(Food) Survival for the first weeks

By Naomi Serviss May 21, 2004

The last thing a new mom wants to think about is preparing a nutritious meal for herself. Not that she doesn’t want to eat healthy food. It’s just so tiring to think about the actual completion of the task. First there’s the running to the market, then the buying of healthy foods, dealing with checkout, the schlep home and finally, cooking and eating. Just considering the prospect is nap-inducing. Those first precious weeks after giving birth are fleeting, and bonding with your newborn should be the only goal for new moms. So says Manhattan mom Karen Gurwitz, a corporate professional who had a brainstorm during a shower she took five weeks after daughter, Nika, now 3, was born. That brainstorm begat Mothers and Menus, a catering service exclusively for new moms who are simply too exhausted to, or not interested in, preparing nutritional meals for themselves in the weeks after delivery. Offering a comforting food-delivery service to new mothers is Gurwitz’s mission from the heart. Her company provides healthy food for one week and more, after the mom-to-be consults with a nutritionist and agrees upon a satisfying menu. When the idea came to her, Gurwitz recalls, “I hadn’t eaten since the night before, my daughter was napping and I knew I had to be quick. I wanted to eat something healthy and also wondered why I had such a preoccupation with food.” She would much rather have been bonding with Nika than worrying about her next meal, prompting the question: Why can’t someone else bring me nutritional food? She looked online for a service that might offer her a cooking reprieve, and found nothing. When Nika was a little older, Gurwitz floated the concept of a catering service for new moms and it was a hit. “After the first three months, you start to feel normal again,” she says. “Everyone I talked to seemed to have had the same experience that I did.” It’s not just about the eating or the food, she stresses; it’s not having to worry about it that’s so freeing. “It’s about getting the support. If we all had moms or sisters or someone to cook for you, it would be different.” But in these contemporary times, a built-in support system is a rarity. “And it’s hard to make good food choices when you’re so tired,” she says. “The best choices always take the longest to prepare. Who wants to go out shopping when you can reach for a Cliff bar or bagel?” Menu selections can be as varied as herb marinated roast chicken and carrot soup with ginger. Or even a healthy mac ‘n cheese, if the mom so desires. A five-day service includes three meals and two snacks daily; it costs $495. A six-week service costs $2,525, and add-ons for extra folk are doable. Mothers and Menus serves moms in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and (for a surcharge) Westchester County. For more information, check out www.mothersandmenus.com or call (646) 522-9591.

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