I'm trying to plan for meal prepping meals for when baby gets here. I'd like to make them in 2 weeks so trying to get organized. We have 2 refrigerators so plenty of freezer space. Meals will be for my husband, myself, our 5 year old. My mother will be staying with us for 2 weeks and she is vegetarian. She said not to buy anything special for her but if I had two vegetarian friendly meals that would help a lot. What are your healthy protein filled freezer meals and breast feeding friendly meals for post partum! We are not very picky. We like all veggies n most protein. My husband loves fish but I really don't lol thanks so much for your help!!
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Meal prepping freezer meals
- Thread starter slfunk
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- fit pregnancy pregnancy
larsolthof
New member
@slfunk I like these recipes from Pinch of Yum. There are a few vegetarian ones.
@larsolthof Yes, I LOVE these. So tasty! And so so easy if you have an instapot!
@larsolthof Also came here to post this link! Love the golden soup
@larsolthof Thanks for sharing these! I’m weirdly picky about my diet - I want to eat mostly vegetarian (only a couple of meat meals a week,) but I don’t eat most beans just because of preference. I’ve never seen a list that is so close to my preferences!
branannabanana
New member
@branannabanana Wow thanks!
I’m 10 months out and I’ll say the most beneficial to me meals were actually the egg breakfast sandwiches, that I ate with a fruit or the spinach egg crust less quiche, again with fruit
Starting my day off with a good filling meal really helped.
I had an uncomplicated delivery and baby was full term. I definitely wasn’t 100% but I feel my recovery was very quick and felt pretty “normal” in a lot of ways about a week postpartum. Besides lack of sleep.
The next best thing was not having to do any “cooking “ dishes.
Unfortunately most freezer meals rely on high fat to taste good. I combated this with proper portion sizes and having extra servings of veggies.
I hate to just say “go read my original post” but there is a lot of good questions, suggestions, and concerns.
May have to dig a little but if you sort by oldest, I include links to all recipes and equipment and how I made sure things stayed fresh. I still have a few meals floating in my freezer and I ate a meatloaf the was at least a year old and there was no difference in the quality from the other frozen ones I ate like a week postpartum. They were sealed with a vacuum saver.
Cheers and happy prepping!
I’m 10 months out and I’ll say the most beneficial to me meals were actually the egg breakfast sandwiches, that I ate with a fruit or the spinach egg crust less quiche, again with fruit
Starting my day off with a good filling meal really helped.
I had an uncomplicated delivery and baby was full term. I definitely wasn’t 100% but I feel my recovery was very quick and felt pretty “normal” in a lot of ways about a week postpartum. Besides lack of sleep.
The next best thing was not having to do any “cooking “ dishes.
Unfortunately most freezer meals rely on high fat to taste good. I combated this with proper portion sizes and having extra servings of veggies.
I hate to just say “go read my original post” but there is a lot of good questions, suggestions, and concerns.
May have to dig a little but if you sort by oldest, I include links to all recipes and equipment and how I made sure things stayed fresh. I still have a few meals floating in my freezer and I ate a meatloaf the was at least a year old and there was no difference in the quality from the other frozen ones I ate like a week postpartum. They were sealed with a vacuum saver.
Cheers and happy prepping!
@slfunk I love chili, freezer friendly and vegetarian friendly. Also, tofu is great in the freezer. Just stick an unopened block in there, thaw and press, bam, you got a stir fry protein, just add some rice and veg, little soy sauce or whatever preferred stir fry sauce you have. There are a ton you can just buy bottled in the international aisle or condiment aisle.
One good tip I read was to cook your meat just on it's own and add it to whatever you usually make. Ground beef or sliced chicken can do a lot, and that way if you're in a taco mood you don't have to settle for lasagna.
Not freezer food, but oatmeal was a lifesaver for me. I like pb and banana, but you can just do butter, sugar, milk, and salt, and it's so good, finished in 5 minutes, or you can do overnight oats and warm them in the microwave (I hate cold oats). Or, for the less healthy but more convenient, just get the packets. You'll probably want to eat two packets to keep your calories up. Some stores have a lower sugar kind, which I prefer if I can find it. I love oatmeal, though, I'll be honest. It's not for everyone.
Other than that, there are a ton of recipes on Pinterest, like, "55 freezer meals to make before baby comes," very specific. So check that out. There are some freezer geniuses out there.
One good tip I read was to cook your meat just on it's own and add it to whatever you usually make. Ground beef or sliced chicken can do a lot, and that way if you're in a taco mood you don't have to settle for lasagna.
Not freezer food, but oatmeal was a lifesaver for me. I like pb and banana, but you can just do butter, sugar, milk, and salt, and it's so good, finished in 5 minutes, or you can do overnight oats and warm them in the microwave (I hate cold oats). Or, for the less healthy but more convenient, just get the packets. You'll probably want to eat two packets to keep your calories up. Some stores have a lower sugar kind, which I prefer if I can find it. I love oatmeal, though, I'll be honest. It's not for everyone.
Other than that, there are a ton of recipes on Pinterest, like, "55 freezer meals to make before baby comes," very specific. So check that out. There are some freezer geniuses out there.
@slfunk My friend made me an egg casserole that was frozen and I could just pull it out and make it. I thought this was really great because we could eat it for breakfast lunch or dinner and was a nice change from the richer casserole. Another person made us two large bags of meatballs that she also froze and gave us a box or two of noodles and sauce so we could heat the meatballs up individually and have it go with with the noodles.
