Hello Moms,
Eight weeks left until the baby #2 arrives and this time around my family is not here to help. I have my husband and my three year old and I am taking 3 months maternity leave (maybe more).
I am trying to get prepared for the first few weeks after birth (C-sect) when I won’t be able to shop and cook for my family. I am thinking about preparing some food now and freeze it and stock up my freezer with Trader Joe’s veggies.
Any meal ideas that freeze well or any other tips to survive the first few weeks? What else I could do or buy now to make it easier and avoid feeding my family fast food?
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
There are so many things you can freeze..
lasgna, spaghetti sauce, beans, enchiladas, split pea soup, beef stew, chili. Trader joes have the frozen jasmin rice, frozen veggies, chicken meat.
Congrats with Baby #2!!
Go to Dream Dinners or another meal prep place (Dinner My Way, etc). The way they have it set up, it's super easy, even down to an instruction label with step by step cooking instructions. All you have to do is move it from your freezer to your fridge the night before, and then let your husband cook the meal! Super easy. The food is pretty healthy and since you go to the store to assemble them yourself, you know exactly what goes into each dish (in case there are any food allergies in your family).
Good luck! I actually found baby #2 to be WAY easier than baby #1, even with the added factor of having a toddler at the same time. This time around you'll already know what you're doing. ;)
Chilli, soups, lasagna, ziti, caseroles, etc. I'm in the same position except I stay at home with my 2 year old already and (hopefully) won't be having a c-sect. But it's difficult to get everything ready and feel prepared! Here are some resources that I have been looking at to start my planning. I just wish I had a bigger freezer!
http://www.favoritefreezerfoods.com/
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2008/01/what-are-some-of-...
http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/freezer-meals.html
http://forums.families.com/meals-to-freeze,t50827
http://busycooks.about.com/od/makeaheadrecipes/a/freezeca...
Congratulations!
First of all, if you don't have a crockpot, get one! It's not only great for right after baby, but for years to come. As the kids get older, sports and activities will pretty much eat up evenings, so crockpots are a godsend !
You can put a frozen chunk of roast, chicken or pork loin in there with some sauce or seasoning, and you will have a meal when you get home. This is great for right after baby, for the same reason!
If you are able, yes, cook up some meals like lasagna, chili, vegetable soup, etc. and freeze them. A great website is www.allrecipes.com - the recipes are rated and they have all sorts of categories and helpful tips. I also like www.supercook.com - if you don't want to use a frozen meal or order pizza, but are not sure what to cook, it will spit out recipes for the ingredients you have on hand. You type in ground beef, onion,, etc and it will start showing a bunch of other ingredients, too. You can start clicking on the ingredients to give you a variety of recipes. Love it.
I always have some sort of lettuce. It's usually spinach, but you can add whatever veggies, meat or beans you want to it, serve it with some bread and it's a light dinner. If y'all are still hungry before bed, have popcorn for a snack. No one said you had to have an elaborate meal each night. Salad can be filling, especially if you add cheese, hard boiled egg, some crabmeat, garbonzo beans,etc.
If you have friends who offer to bring a meal, let them!! :) Good luck!!
OK, I dont know where you live but here in Spokane, WA there is a place called Meal Makers. It very affordable for the amount of food you get. You can go there and prepare a months worth of food yourself or they will perpare it for you and you pick it up all you do it freeze it until you wanna cook it. Go Google it. I love it.
A friend of mine just loaned me a book called "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer." It's got tons of recipes (breakfasts, dinners, desserts, etc) that you can make in bulk and then freeze.
Also you should check if there is a Dream Dinners or similar place near your home where you can go to prepare meals to freeze. They are pricey up front but a really good value, and high quality food.
I don't have any specific tips for food, but I will tell you I adjusted and felt better some much faster after baby number two compared with number one. I'm not sure what the deal was, but it was just all easier...hope it is for you too!
-M
Hi A.,
I'm also 8 weeks away from a C-section with baby number 2, and I'm planning to do exactly what you have described, fill the house/freezer with things I won't be able to do after baby comes. I'm looking forward to reading your responses.
Congrats on the new baby and good luck!
Two super easy & delicious cookbooks for freezer dinners:
Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer
http://amzn.to/e9DIte
http://amzn.to/euVuZ7
I got turned onto these books at my local library so it didn't cost me anything to try them out. I have since purchased them and not yet had a bad meal, so delicious! Good luck!
Chili, lasagna, enchiladas all freeze well. If you have a Super Suppers in you area it is also a good idea. Healthy meals ready to cook at any time for about $15 and serves 4. Sometimes we stock our freezer with those.
You got great suggestions already!! The people who mentioned Dream Dinners and those kinds of places are right. They are super easy, everything is all set to make the food, they do the clean-up, and you take the food home and bake it. EASY!! My family really likes my meat loaf so I made up a large mixture and put them in the individual disposable mini-loaf pans, and cooked them then froze them. Each loaf is about one dinner so I just would take the container out, put it on a plate and pop it in the microwave. Very easy!
Good luck and Congratulations!!
