HOLLY STEIN (Zeta Beta-Loyola Marymount) Founder of Mama Meals Most mothers understand the difficulties of pregnancy as well as the postpartum period, also known as the fourth trimester. And more often than not, moms need some help, but have trouble asking for it, particularly with remembering to nourish themselves as their bodies heal from pregnancy and childbirth while feeding everyone else in their home. Holly Stein (Zeta Beta-Loyola Marymount) set out to help women with this problem. Holly founded Mama Meals in November 2021 in her home kitchen after focusing heavily on nourishing her body during the postpartum period following the birth of her second child. “My first pregnancy, I prepared a ton for the birth, but mostly ignored postpartum,” Holly recalled. “I ate what I thought was ‘healthy’ like cold smoothies and salads, and then I splurged on junky stuff from friends and family that left me constipated and feeling blah all the
frozen so they can be stashed in the freezer and pulled out as needed. Many moms love that they come frozen because you never know when a friend or family member will drop by with a meal, which can throw off your schedule if you have a bunch of ‘fresh’ meals delivered that need to be eaten right away.” While this journey to effectively nourish postpartum bodies is somewhat recent, Holly has been passionate about food and understanding how it makes her own body feel for the last 13 years. “It wasn’t until I started taking my chronic health issues into my own hands that I learned about nutrition and how certain foods made me feel,” Holly explained. “I love to eat, and I was on a mission to make healthier options of my favorite foods. My health flourished, and my love for cooking was born.” Growing up, Holly and her husband endured chronic sickness that included headaches, ear infections,
allergies and gastrointestinal issues. Doctor visits became standard, and the answer to these ailments always seemed to be another pill that treated the symptoms and not the root cause. But when the couple met in 2011 and realized they shared similar health experiences, they dove into the why behind their sicknesses. “We started trading junk food and nights out at the bar for organic food and nights in watching food documentaries and drinking kombucha,” Holly said. “Our physical and mental health
time. Then, I stumbled upon the book ‘The First Forty Days’ by Heng Ou and learned new mamas should eat warm, soft, cooked and easy-to-digest foods like soups, stews and broths.”
When Holly became pregnant with her second child, she I was excited to do things differently.
“I cooked and froze 60 meals following principles from Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and ‘Nourishing Traditions’ by Weston A. Price,” Holly explained. “And what a difference! Every meal left me feeling nourished, safe and like I was being wrapped in a warm hug. This postpartum [period] felt so much easier, even with a toddler running around. And [there was] zero constipation! Plus, all my husband had to do was heat up the food for me. I cooked for a few friends who gave me similar feedback, and it became obvious this was something the birth world truly needed.” Now operating out of their commercial kitchen in Costa Mesa, California, Holly and her husband, Eric, cater to mamas across the country with free shipping available to customers throughout Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah and 2-day express shipping to all other U.S. residents, including Alaska and Hawaii. The meals arrive frozen and can be placed in a freezer to enjoy later or thawed in the refrigerator for 16-24 hours and reheated on a low or low-medium heat on the stove to maintain the meal’s nutritional integrity that can sometimes be lost if microwaved. “We focus specifically on the needs of a postpartum mother,” Holly said. “Our servings are very large to accommodate the hunger that many new moms face, especially if breastfeeding. We also deliver our meals
underwent radical changes, and we felt called to help others take control of their health. Eric published books on nutrition and cooking while I started blogging about organic food and non-toxic living. I started making our own soaps, toothpaste and cleaning products, and we slowly adopted a less-wasteful lifestyle.” As their family grew, this lifestyle later evolved to include the consumption of organ meat, frequent beach visits, gentle parenting, ice baths with friends, homeschooling, lots of exercise and helping others on similar wellness journeys. And at its core was Mama Meals. Most mothers would agree that a meal-delivery service like this would be invaluable in taking the burden off of new parents to prepare nutritious, regenerative, healing meals for the postpartum mama. “There is so much overwhelm in the early days and preparing for a birth and postpartum general,” Holly explained. “To have something checked off your list that will also benefit your healing and recovery, is massive.”
Learn more at Mama-Meals.com.
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