If anyone has little ones at home already- it's easy and quick to make muffins and pancakes ahead of time and pop them into freezer bags! Makes breakfasts super quick
@momma2char I haven't even thought about feeding DD since she wasn't around last time lol. I guess I was thinking cereal but having muffins or pancakes on hand would be nice.
I'm about to abandon freezer meals (the thought of all that prepping is overwhelming me at the moment) and just signing up for various home-delivery options and trying them out. Most of them offer a discount for your first week so I figure I can try a new one every other week or so...
*I'm referring to HelloFresh, BlueApron, SunBasket...
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@hp_momma's comment about home-delivery options made me think of this. Figured I'd mention it in case anyone hadn't heard of it before. But, if you have a lot of willing family/friends in the area, you could set up a meal train for your first couple weeks home to take the pressure off. https://www.mealtrain.com/
@hp_momma we've done blue apron and hello fresh, and while I think they're great, I don't think they're conducive to a new baby. They take work to make and clean up. Have you tried them before? My baby shower hostesses mentioned meal train like @starphish18 suggested on the invite so other people had an idea of how they could help us.
Meal Train is great resource for a family member or friend to coordinate for you! We live 2000 miles away from family/friends so although a couple neighbors might drop something off I'm not counting on too many meals.
A lot of my neighbors use Hello Fresh and really like it. I figured if I could just cut out having to go grocery shopping that would save me the most hassle!
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Meal Train is great resource for a family member or friend to coordinate for you! We live 2000 miles away from family/friends so although a couple neighbors might drop something off I'm not counting on too many meals.
A lot of my neighbors use Hello Fresh and really like it. I figured if I could just cut out having to go grocery shopping that would save me the most hassle!
We tried a few meals from Hello Fresh and DH is so picky that it was hard to find meals he wanted to eat and that he actually liked the flavoring of. Plus I found the cooking was quite a bit of work, they basically just supplied the recipe and ingredients but I had to do all the work.
I plan on making freezer meals although I hear you on how overwhelming it can be to make them, but I also plan on taking full advantage of Walmart to-go deliveries. I remember using that service a lot after DD was born and it was amazing. I think my local Kroger store has also started providing that service too so I will have to look into them as well. Just an option to consider if you try those meal delivery companies and your family has a similar reaction to them as mine did.
Me: 38 DH: 36 Married 8/27/2011 BFP #1 9/28/2011 DS born 5/22/2012 BFP #2 4/24/2013 m/c 4/25/2013 at 4w BFP #3 1/31/2014 DD born 10/14/2014 BFP #4 1/20/2016 m/c 2/12/2014 at 7w2d BFP #5 8/19/2016 DS2 born 4/29/2017 BFP #6 3/7/2018 EDD 11/18/2018
I'm looking forward to using click-list this time around. Just order the groceries online, pull up curbside to the store, they load them in the car, and off we go. The actual cooking part doesn't seem daunting to me, its the planning, packing up and lugging two kids through the store, and then getting home and still have the energy to cook. I love click-list because I don't even have to get dressed into real clothes or get out of the car.
Meal Train is great resource for a family member or friend to coordinate for you! We live 2000 miles away from family/friends so although a couple neighbors might drop something off I'm not counting on too many meals.
A lot of my neighbors use Hello Fresh and really like it. I figured if I could just cut out having to go grocery shopping that would save me the most hassle!
We tried a few meals from Hello Fresh and DH is so picky that it was hard to find meals he wanted to eat and that he actually liked the flavoring of. Plus I found the cooking was quite a bit of work, they basically just supplied the recipe and ingredients but I had to do all the work.
I plan on making freezer meals although I hear you on how overwhelming it can be to make them, but I also plan on taking full advantage of Walmart to-go deliveries. I remember using that service a lot after DD was born and it was amazing. I think my local Kroger store has also started providing that service too so I will have to look into them as well. Just an option to consider if you try those meal delivery companies and your family has a similar reaction to them as mine did.
Good to know about your DH not liking some of the meals. My main concern is the portion sizes as I swear my DH eats enough for two grown men.
Walmart and Kroger here doesn't do the grocery delivery or pick-up yet. Safeway does so I do plan to use them often even though I don't usually prefer Safeway. I wish Costco had a pick-up or delivery service!
I never did freezer meals with DD1 or DD2 and we survived, so I imagine we will survive again!
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@hp_momma something to look into is Instacart(dot)com. I don't know how widespread it is but it's a service that shops at a local store and delivers to your house. There is a $5.99 delivery fee and I tip the driver also but whatever I spend on fees I know I save in impulse buys and convenience. I use it already when I have super busy school weeks and can't seem to get to the store.
@hp_momma we've done blue apron and hello fresh, and while I think they're great, I don't think they're conducive to a new baby. They take work to make and clean up. Have you tried them before? My baby shower hostesses mentioned meal train like @starphish18 suggested on the invite so other people had an idea of how they could help us.
I was just going to say the same thing. I am FTM so I've never had a baby but Blue Apron was a lot of work. It is all fresh so you have to do all kinds of prep work for the spices and veggies etc. It was good and provided us with meal options I wouldn't have come up with on my own but it wasn't easy to do.
