I am currently 36 weeks along and just staring down at that due date which seems so far away but I know will be here in a flash. In an effort to start to tackle all of the many things that need to take place leading up to the birth of a child, I’ve been stocking up my freezer and pantry.
Let me give you a little background into my eating habits and food preferences.
- I don’t eat a lot of meat, but my husband is full carnivore.
- I love dairy, but should stay away from it
- I’m much more of a grazer than an actual meal eater; my husband is a 3 square meals person.
- I love to cook and am a little picky about wanting to eat home cooked food over take out anytime.
There are a couple challenges when it comes to getting ready for that 4th trimester that I didn’t have to consider for my last pregnancy.
- Last baby was a winter baby and this one is spring. I don’t know about you but I crave hearty, heavy, hot foods when the weather is cool and by the time spring rolls around, I want fresh and light all the time. There seem to be a lot more heavy freezer meals than light.
- We have a toddler that is getting increasingly more picky. He really enjoys good, tasty food: hummus, Greek yogurt and blueberries, spaghetti. However he will not eat new foods and randomly decides to boycott the food that he does like.
With Eli I ended up switching to formula at 5 months after his weight started going down after his 4 month growth spurt. In order to keep up with his needs beyond 4 months, I needed to be eating all day everyday and I couldn’t keep up; I would desperately like to avoid that situation and find a way to eat calorie and nutrient dense foods that I can have prepped quickly and ready to eat. I’ll be focusing on breakfast, snacks, grab and go items, and sauces to make things easier to throw together.
Food Prep for the Freezer:
- Bran Muffins (don’t skimp on the blueberries, but feel free to leave off the extra sugar on top, it makes very little difference when freezing)
- Blueberry Muffins
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Granola
- Nacho Topper (I add tons of beans, onions, corn and bell peppers to a classic ground beef taco mix and go light on the cheese, but load up on the avocado, making this one of our healthiest and most fun meals). These Trader Joe’s tortilla chips hold up to a lot of toppings!
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Smoothie Packs
- Stir Fry Sauce
- Lemon Dijon Marinade
- Vegetarian Chili
- Eggplant Parmesan
Freezer Stocked With:
- Blueberries
- Stir Fry Veggies
- Edamame Steam in Bag
- Bread
Pantry Stocked:
- Chickpeas
- Tahini (homemade hummus!)
- Pita Chips
- Dried Mango
- Freeze Dried Strawberries
- Peanut Butter
- Nuts
- Beans – black and pinto
- Mexican Rice
Any other suggestions? What food did you prep for your fourth trimester?
guest
39w with our first and the freezer in the kitchen is FULL of prepared single serving stuff. Went a bit overboard on the one-handed thing, I think we went through 100 tortillas. We made traditional burritos filled with mexican ingredients and then non-traditional ones filled with anything that wrapped well including: breakfast (potatoes, eggs, cheddar, bacon), french breakfast (ham, chickpeas, gruyere), indian (chicken tikka masala with paneer, peas, cauliflower, and chickpeas mixed in). I made a huge pot of chicken pot pie filling and went easy on the liquid, then cooled it and spooned it into pizza dough for hand pies which I par baked and froze. I also have a lot of single serving tomato sauce packs I made. Every time my husband made biscuits for breakfast the last month or so, he over-made on purpose and put the rest in the freezer.
grapefruit / 4649 posts
I wound up finding it most helpful to have lunch friendly options and meal components frozen. I did breakfast burritos, shredded chicken (you can throw this in so many things!) and calzones, I think I did more but those were the biggest hits I frequently wanted a real meal at lunch and it was the hardest time of day to get something ready!
persimmon / 1310 posts
Last time I made oven-ready meals like enchiladas and lasagna. However, the lavender-scented witch hazel that I put on padsicles permeated everything in my freezer and made them unpleasant to eat! Lesson learned.
This time we have a tiny freezer, so I doubt I will be making anything for the freezer. It will fit only a few pints of ice cream, a few bags of veggies, and a small bag of ice (our ice maker sucks). I am jealous of all of you with large freezers.
pear / 1622 posts
You have a great list! I was due last April and also prepped soups even though the warm weather was approaching. It’s easy to have soup on the go and it’s filling so I had lentil soup, black bean soup, chicken and wild rice soup, and chicken tortilla soup in the deep freezer.
guest
If you like them, enchiladas freeze well…spinach and green chile and black bean and red pepper are two of my favorite combos.
kiwi / 702 posts
Lactation cookies were a huge part of my diet when dd was born. They are a super nutrient rich snack to have on hand. I was especially grateful to have a few in a Tupperware next to our glider for motn feedings when I would be starving!
guest
I am also 36 weeks with #2 and did a bunch of freezer prep this weekend! I focused more on breakfast than anything else, as I remember last time being so foggy in the morning and just needing something nutritional/warm to eat… I made breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches on english muffins, and breakfast bowls + will have frozen fruit + spinach for quick smoothies. And then – I’ve been making some easy crock pot meals that I know my 2 year old will eat. Lastly — making these this weekend — my favorite ones! http://www.howsweeteats.com/2015/02/lactation-cookies/
blogger / coffee bean / 43 posts
@Iced Tea: oh my goodness! I did the witch hazel padsicle prep last time, but thankfully hadn’t put any lavender in. They should really have a disclaimer when recommending such a thing!
blogger / coffee bean / 43 posts
@Mrs. Pajamas: I’m thinking I’ll have to try lactation cookies this time. I tend to fall into a cookie hole and eat nothing else when I find one that I love though