Burritos and oat bars. Easy to eat one handed and don’t require fancy rehearing instructions. Also, grilled chicken breasts/thighs because you can thaw and use for all sorts of meals.

These are my favorite oat bars. They freeze well. For burritos, I just made them up without a recipe using beans, rice, cheese and sautéed veggies.

https://ohsheglows.com/2012/01/20/on-the-glow-basic-oatmeal-squares/

Anonymous wrote:Breakfast burritos.

I am pregnant and will probably do some breakfast burritos and I will have frozen fruit to make smoothies (fiber). That’s it. I agree with the other posters that frozen meals are very meh.

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure if you’re here still but here so what I did.

- Breakfast:

- Egg muffins. You can make a large frittata or make it in muffins for smaller portions.
- Pankcake muffins. Same concept as egg muffins. Made the batter and put in muffins. You can also do regular pancakes and freeze them.
- smoothie packs

Meals:

- Lasagna
- mostaccioli
- Meatloaf
- casserole
- shepherds pie

Snacks:

Muffins
Granola bars
granola bites

You can do anything you want. Crockpot meals and simple meals are always good too. I would make sure to have lots of easy snacks

- Yogurt
- oatmeal
- smoothies
- hummus and veggies or crackers
- guacamole and veggies with crackers
-

Don’t feel bad if you eat out every night or eat frozen meals.

I’m not sure if you’re here still but here so what I did.

- Breakfast:

- Egg muffins. You can make a large frittata or make it in muffins for smaller portions.
- Pankcake muffins. Same concept as egg muffins. Made the batter and put in muffins. You can also do regular pancakes and freeze them.
- smoothie packs

Meals:

- Lasagna
- mostaccioli
- Meatloaf
- casserole
- shepherds pie

Snacks:

Muffins
Granola bars
granola bites

You can do anything you want. Crockpot meals and simple meals are always good too. I would make sure to have lots of easy snacks

- Yogurt
- oatmeal
- smoothies
- hummus and veggies or crackers
- guacamole and veggies with crackers
-

I made a big batch of chili that we froze for a quick meal. Then I also made some pasta sauce.

Otherwise, the first PP is correct. The first few weeks we heavily relied on easy to prep food. The other big adjustment for me on maternity leave was that I had to figure out lunch each day. Maybe this isn't a problem coming off the pandemic, but we needed way more "at home" food than we were used to buying.

Trader Joes has some good stuff I ate a lot. Gyoza, the fried rice, orange chicken etc. I was capable of boiling water, so we ate pasta and bagged salads too.

After the first bit, you'll have the bandwidth to start making a few small meals again. My DH would grill steaks or the like. It wasn't like we couldn't cook for weeks and week. Just we weren't cooking 4 nights a night at the start, and then slowly got back into a new routine.

I’d google “best freezer meals”. I had the same urge to plan but ultimately I realized all the best freezer foods are really not summery, I dropped the idea. We eat a ton of fresh foods in the summer and the thought of eating a watery curry in the 90 degree heat is just too depressing.

Is this something you truly want to do OP, or something you think you should do because you read it somewhere?

I’m the meatball lover - I am suuuper picky about frozen food and how it tastes.

Chili is one of the few things that freezes well.

Chicken breasts can be portioned, trimmed and placed in a marinade and then frozen. You can pop them in the InstantPot frozen or thawed. Just cook on manual 12 min for thawed, 20 for frozen.

The biggest thing that made sense for me post partum was to shift from being primarily a “stovetop” cook to an “oven and instant pot” cook.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t cook - it was that I could not spend a lot of time chopping and prepping ingredients - so I used more prechopped veggies, more prepared herbs and spices. I learned to use garlic powder which is in a lot of Ambitious Kitchen recipes instead of mincing fresh garlic.

I couldn’t spend time stirring / sautéing multiple pans on the the stovetop - but I could corral my toddler and baby in order to pop things into the InstantPot or oven.

I also prioritized recipes that are not super time sensitive - with little kids you need some leeway that if the timer goes off but you are changing a diaper, it won’t be a disaster to leave it for a few extra minutes.

Smitten kitchen baked chicken meatballs, ginger turkey meatballs, basically any type of meatball. Easy to eat one handed.

Egg bites / crustless quiche / egg cups - any combo of egg, veggies and protein that you can microwave and eat.

