When Should I Make Freezer Meals Before Baby

Getting ready for your baby'southward inflow? Hither are some salubrious meals and snacks that you tin can prep and freeze in accelerate to make those offset few weeks a bit easier!

Holy cannoli, I felt like baby daughter was going to be here any infinitesimal back in August, but now it's really here! I'yard 39 weeks so she might make her inflow at whatsoever second. Besides working my buns off to get ahead on blog content so you all won't miss me while I'thousand on maternity go out, I'chiliad also prepping my freezer so Isaac and I take plenty of meals and snacks when we get domicile from the hospital.

This is like to my meal prep philosophy, but for my baby prep I am focusing on breakfast, dinner and snacks. In general, I tin can throw together a healthy lunch pretty quickly or eat leftovers, just if I don't take breakfast or snacks ready to become, I tend to achieve for less good for you choices. Same goes for dinner… I know that if we don't accept something planned, we'll end up ordering takeout or swinging by one of our local get-to spots for a prepared meal, so I'1000 getting ahead of the game!

Since we don't know exactly when baby girl will get in and because I don't want to caput to the kitchen to meal prep when I feel the offset contraction (LOL can you imagine? I'm not that much of a repast prep lover…) I am mainly focusing on making things that I tin prep in accelerate and freeze. Nosotros don't have a huge freezer then I'm also just planning out ideas of items that I want to keep on paw for easy meals and snacks.

Luckily, we alive in an area where we can become groceries delivered and then I know we will keep doing that besides. I already place an order each week for recipe testing, but I experience similar online grocery shopping is going to be my BFF in one case the babe arrives.

Here's my Pre-Baby Repast Prep Plan

Since I was already writing ideas and figuring out my repast prep strategy for when the baby arrives, I figured it would be helpful to share information technology here for those of you lot who are expecting likewise. I could also see these ideas being helpful for someone who is planning to accept a surgery or knows that they have an extremely busy fourth dimension coming up in their life. Repast prep like this tin be a game-changer!

Breakfast Meal Prep

• Baked Oatmeal Cups – I dear all my baked oatmeal recipes then I've fabricated one full baked oatmeal recipe to freeze, but desire to know what is fifty-fifty more convenient? Broiled oatmeal cups. That's correct, you lot can prep baked oatmeal in muffin cups and and so freeze them! I've already made a couple unlike flavors to freeze — the huckleberry oatmeal cups and the apple oatmeal cups. When I want to enjoy ane for breakfast or a snack all I have to do is take it out of the freezer the dark before (or thaw in the microwave). I love these toasted in the toaster oven and topped with a picayune nut butter.
• Egg Cups – Like baked oatmeal cups, these are fabricated in a muffin tin and so they're already portioned out and easy to freeze.
• Granola – Storing granola in the freezer will let it to stay fresh and extra well-baked for a few months. I made a batch of hemp granola and accept it frozen in 1 loving cup servings then I tin accept information technology out equally needed and pair it with yogurt or chia pudding for a quick breakfast.
• Freezer Breakfast Burritos – I haven't tried this yet, but my plan is to make a variation of these breakfast wraps and freeze them. I might also endeavour to make some freezer-friendly breakfast sandwiches.

Other Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas

In addition to the freezer meals, I've been brainstorming other breakfast ideas that are quick and easy to prep, just don't crave freezing. These are things that I can easily throw together and swallow with one hand (plain this is really handy when you have a newborn). Some ideas include:

• Overnight Oats – I've made these then many times, I tin basically make them in my sleep! I dear these every bit a quick breakfast option because they're so piece of cake to prep the nighttime earlier, but you lot can as well double/triple the recipe to brand a big batch that will last all week.
• Chia Pudding – With such unproblematic ingredients and minimal prep work, I know that chia pudding is something I'll easily be able to prep for breakfast (and snacks) in one case the baby arrives.
• Smoothies – I'yard going to make sure that I have all my typical smoothie items on manus, including frozen fruit (and veggies), protein powder, chia seeds, hemp seeds, etc. I'k certain I'll have this health nut smoothie on repeat. I didn't program this far in accelerate, only y'all could also make and freeze smoothie packs that you tin can simply dump into the blender with liquid!

Snack Repast Prep

• Poly peptide Balls – Did you lot know that protein balls and energy balls tin can be frozen? That's correct, those protein packed snacks tin be prepped ahead of time and put in the freezer to last for months. I am going to make a agglomeration of these protein balls before babe comes so I have a good variety of snacks for the showtime few weeks.
• Lactation Cookies and Lactation Bites – Earlier this fall I developed recipes for healthy lactation cookies and lactation bites to help with milk supply for breastfeeding. We tested around 5 batches so I have two freezer bags of these set up to go.
• Trail Mix – If yous know me you know that I dear to snack on trail mix, so I'll be certain to make a few batches of homemade trail mix alee of time. Trail mix lasts a long time in the pantry so I can easily brand a couple big batches in accelerate. Lately I've been loving dried mango so I think I'll brand this mango back-scratch trail mix and my pizza trail mix.
• Granola – Luckily granola tin can easily piece of work for breakfast or a snack so I'll have granola on hand for snacking as well.