I also live thousands of miles away from family and H isn't taking off much time and he is gone 10-11 hours on a work day. My mom will come for about 10 days but that's it. The freezer meals have given me a lot of piece of mind. I made 4 casseroles and prepped about 6 crockpot meals as well as 3 different types of burritos-wraps. It took me about a full day on my own not including shopping. I allotted one of the days of my spring break and just worked recipe by recipe.
Where I live there's nothing similar to blue apron or grocery delivery. Although pretty much all restaurants deliver (including McDonald's) I'm glad I have some home cooked options available.
I'm definitely going to look into Instacart @ShadeofGreen816. I think the couple times I've done online grocery shopping through Safeway definitely saves on impulse buying too. Since we live on a military base, not all delivery services have access to us as their drivers would need access to our base, but definitely something I'm going to check out!
I don't mind cooking, it's the grocery shopping that gets me! So that's why the fresh meals didn't seem like a bad idea. With DD1 and DD2 I didn't find it too difficult to cook dinner as long as I had everything on hand, it's dragging the kids out to the grocery store that's the biggest hassle.
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@hp_momma & others: I agree about the majority of meal prep delivery boxes still being all the work, but I think Sun Basket is a little more prepped and all you have to do is cook. I seem to remember most things coming pre- washed and chopped. And if you're in the SF Bay Area, Munchery is a great "heat and eat" meal service. It's really good, with lots of variety.
@hp_momma I've tried a lot of the meal delivery services and my favorite was green chef. If I remember correctly, the portion sizes were also largest. Obviously, it depends on what meals you select, but I remember having some leftovers and my DH also eats a ton. I didn't love Blue Apron because I thought some of the food was a bit too gourmet and this is coming from a person who likes to try new things. What I didn't like about all of the meal delivery services is the amount of packaging and the prep time. I know others have already pointed this out to you so as long as you're aware. That said, meal delivery definitely saves on time because you're not making grocery lists or trips to the store.
I made some yummy lentil soup last night. I think it'll go into the freezer meal stash. I've never domenic freezer meals, so I'm not exactly sure when to start. I guess I could start now, but I was going to wait until one month before my due date.
Its interesting to read about these meal services. I've seen commercials and adds, but never thought much of them. Are there any with good vegetarian options?
OK, so I didn't get my big freezer meal plan done but I did do 4 of them last night. 4 freezer meals are better than none, right?
Orange ginger chicken- Will heat up with rice and some steamable broccoli Beef pot roast with green beans Pork Chops with brown sugar, soy sauce and pineapple- Will add some steamed broccoli Scalloped potatoes with ham and cheese
@MollyandD Yes, I think they have good vegetarian options. I've tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, both have vegetarian options. My sister does it almost exclusively and she's vegetarian.
@MollyandD I don't know what their delivery area is but Purple Carrot is all vegetarian meals. I haven't tried them though, but I've seen ads. Pics look tasty lol
Re: Freezer Meal Recipes
*I'm referring to HelloFresh, BlueApron, SunBasket...
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
We live 2000 miles away from family/friends so although a couple neighbors might drop something off I'm not counting on too many meals.
A lot of my neighbors use Hello Fresh and really like it. I figured if I could just cut out having to go grocery shopping that would save me the most hassle!
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
I plan on making freezer meals although I hear you on how overwhelming it can be to make them, but I also plan on taking full advantage of Walmart to-go deliveries. I remember using that service a lot after DD was born and it was amazing. I think my local Kroger store has also started providing that service too so I will have to look into them as well. Just an option to consider if you try those meal delivery companies and your family has a similar reaction to them as mine did.
Married 8/27/2011
BFP #1 9/28/2011 DS born 5/22/2012
BFP #2 4/24/2013 m/c 4/25/2013 at 4w
BFP #3 1/31/2014 DD born 10/14/2014
BFP #4 1/20/2016 m/c 2/12/2014 at 7w2d
BFP #5 8/19/2016 DS2 born 4/29/2017
BFP #6 3/7/2018 EDD 11/18/2018
the meals. My main concern is the portion sizes as I swear my DH eats enough for two grown men.
Walmart and Kroger here doesn't do the grocery delivery or pick-up yet. Safeway does so I do plan to use them often even though I don't usually prefer Safeway. I wish Costco had a pick-up or delivery service!
I never did freezer meals with DD1 or DD2 and we survived, so I imagine we will survive again!
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Where I live there's nothing similar to blue apron or grocery delivery. Although pretty much all restaurants deliver (including McDonald's) I'm glad I have some home cooked options available.
Eta. I linked the site I was using a page or so back but here it is for reference for anyone still looking to do it.
https://diaryofafitmommy.com/15-freezer-meals-before-your-baby-arrives/
I don't mind cooking, it's the grocery shopping that gets me! So that's why the fresh meals didn't seem like a bad idea. With DD1 and DD2 I didn't find it too difficult to cook dinner as long as I had everything on hand, it's dragging the kids out to the grocery store that's the biggest hassle.
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Its interesting to read about these meal services. I've seen commercials and adds, but never thought much of them. Are there any with good vegetarian options?
Orange ginger chicken- Will heat up with rice and some steamable broccoli
Beef pot roast with green beans
Pork Chops with brown sugar, soy sauce and pineapple- Will add some steamed broccoli
Scalloped potatoes with ham and cheese