Joanna Gaines swears by this dish as her go-to meal after giving birth to each of her five children.
Joanna Gaines Eats the Same Post-Baby Meal Every Time—Here’s Why
Published on Feb. 26, 2025
Joanna Gaines is today’s Renaissance woman; she’s a decorator, entrepreneur, TV personality, author and mother to five children. In 2017, Gaines successfully launched Hearth & Hand with Magnolia, a collection of home and lifestyle items that is currently sold at Target. More recently, Joanna and her husband Chip founded their own media company, which includes Magnolia Network and the Magnolia Journal, which is a quarterly publication.
Even with her fame and success, the Fixer Upper star’s ideals haven’t changed much in the last decade. Whether that looks like staying home with the kids and getting dressed up for Valentine’s Day or taking the boys on a train ride for their fifth birthday to San Antonio, Joanna Gaines loves tradition—and this extends to eating the same thing after giving birth.
What did Joanna Gaines always eat after delivering a baby?
In season eight of Magnolia Table, Joanna Gaines reveals that she craves chicken cordon bleu from a very specific place after giving birth: the hospital. Most folks dread eating hospital food, but Joanna quips that “chicken cordon bleu and anesthesia” are her favorite parts of her stay (minus meeting baby, of course).
Joanna Gaines’ favorite recipes are delicious (we’re partial to her peanut butter balls and chicken enchiladas), so we trust her judgment.
What is chicken cordon bleu?
Chicken cordon bleu is chicken rolled up with ham and cheese (usually Swiss or Gruyère) and coated in bread crumbs. It’s traditionally served with a Dijon mustard sauce.
Want to make your own rendition? Although we can’t supply the exact meal Joanna Gaines enjoyed in the hospital (sorry to disappoint), our chicken cordon bleu recipe might be even better.
