendations for sure. I wanted to follow up and say the Solid Starts app for moms who don't know. It is great. It's free. I think there is like a paid version. I might have done like a paid thing for a year, but you can track what foods you've introduced. And like Chelsea said, whatever food you have on hand that you want to serve to baby, it'll tell you how to cut it for six months, for nine months, for one year.

⁓ What shape is best? What to avoid? So it's super, super helpful and gives you a visual too, if I remember correctly. Like it's showing you.

Chelsea LeBlanc (25:43)
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Visual videos, like examples of like the baby like eating it. And this is all like the free version. I don't even have the paid version. Yeah. Yes. So that's super helpful to see. Cause I feel like, and I think too, like understanding that they're going to gag. Like, like they're just like learning to eat and that's okay. Um, so I think that just kind of like, if you're new to this, familiarizing yourself,

with some of these things is super, super important.

Sarah Schlichter (26:17)
And then the allergy introduction you brought up is great too. I need to do like a full episode on that. ⁓ yeah. just worked with the National Peanut Board to do a webinar about that for the early introduction for peanuts especially, especially if babies have an egg allergy or eczema that puts them at a higher risk. So your pediatrician, I like hearing that they know that because it's like

not the conventional way they were taught or us. Like we were taught to wait years until introducing allergens. So that's, it's great that you did that. And it sounds like it went well and no reactions.

Chelsea LeBlanc (26:54)
Yes, thankfully. However, my poor sister, so I actually like told, so my sister's baby is six weeks younger than Emmy. And I've noticed too that she does have a little bit of like eczema and like kind of like skin issues. And I told her, was like, you know, like our pediatrician recommended this, like definitely talk to your pediatrician and all of that good stuff. So she tried it. ⁓ I think maybe she went over her daughter was like five months old.

and she had a reaction, um, just stinks so much. But the positive thing is they were able to get into an allergist and they're kind of like working with her on introducing all of the other allergens, all that good stuff. early introduction is so key. Um, just because I feel like, um, their reactions will be, you know, less severe, the younger that they are. And also it helps you kind of like get ahead of it before.

Hopefully it gets worse in the future.

Sarah Schlichter (27:57)
Yeah, exactly. It's kind of like introducing it through the gut. So it's through food versus, it's hard to explain, but the way I explained it in the webinar is like, if your baby has eczema, eczema is like breaks in the skin, right? So peanut.

Any allergen can be in the air. You know, if someone just ate peanuts and they're just like wiping their hands, that could be in the air. And then if they go change baby's diaper, you know, they could introduce the peanut particles through the skin, which brings a higher risk to allergies, which is why if a baby has moderate to severe eczema, we want to try to get ahead of it, like you said, and introduce it by mouth versus passively through the skin because that's teaching the body.

hopefully to have a reaction's not the right word, but be more immune to it and learn to handle it better. So that's what the research is on. And I'm sorry to hear she had an allergic reaction and hopefully the plan, they can slowly, sequentially reintroduce it to her.

Chelsea LeBlanc (29:09)
fingers crossed. no, no, I was just thinking that was so interesting. I'm like I want to watch your webinar.

Sarah Schlichter (29:10)
But that's something-

Yeah,

yeah, I can send you the replay of it. It's fascinating and how much research they've done on this and how it really works. And eczema, we've had like little bouts of it. Fortunately, nothing severe, but my kids do have sensitive skin, so I feel like I'm a little bit more alert when introducing all the allergens early for that reason. But yeah, it's definitely something new parents, you know, I feel like.

The risk of choking is very real. The risk of allergenic reactions is very real. So there's just a lot on your plate as a new mom. So, you know, I feel like we have to talk about it and hopefully bring, you know, recognition to the fact that like, yes, sometimes reactions do happen, but if you're prepared and there's nothing that you need to stress months ahead of about, but just kind of do your research.