Fresh Snacks to Accept on Manus

In terms of perishable snacks that I plan to keep on paw, hither's what I'm thinking:

• apples or bananas and nut butter
• hummus and veggies (buy them pre-chopped for ease)
• hummus and almond flour crackers (I honey Uncomplicated Mills almond flour crackers too)
• hard-boiled eggs

Salubrious Dinner Meal Prep

For dinners, I desire to make a variety of meals that nosotros tin easily oestrus up without any actress prep or idea. Isaac actually knows his way around the kitchen, simply I know we'll both take to adjust to taking care of a new homo in our home, and so I'thou doing my best to keep meal prep simple for both of us!

There are two types of freezer meals when information technology comes to dinner: you can prep the entire meal, broil it, let it cool and then freeze it OR you tin meal prep the meal, freeze it and and then bake information technology for the first fourth dimension when you're ready to enjoy information technology. I personally prefer the 2d option – the textures and flavors are usually better – but in that location are some cases where it makes sense to prep and freeze the full repast.

Here's what I'thousand thinking:

• Vegetarian Tedious Cooker Freezer Meal Prep – In this mail service I take four different vegetarian recipes that are hands prepped in freezer numberless, and then all yous have to do is throw the ingredients into your slow cooker. They're all awesome, simply I especially dearest the scarlet lentil stew with butternut squash, cheesy Mexican quinoa and sweet irish potato chili. I'm definitely prepping the cheesy Mexican quinoa!
• Blackness Bean Soup – Soups are such a keen option and this black bean soup is succulent and freezes well. I already have a purse of it in the freezer.
• Falafel – These baked falafels are super easy to whip up and tin easily be frozen.
• Black Bean Burgers – Of grade y'all tin buy packaged frozen veggie burgers, but I dear making my own and freezing them. For these black edible bean burgers I would recommend cooking them, letting them cool and then freezing. For reheating, let them thaw in the fridge and then reheat on the stovetop or in a toaster oven.
• Teriyaki Chicken – I'm going to prep all the ingredients (raw chicken + the marinade) in a freezer pocketbook so I can thaw and toss this in the deadening cooker for an easy meal.
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Freezer Burritos – I haven't tried this recipe yet, only they seem delicious and like a bang-up choice to prep and freeze.
• Freezer Friendly Chicken Marinades – I haven't decided which of these I want to try, but I'k going to pick two and make them!
• Egg Casserole – Egg casseroles and frittatas can be frozen for 2-iii months. I might freeze these in private servings so they're easy to thaw and reheat when we need them.

Quick and Like shooting fish in a barrel Dinner Ideas

• Pasta with Sauce – This is a pantry staple recipe that we fall dorsum on when we're in need of a quick and piece of cake meal. I similar to keep the pantry stocked with a couple packs of dry pasta and a couple jars of sauce. I really like using legume-based pastas for extra protein and that way I don't experience the need to add together an additional protein source. Lots of times I'll just roast broccoli to pair with the pasta and we'll height it with a piffling cheese.
• Cauliflower Fried Rice – I always have a couple bags of cauliflower rice and stir-fry veggies in the freezer so whipping up cauliflower fried rice is a breeze. The only other things needed are eggs and ingredients to make the sauce, like tamari and sriracha.
• Breakfast for Dinner – Whenever I take no idea what to make for dinner I know I can fall back on breakfast for dinner. Usually I'll simply cook up 2 eggs and make a batch of roasted sweet potatoes to have on the side or make a slice of avocado toast with 2 eggs.
• Stir-Fry – Sometimes I'll follow a recipe for this, merely it's essentially merely veggies, protein of choice and teriyaki sauce (homemade or store-bought) stir-fried. Serve over whatsoever rice you like.
• Grain Basin – Farro, quinoa or rice, mixed veggies (these roasted root veggies are groovy) and protein of choice (I love my apple tree cider vinegar chicken). I like to go on frozen quinoa and rice on paw for easy bowl meals like this.
• Meal Sized Salad – Greens topped with chopped veggies (whatever you have in the fridge), protein of choice, ane-2 Tablespoons of cheese, avocado and dressing of choice. If in that location's no time to make a homemade dressing, I'll purchase one of my favorite salubrious store-bought salad dressings to have on hand.
• Sheet Pan Meals – I have a ton of canvas pan meals that are super like shooting fish in a barrel to whip up and don't require much in the manner of clean upwardly. This craven sausage sheet pan meal, these canvas pan shrimp fajitas and this vegetarian sheet pan meal with butternut squash and tofu are my favorite sail pan meals at the moment.

What More than Baby Meal Prep Ideas? Check Out These Posts:

• 12 Healthy Freezer Meals
• How I Stocked My Freezer Before Baby
• 20 Freezer Meals to Brand Before Baby

More Interesting Manufactures:

• Most-Used Newborn Essentials
• Postpartum Essentials
• xviii Breastfeeding Snacks for New Mamas
• 100+ Soy-Free Dairy-Gratis Recipes for Nursing Mamas

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Source: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/baby-meal-prep/