And for vegetarian casserole I love veggie enchilada casseroles. I’ve made almost all of the ones that show up on google search and they’re all good.
You could make and freeze some chickpea curry and then just heat up rice when it’s time to eat it.
And for vegetarian casserole I love veggie enchilada casseroles. I’ve made almost all of the ones that show up on google search and they’re all good.
You could make and freeze some chickpea curry and then just heat up rice when it’s time to eat it.
illuminary
New member
@slfunk Our MVP freezer staples were lasagna/stuffed shells and enchiladas. Both could easily be made vegetarian! I actually made ours with some slight variations in each pan, just to experiment. So you could have some with meat and others workout and cook whatever fits the bill that day.
If you have an instant pot, shredded chicken is so simple to make. I take two frozen chicken breasts and pressure cook them with a bit of chicken broth and a half a jar of salsa. 30-40 minutes later I have taco meat.
If you have an instant pot, shredded chicken is so simple to make. I take two frozen chicken breasts and pressure cook them with a bit of chicken broth and a half a jar of salsa. 30-40 minutes later I have taco meat.
@slfunk I love freezer meals but find most of them not healthy enough. If I'm going to go through the trouble of making ahead, I want lots of veggies in them, not just meat'n'cheese casseroles! The ones I've found that are a bit healthier (more veggies, less salt, etc.), I found on Good Housekeeping. None of these require sides or anything.
Try googling Good Housekeeping recipes for the following:
Beef and Bulgur Stuffed Peppers (I usually switch in brown rice for the bulgur)
Chicken Gumbo Pot Pie
Sweet Potato Black Bean Empanadas (this one is vegetarian)
Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna (this is vegetarian, but not vegan)
I'd like to learn to make some good Indian food, too, as it would freeze well, so I could just set my rice cooker and dinner would be ready, but I haven't learned any yet!
Try googling Good Housekeeping recipes for the following:
Beef and Bulgur Stuffed Peppers (I usually switch in brown rice for the bulgur)
Chicken Gumbo Pot Pie
Sweet Potato Black Bean Empanadas (this one is vegetarian)
Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna (this is vegetarian, but not vegan)
I'd like to learn to make some good Indian food, too, as it would freeze well, so I could just set my rice cooker and dinner would be ready, but I haven't learned any yet!
thelittlewoman
New member
@slfunk I'm planning to make ahead and freeze meat lasagna, spinach stuffed shells, chicken & broccoli bake, stuffed peppers, and lentil soup. I'll store a few store-bought frozen meals too for variety (I really like Amy's and Trader Joe's stuff). I also like to prepare overnight protein oats ahead of time. I put all the dry ingredients in mason jars and then can just add milk of choice and sweetener of choice and pop in the fridge at night.
*Recipes for reference:*
Meat Lasagna: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/best-lasagna/ (substitute no-boil lasagna noodles and skip the noodle cooking step - freezes better this way)
Spinach Stuffed Shells: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/stuffed-shells-2720632 (substitute spinach for parsley)
Chicken & Broccoli Bake: https://sweetphi.com/chicken-broccoli-alfredo-freezer-meal/
Stuffed Peppers, Lentil Soup from this list: https://pinchofyum.com/freezer-meals
*Recipes for reference:*
Meat Lasagna: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/best-lasagna/ (substitute no-boil lasagna noodles and skip the noodle cooking step - freezes better this way)
Spinach Stuffed Shells: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/stuffed-shells-2720632 (substitute spinach for parsley)
Chicken & Broccoli Bake: https://sweetphi.com/chicken-broccoli-alfredo-freezer-meal/
Stuffed Peppers, Lentil Soup from this list: https://pinchofyum.com/freezer-meals
grandjubilee
New member
@slfunk Here are some vegetarian friendly things you can freeze (I’m not vegetarian but I do try to work in plant-based meals weekly for sustainability reasons):
-Vegetarian chili
-Vegetarian curries
-Store-bought or homemade vegetarian lasagnas or pastas
-Vegetarian soups such as minestrone
One other basic tip: freeze your main dishes, but have someone go to the grocery store to pick up the side fresh dishes needed for the week. For example, if you know you’re going to serve chili on one night and lasagna on another, all you need to do is go to the grocery store and get something like a side salad to go with the lasagna and some cornbread or other vegetable to serve with the chili.
-Vegetarian chili
-Vegetarian curries
-Store-bought or homemade vegetarian lasagnas or pastas
-Vegetarian soups such as minestrone
One other basic tip: freeze your main dishes, but have someone go to the grocery store to pick up the side fresh dishes needed for the week. For example, if you know you’re going to serve chili on one night and lasagna on another, all you need to do is go to the grocery store and get something like a side salad to go with the lasagna and some cornbread or other vegetable to serve with the chili.
jeromeluke
New member
@slfunk https://www.laurengreutman.com/slow-cooker-dump-aldi-meal-plan/
I used this meal plan and recommend it to anyone. It’s super well laid out and easy to prepare if you pay the couple of bucks for the spreadsheet, but I think all the recipes are there no matter what. We’ve made this round of meals several times now. No veggie meals in here but hopefully you’ve gotten some decent links from others! We would make rice/quinoa and veggies to go with most of these.
I used this meal plan and recommend it to anyone. It’s super well laid out and easy to prepare if you pay the couple of bucks for the spreadsheet, but I think all the recipes are there no matter what. We’ve made this round of meals several times now. No veggie meals in here but hopefully you’ve gotten some decent links from others! We would make rice/quinoa and veggies to go with most of these.
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