Chicken Marbella, because it is easy to eat, has no problematic ingredients w/regard to breastfeeding, and tastes good at room temp:

http://leitesculinaria.com/5348/recipes-silver-palate-chicken-marbella.html

Deliver it with rice or rice pilaf, a salad with dressing on the side, a baguette, and a dessert of some kind.

Delicious.

When I was a new mom with twins, people brought the comfort foods above. But one woman brought a salmon, kale, spinach casserole. Healthy but inedible -- something went wrong somewhere.

I have friends who don't have family here or anyone who cooks, so I bring them lasagna because it's a homey thing I know they won't get otherwise. Sometimes I drop off picnic type foods for the hospital -- bread and cheese or sushi! -- and then follow up with a heavier meal a week or two later. The best thing I received postpartum was a fruit arrangement. I was dying for fresh fruit and it hit the spot. If you know the mom well, I like the previous suggestion of offering a few different ideas and letting them pick. Finally, I sometimes wait until 4-6 weeks after delivery and when everyone has gone home and the dad back to work. I will order lunch and bring it over, hold the baby, while the mom eats. It gives her some company during the long days and we get a real visit in. Works only for good friends, of course.

I got so many whole roasted chickens that I didn't have room to store them. My go-to is a hearty soup with vegetables and pasta, and I always tell the family that it's easy to freeze if they can't eat it that day (because you get SO many leftovers with lots of meals, like chickens and lasagna).

My absolute favorite meal I got as a new mom was a chicken salad, oddly enough. I had so many heavy, hot meals delivered that something ready to dig into and cool and fresh was amazing.

I never bring lasagna. Everyone brings lasagna. I bring comfort food- BBQ meatballs, mashed potatoes, homemade Mac and cheese. Last mom meal I took was BBQ roasted chicken legs, roasted butternut squash and a wild rice casserole with some red velvet cupcakes. I've taken gnocchi, chicken and rice casseroles, a Cajun chicken pasta for a friend who likes spicy stuff. Including a dessert and a bottle if wine is always nice.

Anonymous wrote:I always try to bring a whole meal that is a little fun and festive. They are going to get so many blah lasagnas and casseroles. Here are some of my top two meals:

Pulled BBQ Chicken (or pork if you know they eat it), soft rolls, sautéed green beans, homemade mac and cheese, fresh baked cookies, beer and/or wine, muffins for breakfast tomorrow.

Enchiladas, chips and guacamole, mexican beer, rice and beans, charred corn salad, assorted cookies and brownies, muffins for breakfast tomorrow.

I just had a baby! Can we be friends?

PP puts me to shame, but I also like to bring a full meal with cookies or brownies for dessert and a loaf of banana bread and fruit for tomorrow's. breakfast/snack. Extravagant, but not fussy.

I usually do a roasted chicken, green beans or asparagus, some kind of potato and a salad. I throw in something simple for dessert like cookies. And then a small fruit tray and muffins for the morning. I think people get a lot of casserole type dishes, so I like to do something else.

Quiche is good, or pasta (I make lasagna for people) or chicken enchiladas..or another main dish easy to dig into, and then a salad and loaf of bread. Yum!

How newly postpartum is this family? For the first 10 days or so, I wasn't up for eating big meals. I was most appreciative of the friends who brought cut up fruits and veggies and dips, rolls, muffins, etc. I was mostly eating one handed while nursing, so I certainly didn't want to try to balance a whole plate, but a Tupperware was okay. We let one huge vat of soup go to waste because it was inconvenient to eat, and I just didn't care enough to put it in smaller containers to freeze.

So, bring a meal if that's what you're supposed to do, but I bet the new mom would like some healthy snack food too.

I do stew. It has meat and veg, it gets better if it sits a couple of days, she can freeze it, and it's comfort food.