I was chatting with a friend recently about possible meal ideas to have on hand when their second baby is born. I realized as we were talking that I have pretty strong feelings on the matter as so much information out on Pinterest is all about making “dump” meals - essentially putting all of the ingredients together in a ziploc and freezing until you are ready to dumb it in the slow cooker. I personally am not a fan of this route for a few reasons: I find the end result is generally more mushy than I’d like and it’s also REALLY tricky to find a suitable container that easily transfers to the slow cooker. It inevitably freezes in a strange shape that doesn’t quite fit and by the time you get it inside the slow cooker, you’ve put in more work than you originally planned. Also, if I’m going to put in the work to prep, I’d like to have to do as little work as possible when it comes time to actually eat the food.
I loved pre-making soups and stews and freezing in individual portions (God bless Souper Cubes). One of the easiest ways to stock our freezer was to make double batches for whatever we were having for dinner once or twice a week in order to tuck away some in the freezer for later. I also found it helpful to precook shredded meat and freeze it. That way it was easy to piece together a meal with the main component already done.
I’d also recommend writing down if recipes have common allergens (egg, dairy, etc.) I had to cut some foods with breastfeeding for a few months and it was hard to remember if all of what I’d made was safe to eat. If it needs to be cooked, write ON the container what temp and how long. That way, if somebody else is prepping it for you all the information is right there and it’s one less thing to be asked about!
SOUPS/STEWS
White Chicken Chili - Shauna Niequist
Lentil Soup with Sausage and Chard - Smitten Kitchen
Beef Stew - Pinch of Yum
Lentil Veggie Soup - Pinch of Yum
Turkey Pumpkin Chili - All the Healthy Things
Tomato, Fennel, and White Bean Stew - Dishing Up the Dirt
ENTREE
Lasagna - Dessert for Two
Spaghetti Sauce - I sauteed small diced veggies to add in with meat and then froze. Easy extra nutrients when it was time to eat!
MEAT
Shredded Cooked Meat - Chicken, pork, beef are all SO versatile
Baked Meatballs - Pinch of Yum
BREAKFASTS
Oat Blender Pancakes - Erin Lives Whole
Cottage Cheese Pancakes - Yummy Toddler Food
Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches - I preferred ones with english muffins
Zucchini Quiche - Skinnytaste
For snacks I loved to have oatmeal protein bites on hand and would remake them every few weeks. For store bought snacks some of my favorites are nature’s bakery bars, that’s it fruit bars, and chomps. I have never experienced hunger like the newborn nursing days so easy snacks were a must.
I hope this helps! Let me know if there’s a recipe you’d add to this list.