Freezer meals

merostomata

Hey mamas! Freezer meals were a godsend after my first was born— for those of you planning to make some, what kind of things are you thinking about? I could use some inspiration!

Totally taking recommendations for premade frozen food too. Trader Joe’s probably has some good stuff worth stocking up on.

Hearty, self-contained soups, stews and casseroles are my favorite for postpartum. I love freezing soups flat in gallon ziplocks and then stacking them upright. Was thinking veggie chili, lentil soup, enchiladas, lasagna, chicken tortilla soup and a bunch of waffles and muffins for breakfast/snacks.

krysnicole1022

I have never made freezer meals. I always intend to but I never get around to it. I do stock up on trader Joe's stuff and Costco staples but half the time we just feed the kids whatever they want (cereal) and get take out. I like to pretend I'm going to do it this time but odds are I will just be at Costco a few days before buying all the freezer foods. 🤣

amille525

So far I’ve made mac&cheese, stuffed shells, Mexican lasagna, goulash, a batch of spaghetti sauce, and a batch of sloppy joes. This week I’m doing stuffed peppers, creamy chicken enchiladas, meatloaf, and freezing a batch of taco meat. I also bought some easy freezer meals to have on hand too. Also made a big batch of breakfast burritos. I usually just double what we’re having for dinner  (if I think it’s something that will freeze well) and freeze half. My mom is making us chicken divan, my step dad is making us stuffed chicken breasts, and my stepmom will probably cook stuff for us every time she visits…we’re exceptionally lucky in the grandparent department. Having meals made ahead of time was extremely helpful last time and this time my husband works a different shift so he won’t be home as much at dinner time so it’ll be even more helpful this time. 

mcclanna

@amille525 wow that sounds both delicious and tiring, we have very different sized freezers! I’m just trying to empty mine so there’s room for breast milk in the future so I doubt I’ll be making any freezer meals. TJs, take out, pre-cooked food at Whole Foods or wherever is probably gunna be the way we go. 

krysnicole1022

@mcclanna we bought a chest freezer after our second so I would have a place to store all the breast milk. 🤣 I'm currently trying to get rid of all the freezer foods to make sure I have room for Costco freezer hauls including cookies and muffins because I am going to want those when the GD ends. Haha

mcclanna

@krysnicole1022 I have a very solid list of foods I have been missing that I would like delivered to the hospital post labor including a bagel, a muffin, croissant, oatmeal raisin cookie and a caramel macchiato. I. Can’t. Wait.

KGETS86

My breastmilk freezer currently has freezer meals in it. As the e freezer meals are used, the breastmilk will have space for storage. 

I usually try to double a meal I’m already making. Some of what I’ve made so far:
Ragu
Burrito bowls
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Korean Pulled pork
Pancakes
Meatballs
French toast
—all of the above are gluten free, since I have celiac disease. 

I’ve also stocked up on Costco staples and door dash gift cards for the fuel points. Last baby my mom had to ask my retired aunts to bring a meal over because no one offered, so I’m fully prepared for that to happen again. My kids will probably live off of chicken nuggets, cereal and Mac and cheese. 

krysnicole1022

@KGETS86 it's basically my kids dream life for me to let them live on oatmeal, cereal, raw fruit and vegetables, and quesadillas. I usually like to have quick stuff for me and my husband like burritos or enchiladas but my kids are thrilled if they can just eat pb and j for dinner. They are already kind of doing it because with my GD I don't like making separate meals every night so some nights we eat kind of the same thing and other nights I'm like "Cheerios for you all!" I'll stock up on Naan and Indian food that I can't eat right now but my husband usually cooks and takes care of everything and a lot of the stuff doesn't take much time (like chili) so he will throw that in a crock pot or I will. We tend to forget about freezer food anyway. 

KGETS86

@krysnicole1022 my 4.5yo had cheerios for dinner tonight because she wasn’t feeling pasta and meatballs. Growing up my mom always told me that if I didn’t like what she had prepared for dinner, I knew where the cereal was. I’ve apparently adopted that early on with my own kids. I’m fairly certain my 6yo had granola bars and fruit snacks for dinner, which is branching out from his all orange diet, so I’ll take it?

As for freezer meals, we already like to have some on hand, because it seems like M-W we end up ordering carry out because work is so crazy for both of us. I’ve just done that on steroids this time. I have an inventory on a spreadsheet of what’s in the freezer, because I was so sick of throwing out meats that were in there for 18+months. It’s helped us meal plan a little better. But just a little. Hence the DoorDash gift cards hahaha

Aycul18

in my mind I’m planning on making a couple of soups and chili. Whether I actually get to it or not is a whole different story 😂

krysnicole1022

@KGETS86 that's so organized!! Our stuff gets lost. 🤦‍♀️ Cheerios have whole grains and milk has protein and calcium. I usually have them chop up a banana with it and then I'm good. I have two really easy well rounded eaters but my current middle child is so unbelievably picky. She's a vegetarian who hates vegetables. And I know it's nothing we did because everyone else eats all the veggies. My oldest daughter and son devour raw fresh veggies all day every day. My second daughter just tells me she would rather have fruit. Um yes, who wouldn't? But you need to pick two vegetables you have the least and I'll make those on nights I make veggies. 🙄

jilliboo

My mom made one meal. We had to take a “thank you” bite which was a tiny portion, and if we didn’t like it or didn’t want that, there were apples cheese and meat in the fridge at our level and we had learned how to use the cheese slicer and apple cutter by the time we were 5. Other than that, my mom wasn’t cooking another meal. I plan on doing the same. My MIL made separate meals for each of her kids and thankfully, they grew out of the picky eating. We’ve already had the conversation that she is to make one meal. No cut off crusts, or apple peels. And if he doesn’t like what’s being offered once he’s fully on solids, we can address that as it comes. Lol. 

krysnicole1022

My one daughter will just eat to the crust and surgically remove the peel from the apple by eating around it. If I make something that I know one of my kids really doesn't like (my oldest hates chicken nuggets but loves spicy black bean taquitos) I will just toss those in the oven as well. But I don't go out of my way. We tell our middle kid she can get the cottage cheese and almonds. 

krthouse

Just made a batch of banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins for the freezer. Oats are great for milk production and I wanted a breakfasty snack item on hand. These were super easy to whip up!

magic_lentil

Instead of freezer meals, how about husband meals?  I do most of the cooking normally but I’ve been reminding my husband of his specialties that he can make when the baby comes  In his case there is a specific blended roasted veggie/corn soup, Swedish meatballs, crab cakes, and anything grilled.   We are lucky/unlucky in that I get no paid maternity leave but he gets 8 weeks at full pay and 4 more at half pay so we’ll have each other for support when the baby comes rather than just me being home with our baby while he has to work.  

shortstack930

@krthouse ooh can you post the recipe? Those look awesome

krthouse

@shortstack930 Sure can! Since I'm freezing them I greased the muffin tin with butter instead of using paper liners and we were out of vanilla so I used 1tsp of almond extract.

Found the recipe here:

https://www.howsweeteats.com/2021/03/banana-muffins/

merostomata

@krthouse yum, those look great 😋 I’ll have to make those. Maybe I’ll make some minis as well— they make good breakfasts for the toddler!

momof_t_k_e_baby4

Here's my Costco freezer meal "prep" 🤣🤣 (That was an expensive checkout, but the chest freezer is full 👍)

krysnicole1022

I like your style! That's how I plan on meal prepping. 😂

jilliboo

I just stocked up on stuff and made freezer breakfast burritos and a couple crock pot meals.