Food Prep For The Second Apocalypse
Late in my pregnancy with C I worked feverishly to stock our freezer with easy pre-made meals. With so much unknown as I waited to become a new parent it felt like one of the few ways I could prepare and gain a small sense of confidence/control.
Now that I’ve been through this rodeo once before I know how helpful a stocked freezer is for my peace of mind and ease in fueling once baby arrives.
My main priorities stocking my freezer this time were:
Completely pre-made
Beef burritos: ground beef, veggies and cheese wrapped up in a tortilla. These were hugely helpful in consuming fast protein one-handed in the newborn days.
Chicken cupcakes: ground chicken, spinach, feta cheese and spices baked in wonton wrappers. These reheat really well and are a huge favorite of the family.
Red beans & rice: This is an easy Crockpot recipe that freezes so nicely. I have several single serving containers of this portioned out for fast meals.
Steel cut oatmeal: While I could stir some instant oatmeal together fast with baby in tow I think it’ll be a nice treat to have containers of apple cinnamon steel cut oats ready to just be warmed up.
Lactation cookies: This, unfortunately more complex, recipe was my favorite lactation cookie recipe last go-round. I’ve still need to bake these, but will have them ready to grab out of the freezer for a nice treat.
Ready to cook
Lentil soup: ready to dump in the Crockpot or InstantPot, this hearty soup is a favorite of mine and will be a good meat-less option for lunches.
Beef stew: I added this to my freezer meal list both because I know B will like it and because I had almost all the ingredients already from the lentil soup prep.
Coconut tandoori chicken: Not only was this easy to toss together to freeze, but it big time checked the box for variety.
Other meal prep
Healthy snacks: I’ll load up on protein bars, trail mix and other pantry options that I can grab and refuel with quickly.
Sides: microwaveable rice packets and pasta specifically come to mind as things I can buy in advance to pair with my pre-made meals.
Paper goods: The need for convenience outweighs my environmental concerns during the initial newborn weeks. When we had family/friends visit over meal time with C, I remember dishes as an additional annoyance for me or guests to handle. This time around I’ll have a small stock of paper plates, plastic cups and plastic utensils so our time with visitors can be better spent.
Quite glaringly missing are fruits/vegetables. I froze some smoothie packs last time but found those unappetizing. While I did try to pick some freezer recipes that had veggies in them, I’ll certainly still need to grocery shop (or send someone out to do so!) to pick up fresh produce.
If you’re looking to meal prep to make future life easier, or thinking about bringing by something homemade/frozen to a friend or family member, these are some nice tried and tested favorites you can count on.
Now that I’ve been through this rodeo once before I know how helpful a stocked freezer is for my peace of mind and ease in fueling once baby arrives.
My main priorities stocking my freezer this time were:
- Meals that freeze nicely
- Healthy, high protein meals to keep me sustained
- Meals my family will eat
- A mix of completely made and dump/cook meals
- Variety
Completely pre-made
Beef burritos: ground beef, veggies and cheese wrapped up in a tortilla. These were hugely helpful in consuming fast protein one-handed in the newborn days.
Chicken cupcakes: ground chicken, spinach, feta cheese and spices baked in wonton wrappers. These reheat really well and are a huge favorite of the family.
Red beans & rice: This is an easy Crockpot recipe that freezes so nicely. I have several single serving containers of this portioned out for fast meals.
Steel cut oatmeal: While I could stir some instant oatmeal together fast with baby in tow I think it’ll be a nice treat to have containers of apple cinnamon steel cut oats ready to just be warmed up.
Lactation cookies: This, unfortunately more complex, recipe was my favorite lactation cookie recipe last go-round. I’ve still need to bake these, but will have them ready to grab out of the freezer for a nice treat.
Ready to cook
Lentil soup: ready to dump in the Crockpot or InstantPot, this hearty soup is a favorite of mine and will be a good meat-less option for lunches.
Beef stew: I added this to my freezer meal list both because I know B will like it and because I had almost all the ingredients already from the lentil soup prep.
Coconut tandoori chicken: Not only was this easy to toss together to freeze, but it big time checked the box for variety.
Other meal prep
Healthy snacks: I’ll load up on protein bars, trail mix and other pantry options that I can grab and refuel with quickly.
Sides: microwaveable rice packets and pasta specifically come to mind as things I can buy in advance to pair with my pre-made meals.
Paper goods: The need for convenience outweighs my environmental concerns during the initial newborn weeks. When we had family/friends visit over meal time with C, I remember dishes as an additional annoyance for me or guests to handle. This time around I’ll have a small stock of paper plates, plastic cups and plastic utensils so our time with visitors can be better spent.
Quite glaringly missing are fruits/vegetables. I froze some smoothie packs last time but found those unappetizing. While I did try to pick some freezer recipes that had veggies in them, I’ll certainly still need to grocery shop (or send someone out to do so!) to pick up fresh produce.
If you’re looking to meal prep to make future life easier, or thinking about bringing by something homemade/frozen to a friend or family member, these are some nice tried and tested favorites you can count on.