Chiyo’s First 40 Days Postpartum Meal Program Review
Before I gave birth, I was honestly really excited for the postpartum period and getting back to feeling like myself. Part of this was knowing my mom was gifting me Chiyo’s First 40 Days Restore Program, rooted in Eastern food therapy. I knew I would be fueling myself with nutrient-dense meals that would support lactation and my mood. This is definitely an investment so I wanted to share my honest opinion about my experience.
Pros:
Tailored meal program to support the week of recovery you’re in, including tonics, broths, and snacks
Delicious and unique meals that I normally wouldn’t cook for myself
Pre-made and quick to reheat, critical when you have little-to-no time hands-free to eat, let alone cook
Cons:
You have to order before Thursday at 9 am PT. Since I went into labor early and gave birth late on a Thursday night, I missed the first week
Our payment didn’t go through on a Thursday and was re-run on Friday morning, but by that time it was too late to be included in the upcoming week’s delivery, so I had to miss another week
There were no shipments the week of Labor Day, which was in the middle of my recovery, so I would’ve missed another week. I reached out to confirm this but was not notified about the option to double up on the previous week’s meals (only saw this option on IG Stories and it was too late to order)
No flexibility for dietary restrictions. The meals are dairy-free and gluten-free, but heavy in soy. Breakfasts and lunches were vegetarian, and I chose the meat protein option for dinners. However, there was tofu hidden everywhere.
This is ultimately why I stopped. On the weeks I was off the program, Margot’s eye boogers significantly cleared up, and on the weeks I was on it, they were so bad her eyes were sealed shut. I knew it was the soy because prior to starting this program, I hardly ever consumed soy and not to the levels I was getting in these meals
I reached out about substitutions for soy allergies and was informed double portions of certain dishes could be provided instead
As I write this, it looks like they’ve updated their website to make the start dates and deadlines more clear. However, when I was using the program, it felt like they still had some things to work out operationally to meet the premium price point.
After 4 inconsistent weeks, I stopped and switched to Thistle. Although this isn’t specific to postpartum recovery, I was able to put soy as an allergy and get healthy ready-made meals delivered.