Chelsea LeBlanc (30:12)
And just now and once again like I'm a dietitian like I like went to school for food and nutrition But like I don't I didn't know this stuff before so So I really think that like talking about it and hearing it and seeing it more and more just helps to really raise awareness Because then that way hopefully you can help your your littles

Sarah Schlichter (30:35)
Yeah, absolutely. So now you're almost eight months postpartum and we're still gonna say postpartum because again, we're always postpartum, but still anything, I feel like anything under the two year mark, I mean, there's just so much change and as a mom, you're still kind of figuring out what that identity looks like and still recovering. So what does a day in the life look like now for your postpartum meals and snacks, if you're willing to share?

Chelsea LeBlanc (31:04)
So it's a little bit easier now because we do have childcare three days a week. So in the mornings, I usually will do my oatmeal with my peanut butter and my chia seeds and my whole big thing there. Usually I'll have some kind of a snack, so maybe like yogurt or something like that mid-morning. And then...

in the afternoons for lunch. A lot of times I will prep like some, once again, all this stuff is still very easy. None of this is complicated by the way, ⁓ but for lunch a lot of times I'll do like some mason jar salad. So I'll get like rotisserie chicken, do the chicken first and then maybe do like some beans, get a bag salad kit and then put that in there. sorry, the dressing goes at the bottom.

And then that way I can just shake it up pour it in a bowl eat it and then I'll usually have some type of like snack later on in the day like you were saying like those like jerky sticks those are a good a good another snack later on and then dinners Honestly, a lot of times my husband Kevin is still taking on dinners because I'm kind of like Getting her ready for bed and I am you know

nursing her and doing all these things that like he can't do. And now granted like we, he could give her a bottle, but to me, it's just easier just to feed so I don't have to like wash all my parts and all that kind of stuff. So a lot of times like he'll take on dinner and then by the time that like I get her down, we can kind of eat and have just a little bit of time for the two of us.

And then and then kind of start all over so like it's not perfect. It's not complicated. It's not anything elaborate, but it's just trying to really make sure that you're getting in those those nutrients that your body still needs

Sarah Schlichter (33:15)
Yeah, and I like that you're eating at regular intervals, you know, like you mentioned having snacks in there and and you already mentioned all those great snack ideas earlier so as Even when you're you know outside of the early newborn phase like you're still you eating nutrition is always going to be important but Not going hours without eating ⁓ Well, not only nourish you better, but help you feel better and more

Chelsea LeBlanc (33:26)
still relevant.

yes,

for sure. Hydration, water, making sure you're doing that. That's really important too. ⁓

Sarah Schlichter (33:52)
And I feel like ⁓ a lot of moms still have this mentality like, I have to get back to my pre-pregnancy body. And there's just a lot of pressure on moms. And I mean, it's hard to see. So do you have any advice to moms who feel overwhelmed by the pressure or feel like they have to eat perfectly or, you know, do it perfectly? Is there anything you would say to those moms?

Chelsea LeBlanc (34:21)
Give yourself so much grace. I mean, I feel like there's so much pressure to, like you said, bounce back and eat perfectly and feed your baby perfectly and get them to sleep through the night and ⁓ just act like you have all this stuff together. Because I feel like on social media you see it and you've got these moms that are juggling 50 million things. They're rocking their careers and doing all these things and you're like, my god.

I can barely get you to sleep through the night. Like I'm not even sleeping myself. So I think just giving yourself grace, knowing that everything is just a phase. know, like the good, the bad, it all passes. I mean, she's about to be eight months and I've noticed that so, much already. Like it's like, we finally are like, yeah, I think we figured this out.

and then something else will happen. Like I was telling Sarah, I'm like, oh yeah, I think we got the sleep down. And now she's teething and was up every four hours whenever the Tylenol wore off last night. So it's like you're constantly learning and adapting. So give yourself grace and just do the best that you can. Try to make sure that you're getting in some type of fruit and veggie. Try to make sure you're doing some type of protein, healthy fat, drink your water.

and eat enough. Other than that, don't over complicate it. It's okay. You will have time in the future. But right now, yeah.

