Parenthood is exhausting. Whether it’s your first or your fifth, there’s a lot that goes into adapting to your new way of life.
When my husband and I were in the thick of those newborn days with our son, we relied on take out, delivery, or the graciousness of my mom to feed us when we were too tired to think about cooking.
While I did prepare a few freezer meals ahead of time, they were eaten up quickly and I didn’t have it in me to make more when I was recovering from childbirth.
That’s exactly what led Phoenix mom of three, Madelyn Ellis, to start The Nest Prep—a meal service company for new and expectant parents meant to take the stress out of prepping and cooking meals by doing it all for you and delivering them right to your doorstep.
The idea for The Nest Prep has been years in the making. Madelyn first thought of it while pregnant with her first daughter, but got busy with her job, the new baby, and life in general.
It wasn’t until 2021 when pregnant with her third and getting ready to make a bunch of freezer meals to prepare for the birth, that Madelyn revisited the idea again.
“My good friend was also pregnant at the time and she hated meal prepping so I told her I would love to do it for her,” Madelyn said. “That made me wonder if the name—The Nest Prep—that I had thought of years ago was still available.”
Fortunately, it was and Madelyn secured the name on social media and as a website domain, and spent the next year slowly building the bones of the business.
“I spent time developing the website and trying to learn about social media marketing,” she said. “There’s been a huge learning curve trying to figure it all out.”
After over a year of perfecting the menu, building a website, designing labels, trying out different container options, and more, Madelyn officially launched The Nest Prep on August 8, 2022, leaving her nutritionist job in the local school district to pursue the business fulltime.
Customers can find a variety of menu options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert! Suitable for all different likes, dietary restrictions and preferences, The Nest Prep offers dishes such as oatmeal bakes, muffins, burritos, pasta dishes, enchiladas, burger patties, soups, energy bites, and even edible cookie dough.
“It’s really just about providing good food for people,” said Madelyn. “The focus is not about getting your body back or losing weight but honoring what your body has done and the journey that you’re on and taking that burden of meal prepping and planning away from new moms.”
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and concentrations in both dietetics and foodservice management, a child nutrition certification, and years of nutrition management, Madelyn strives to not only create exceptional flavor profiles but said she especially likes to take into consideration the nutritional needs of moms.
“Anybody can have it, but it really is focused on postpartum moms,” she said. “I try to focus on essentials for breastfeeding moms too, being mindful of lactation-boosting ingredients to add in when possible, and incorporating lots of fruits and vegetables for both nutrition and energy.”
The Nest Prep also offers gifting options so you can give the gift of meals to an expectant family.
“I hope that people feel like it takes some of that decision-making off their plate but I also hope that they feel that someone really cares about the phase of life that they’re in and wants to help,” said Madelyn. “It’s so important to be able to take care of the new mom and if I can lend to that and be a part of that village in any way, I feel really grateful.” To find out more, or to place an order, visit thenestprep.com
