Preparing your meals in advance will make your life with a newborn much easier.
Newborns do three things: eat, sleep, and poop.
When you aren’t tending to those needs, your time will be spent soaking up the coos and hiccups that escape your baby on a daily basis. You certainly don’t want to have to cook and clean in the minimal you-time you’ll have.
If you have ever read an internet post on things that you should do before a baby arrives, preparing freezer meals will be on that list.
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Make Healthy Food Choices
This was not something I did very good at – mostly because I didn’t know WHERE to find healthy food options. Recently, a blogger friend of mine shared with me a new Postpartum Healthy Eating e-book that she created.
Honestly, I LOVED it. It’s super affordable and a TON of good information regarding how to pick quality healthy foods, as well as personal recipes she has used herself.
This girl did a TON of research to find the healthiest eating options to help you keep your strength up while nourishing your body. I definitely recommend checking it out.
Make Convenient Food Choices
I’m going to be honest; it’s likely that you may not be looking at freezer meal-prep the right way. While you certainly want to prepare meals you’ll enjoy, you need to consider how convenient it will be to eat.
That deep-dish macaroni and cheese may not very practical to eat while you are juggling a bouncing, screaming baby in one of your arms. I believe that most babies have a sixth sense and they know when you are tired and need to sit down.
Your baby will be perfectly content when you bounce them gently and pace back and forth. However, the moment you sit down–even if you continue to bounce them, it’s not good enough. Cue the adorable screaming death noise emitting from your child.
Because I know how hard it is to juggle eating with a newborn, I decided to create a list of practical freezer meals you can prepare while pregnant.
Make a Plan
Freezer meal prep is a challenge. It won’t be easy, and it will be time-consuming–but that’s true of a lot of things in life.
You need to write out a plan and schedule out when you are going to be making meals. I recommend picking up a Meal Planner
to help keep you better organized.
I like to have things written out, and this planner had different sections for grocery lists as well as daily and weekly meal plans. Here are a couple more tips to get you started in the right direction.
Start your meal prep in the seventh month of pregnancy. The bigger you get, the more uncomfortable it will be to be on your feet for extended periods of time.
Make a goal of getting a specific number of meals done every week and schedule it out.
Get your grocery shopping for each week done a week in advance so you already have everything once it’s time to start your prep.
Make sure that you label everything put in your freezer. Don’t just put the name of the meal on your freezer bag; make sure you also include the instructions.
Ask for help. If you have family or friends that have offered to bring you meals once you are home from the hospital–take them up on it!
Make sure you these following items
Ten Pre-Baby Freezer Meals You Can Prepare
Breakfast
Keto Pecan Cheesecake Muffins
photo credit to Erika and Dan at Eat Butter Will Travel
Make-Ahead Breakfast Quesadilla with Cheese, Eggs, Spinach, and White Beans
Picture credit to Erin from Well Plated
This Make-Ahead Breakfast Quesadilla with Cheese, Eggs, Spinach, and White Beans from Well Plated is delicious AND healthy. It’s safe to switch out the ingredients and still get an excellent outcome–which means I was able to remove the spinach for my two-year-old and let’s be honest…for me too. Thanks Erin!
Egg Muffins with Kale, Roasted Red Peppers, and Feta Cheese
Photo credit to Maria and Josh at Two Peas and a Pod
Muffins are a very versatile food because you can bake almost anything into them, and they are a perfect one-handed food. That’s why I recommend trying these Egg Muffins from Maria and Josh over at Two Peas and a Pod.
Lunch & Dinner
Chicken Pesto Calzones
Photo credit to Kelly McNelis from New Leaf Wellness
When I was pregnant with my first, I craved chicken pesto all of the time, so I was really excited to find this recipe for Chicken Pesto Calzones from Kelly at New Leaf Wellness.
Freezer to Grill Fajita Chicken Skewers
Photo credit to Denise at Sweet Peas and Saffron
It can be difficult to find one-handed meals that don’t involve meat or some other filling wrapped in a bread packaging. That’s why these Fajita Chicken Skewers from Denise at Sweet Peas and Saffron are amazing. They have an excellent flavor and can be frozen in a freezer bag for a month before cooking.
Homemade Pizza Pockets
Photo credit to Taylor from The Girl on Bloor
I felt so lucky to come across this recipe while I was pregnant with my second child. My oldest daughter loves pizza, and so it was nice to have a healthier alternative we could give her. These Homemade Pizza Pockets from The Girl on Bloor are definitely worth a try.
Zucchini Corn Cakes
Photo credit Cindy at Vegetarian Mamma
Okay you guys, I have to be honest. I don’t like Zucchini. In fact, I don’t like the majority of vegetables. So personally, I did not even try these Zucchini Corn Cakes from Cindy at Vegetarian Mamma. I included this recipe because I ended up giving a lot of these to various family members–and they all loved them! Even if I am not a veggie fan, these are perfect for the zucchini lover.
Baked Egg Rolls
Photo credit to Karrie from Happy Money Saver
My husband loves asian food, which is why we decided to try these Baked Eggrolls from Karrie at Happy Money Saver. These were actually a lot of fun to make and did not take us very long to prepare. They are a lot healthier than the fried version you probably get from your local Chinese restaurant, and they don’t lose any of the crispness that you get with fried eggrolls.
Best Ever Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Photo credit to Jessica from Good Cheap Eats
You won’t regret trying this Pulled Pork Recipe from Jessica at Good Cheap Eats. Pulled pork is pretty versatile, as you can use it to make sandwiches or eat it by itself with some mashed potatoes. The flavoring in this recipe is something my entire family enjoyed.
Tacos in a Sleeping Bag
Picture credit to Kristen from Good Food for Kids
These Tacos in a Sleeping Bag from Tricia at Good Food for Kids turned out really good. They allow for the yumminess of tacos without all the mess.
Bonus-Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Sia from the Diary of a Fit Mommy has a ton of freezer meal ideas in her post, one of which includes her recipe for Teriyaki Chicken Thighs. I was a little hesitant to include this entry because the post may be a little difficult to navigate, however, I do think there are a lot of simple and quick recipes that are worth looking at. She also goes into great detail about her step-by-step process with freezer meal planning which can be helpful if you are feeling overwhelmed.
What meals looked good to you? Do you think there is a benefit to making food that you can eat one-handed with a newborn? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
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