Sarah Schlichter (36:00)
more time to nourish yourself and cook elaborate meals if that's what you want to do.

Chelsea LeBlanc (36:05)
Yes, exactly. But right now, like spend the time with your baby. Spend the time with your little one and, and you know, soak it in because it really is so fast. I'm already learning that.

Sarah Schlichter (36:18)
That's great words of wisdom. I would also just go to say like, if you're a mom listening and you do feel that pressure, you're seeing these moms, quote unquote, bounce back or, you know, you're watching their meals and it looks like, you know, snacks for children throughout the day versus like meals for an adult. It's hard not to compare, but you do have to realize if it's taking mental energy away from your little ones, like,

Is that really beneficial? Is there ways to simplify it to your whole point of like using the bag salads and the canned beans and the frozen edamame, right? Like all of these are so nutritious and they're ready in minutes.

Chelsea LeBlanc (37:02)
I can do it.

Sarah Schlichter (37:03)
Try not to compare, remind yourself it's not forever, kind of like you said, it's a phase. honestly, like save that mental energy for what matters, like being there for the baby, your family, your other kids, if you have them, you know, and, and some self care for yourself, whether that's going out for reading a new book or taking a bath or, know, if it is making a meal, great, but we don't want to reserve all of that mental energy for

Chelsea LeBlanc (37:22)
I'm say,

Sarah Schlichter (37:33)
things that stress.

Chelsea LeBlanc (37:36)
Right, exactly.

Sarah Schlichter (37:38)
All right, Chelsea, well, do you have any other advice for the new moms out there or anything else you can share? We're definitely going to link all of your super easy recipes for people to find.

Chelsea LeBlanc (37:51)
Yeah, I think that the biggest thing, like we were just saying, is have grace on yourself. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Don't overcomplicate it. ⁓ However, I do think that planning is super, super helpful ⁓ just because it helps you. And it doesn't have to be elaborate. It doesn't have to be this big meal prep day or anything like that. But it's just kind of thinking through.

Okay, we are already gonna cook some quinoa. Can I do three cups instead of the two cups that I was gonna do? And then maybe I'll freeze a small little bag of it. Or let's see, I'm already cutting up these ⁓ bell peppers for this recipe. Let me just cut up the rest of my veggies while I already have the chopping or the cutting board out while I already have this out. ⁓ Just so that that way, it's just like you're kind of

thinking ahead so that that way you're not having to do it multiple times. So it's like working, what is it working? Smarter, not harder or whatever. ⁓ Just so that way things are a little bit easier for you. ⁓

Sarah Schlichter (39:07)
I would agree with that 100%. That's such great advice and just, you know, take the extra 10 minutes to save two hours later. It's so worth it. That time is precious and fleeting as you said. all right, Chelsea, let's share with our followers where they can find you and check in on all of your...

Check in on all of your nap time. We have a visitor with us. Your nap time snacks and cheers.

Chelsea LeBlanc (39:37)
the cutest visitor. Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram and on Facebook at Chelsea LeBlanc RDN and then my website is ChelseaLeBlancRDN.com. I also have a free ⁓ five-day meal plan on my site that you can ⁓ download and it helps you make easy budget-friendly 30-minute ⁓ meals so that way it helps you make weekly meal planning just a little bit easier.

Sarah Schlichter (40:05)
Yeah, Chelsea is great. She's so down to earth and I'm sure you'll agree she's just lovely. So thank you so much for sharing your limited time with us today, Chelsea.

Chelsea LeBlanc (40:14)
my gosh, of course, it was so much fun.

Sarah Schlichter (40:18)
That's it for today's show. hope this episode helps you think about feeding your family and makes it a little bit easier. Please, please take a minute to rate the show on your podcast app or listener of