Congratulations! There will soon be a new baby in your life! You have giggles, new baby smell, chubby thighs, and all of the other wonderful, horrible and really just plain tiring things that come with starting or expanding your family heading your way soon.
You’ll make space for the new little one in your home and family, but those first few weeks/months it can be challenging to take care of the one who is keeping all the magic going… I’m talking about you mama. In between feeding baby, schlepping their giant amounts of baby junk and keeping the peace with the rest of the fam, by the time you get 3 seconds to have a bite to eat don’t you deserve something better than cold pizza and toddler leftovers? I think you do. So while you’re baking that baby, take a moment to make yourself a few morsels as well.
Stock up on containers: Pick up some sturdy freezer friendly containers. I like the bento style, commercial grade ones from Costco, or just go ahead and let a grocery delivery service like HyVee Aisles bring you a large amount of containers as well as gallon- and quart-size bags.
See if you can get your besties or your mom to make it a party. You’ll make freezer meals for them too; everybody wins!! If that’s not to be, you can always just plan to make extra of whatever you make for dinner for a couple of months before newbie arrives. If you’re making one lasagna you might as well make two.
Now, down to brass tacks. What to cook? In general things that can be a one dish meal will serve you well, because really, you won’t have too much time it would be great if your vegetables/meat were already in the dish. Casseroles like lasagna, chicken pot pie, manicotti or soups are so comforting. Stews freeze well, just avoid things that contain potatoes because frozen potatoes can turn out really gross.
New moms often have their hands full, so food you can eat with one hand is great! How about empanadas, calzones, pasties, bierocks, or other one-handed food? (Definitely a few shades better than a hot pocket friends!) Go ahead and make sure everything is completely cooked and just has to be heated up because really, who has time for that when there is a tiny person to be tickled?
Don’t forget to put some breakfast dishes in the freezer, too. Oatmeal is supposed to help with milk production so throw in a baked oatmeal in there while you’re at it.
Now, make sure you label and date to avoid a frozen mystery meal scenario (says the woman who once accidentally sent her husband to lunch with a quart container of frozen jam for lunch) and eat everything up in 3 months or so!
Note: All of the recipes linked to above are from AWESOME cooks in the KC metro. Check them out for some inspiration. If you need a few more, this book rocked my socks.
Get cooking, KC mamas!