Muffins - hearty muffins with nuts, flax, wheat germ, bran, etc. There is a NYT recipe I like called Lunchbox muffins” that are loaded with shredded apple and carrot. Morning glory muffins with coconut, raisins and walnuts. Smitten kitchen blue sky bran muffins. Hearty nutritious muffins you can eat with some cream cheese.

Lactation cookies, no bake energy bites, oat squares - think little bites that are high fat and protein filled, to eat when nursing.

Don’t worry about sitting down for a meat + 3 “meal” - think about feeding yourself for breakfast, lunch and snacks. For meals - you can buy take out or premade

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Stuff you buy (Trader Joes has a million favorites). I can't cook things myself that come out of the freezer as well as the pros can.

Lol if your cooking is as good as a Trader Joe’s frozen meal then your cooking must suck.

OP I like a summery chicken and bean stew. It freezes well. Sautee 2 chopped onions with chopped tomatoes (approx 5 large tomatoes). Add whatever chopped vegetables you have (1 used one zucchini and 4 celery sticks recently). Meanwhile boil 2 lb chicken pieces until there is white foam. Remove white foam. Add a bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, pepper and whatever herbs you have. Add onion vegetable mixture, 3 cups of soaked great northern or camellia beans (soak overnight). Reduce heat to medium low and cook for an hour. Shred chicken if you wish and save in ziplock freezer bags.

My fresh cooking is excellent. Cooking *for the freezer* is a different thing. And your single solitary stew recipe proves my point.

I second Trader Joe’s.

With my first I made a ton of freezer meals, but none of them tasted good once they thawed.

Plus, newborns sleep a LOT. You’ll have time to cook.

With my second and third, Trader Joe’s all the way!

(We also had a meal train and didn’t cook for a month, and many people included an extra container of food to freeze).

Anonymous wrote:I never understood the craze on this. The time it takes to thaw and the fact that it doesn’t taste the time, doesn’t make it worth it. You can cook after giving birth you know

I feel the same way, I just don't get it.
Also, I prefer to eat fresh foods, salads.. and that's just not something you can prep ahead of time and freeze.

If you must have frozen stuff available, I think Trader Joe's has the best frozen meals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Stuff you buy (Trader Joes has a million favorites). I can't cook things myself that come out of the freezer as well as the pros can.

Lol if your cooking is as good as a Trader Joe’s frozen meal then your cooking must suck.

OP I like a summery chicken and bean stew. It freezes well. Sautee 2 chopped onions with chopped tomatoes (approx 5 large tomatoes). Add whatever chopped vegetables you have (1 used one zucchini and 4 celery sticks recently). Meanwhile boil 2 lb chicken pieces until there is white foam. Remove white foam. Add a bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, pepper and whatever herbs you have. Add onion vegetable mixture, 3 cups of soaked great northern or camellia beans (soak overnight). Reduce heat to medium low and cook for an hour. Shred chicken if you wish and save in ziplock freezer bags.

New Poster. Your comment is rude. And for the record, Trader Joe's frozen meals aren't bad.

Yeah, they're not bad. Also, most people don't have a flash freezer at home. It's not a matter of cooking abilities. Even a good dish, cooked well, may not taste good when frozen in an ordinary freezer.

I like crustless quiche, OP. It often tastes good even after freezing/reheating. Also, I would consider looking into insta pot recipes. Like the crock pot rec, but the pressure cooker part of it is so helpful.

Breakfast burritos.

I don’t love casseroles or soups, especially in Summer.

I’d personally do this:

Have a freezer stocked with mac and cheese (love TJs varieties), portions of lasagne, a chili or soup you like, maybe some crab dip or artichoke dip.

Stock your pantry with the drinks you like (seltzer, wine, sofas, teas, coffees), sauces and dressings and mustards -!: pickles, crackers and chips and salsas and nuts and snacks and chocolates.

Place grocery delivery orders (or pick up) fresh fruits and veggies and milk and fresh bread and perishables. When that’s all you need, it’s a easy and fast trip.

This way you can restock fresh produce and dairy and bread weekly or so and pull out a main. I loved taking a walk with a baby to get a fresh baguette and realize I have nice jams or mustards and all my favorite beverages stocked at home.

Having tiny luxuries or preferred items readily available will make your life easier and enjoyable.