Testimonial: Wynn & the Plain White Box

WYNN MALLICOAT / The Plain White Box

originally posted 12/1/2015
Wynn and her family are a great example of how preparation is key.

Giving birth is an extremely vulnerable time for every woman. For a military wife, the lack of support can be a significant stressor stacked upon so many other stressors. When my first daughter was born, my husband and I were stationed far away from family, where we had little support. I had been eating primal for several years due to an unspecified autoimmune disease, so I required a specific diet. Unfortunately, I underestimated much about those early post-partum weeks. Well-meaning neighbors and members of the church brought by dishes. In fact, the kitchen counters were covered with containers filled with food that I could not eat. My husband, on the other hand, ate like a king! From this experience, I planned to stock the chest freezer with quick meals in my future pregnancy to better prepare for those first months when cooking was difficult.

Unfortunately, my most recent pregnancy was filled with unanticipated changes and challenges. When we found out we were expecting our latest addition to the family, our joy was quickly tainted by the knowledge that my husband would be deployed just days after her birth. We had finally grown comfortable with where to shop to meet my dietary restrictions, and we had to PCS (move) when I was just moving into my second trimester. We began unpacking, and I began researching quick meals, creating a list to begin preparing closer to the due date. At 32 weeks, I went into pre-term labor. I was placed on modified bedrest, and the last two months before my husband’s deployment, he struggled to balance caring for me, unpacking and completing maintenance on our home, while I struggled with caring for our toddler. Meals were a significant challenge, but we relied on the crockpot and the grill to help my husband get food on the table. After eight weeks and three trips to labor and delivery, we made our fourth and final journey to the hospital for our little one to make her grand entrance into the world. Her first two weeks passed quickly, and my husband departed for his one year deployment, leaving me with two under two flying solo.

So when does The Good Kitchen come to the rescue? My sister in law and her family PCS ed to Japan right after we were placed on bedrest, and because she could not physically come to help, she did a bit of research online and consulting with her CrossFit buddies. She found The Good Kitchen. Who knew that a plain white box sitting on my porch could actually save my life! I was exhausted. I was nursing my newborn while chasing my toddler to put her on the potty. I couldn’t keep up with the cooking and cleaning. It was chaos. She sent enough meals to get me through two weeks. For two weeks, I didn’t have to stay up and clean the kitchen after wrestling through bedtime with my girls. For two weeks, I didn’t have to juggle nursing one, chasing the other, and trying not to burn dinner. For two weeks, I ate a healthy, delicious dinner instead of whatever I could scrape together. For two weeks, I didn’t have to think about what I would cook or make a shopping list for my meals. The Good Kitchen saved me time and energy I did not have so that I could focus on surviving those early weeks. I didn’t have to pretend to be thankful for food that I could not eat.

When I returned to work from maternity leave, my plan includedThe Good Kitchen. I work from home, but with two little ones, a deployed husband, and health issues, I do not have time to cook the way I used to. Ordering or dining out is mostly out of the question due to my dietary restrictions and risk of cross contamination. Even grocery shopping is a challenge to accomplish, so five months after my daughter joined us,The Good Kitchen is still on the menu at least three nights a week. I cannot begin to say how thankful I am that my sister in law found you!

*late addendeum from Wynn... my daughters were recently very sick, and I spend many a night with both of them in Tulas (carriers), tandem style, just pacing and swaying to lullabies to calm them and keep them upright. Of course, with no sleep, I also became sick. Within ten days, we had two ER trips, one urgent care visit, and three doctor appointments. My sister in law came to the rescue again by ordering from The Good Kitchen so that I would be able to not worry about cooking. So thank you for being a huge part of my family for the past several months!

See what others have to say about us on our Testimonial Page.