postpartum food?

[texaspeach]

What are you going to have on hand for quick food? I've got about 9 days worth of frozen meals, but I'm looking for ideas for lunches and snacks. All I can come up with are cheese sticks and granola bars. Help me out here!

[Abraisme]

I have no advice since.. I'm going to have my mother here to make food for me..

[mouso]

Well, I was hardly hungry at all for the first week after birth so I don't have a ton of ideas.
The two things I ate were rice pudding (which I don't love but needed that week) and fruit salad. I ate so much fruit salad it was crazy- great for getting vitamins and liquid for all the nursing you'll be doing.
I plan on having tons of fruit ready- and it's summer, so it will be delicious!

Also, yeah, string cheese is a good idea, I ate that too.

How about PB&J supplies? Toast with PB and honey?

[SequoiasMom]

i'd suggest going to the bulk aisle. getting snack foods, things you can open and eat with one hand.

[texaspeach]

Originally Posted by Abraisme

I have no advice since.. I'm going to have my mother here to make food for me..

my MIL will be here, but her home making skills are questionable She's good with babies/kids but not so much in the kitchen or with house keeping

[Abraisme]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

my MIL will be here, but her home making skills are questionable She's good with babies/kids but not so much in the kitchen or with house keeping

That's too bad.. I would much rather get to coo at my baby while someone else cleans and cooks.. My MIL, mother and best friend are all great at house keeping and getting food prepared. I guess I'm a lucky girl. It's a good thing though, because my DH can't clean, cook or grocery shop for life of him (okay, he probably can, but he won't).. Ha ha..

[Raene]

This is a serious problem for us, too. I'd thought originally we'd get food from our favorite restaurant and freeze it, but unfortunately it's Indian food and I don't know if the baby will handle garlic/onions/spices. With my last DD she had the worst colic if I ever ate onions or garlic, so I'm thinking it might be the same with this one I hate bland foods.

We're vegetarian, too, which makes things harder...I can't find many dishes that are dairy-free/soy-free vegetarian and freeze well.

[slimkins]

Thank god my husband can cook most things and pretty well for that matter. He will be off for three weeks, so we shouldn't have a problem there. Plus my mom will be coming out, so he will have relief at some point. Plus there are lots of fabulous restaurants right down the street from us that we love.

[tankgirl136]

Originally Posted by Raene

This is a serious problem for us, too. I'd thought originally we'd get food from our favorite restaurant and freeze it, but unfortunately it's Indian food and I don't know if the baby will handle garlic/onions/spices. With my last DD she had the worst colic if I ever ate onions or garlic, so I'm thinking it might be the same with this one I hate bland foods.

We're vegetarian, too, which makes things harder...I can't find many dishes that are dairy-free/soy-free vegetarian and freeze well.

Veggie foods I think of to freeze are Spagetti Sauce (can be used for pizza sauce as well), Chili, and Veggie soups.

Honestly I am having issues getting excited about pre-making meals myself so I think DH cooking, easy foods and take out are probably going to win.

[Michigan Mama]

Originally Posted by Raene

We're vegetarian, too, which makes things harder...I can't find many dishes that are dairy-free/soy-free vegetarian and freeze well.

We aren't vegetarian, but this is an issue for us because of allergies! It makes it so hard! I'm just allergic to corn and soy, but my ds is allergic to dairy, soy, nuts (as well as all peas and beans), onions and potatoes.

We are blessed that for the first week, people from church will bring us food, but I can't really expect that they'll bring food my son can eat, so I'll still have to find him something.

Is lunchmeat "safe" while bf'ing, or are we supposed to avoid that then, too? I have to say I eat it sometimes. Gotta eat something!

I'll have some hardboiled eggs on hand. Not my fave, but quick, easy protein. Need to get some more tuna for the occasional sandwich or pasta salad. i loved baked potatoes with cheese. DH will probably grill a lot for us that first while. I also want to make up and freeze a bunch of breakfast burritos. Hopefully I can do that this week. Eggs, cheese, maybe some bacon, ham or sausage. Individually wrapped in wax paper so I can just warm it in the microwave. let's see...need more yogurt. Need more fresh fruits and veggies on hand, already washed, cut and ready to eat.

I'm prepared that i may have to cut out most dairy. It took a while to figure out my ds's allergy, but he always reacted to any dairy I ate and had excema from birth and spit up a lot. At least with this one, I know to look for it. Sigh... hopefully it's a non-issue.

[texaspeach]

Originally Posted by Raene

This is a serious problem for us, too. I'd thought originally we'd get food from our favorite restaurant and freeze it, but unfortunately it's Indian food and I don't know if the baby will handle garlic/onions/spices. With my last DD she had the worst colic if I ever ate onions or garlic, so I'm thinking it might be the same with this one I hate bland foods.

We're vegetarian, too, which makes things harder...I can't find many dishes that are dairy-free/soy-free vegetarian and freeze well.

Do you do beans? beans freeze reasonably well. They come out mushier than they went in, but they're good for burritos, tacos, etc.

[R1coryR1]

Fiber! Be sure to get lots of fiber...you don't want anything getting too *firm* on the way out those first days postpartum, in my experience. And I second the "things you can eat with one hand" and things that you can just grab and eat, since you'll be wrestling with an infant and your brand new lactating bosoms, and the absolutely necessary glasses of water at the same time. Dried fruit, granola, trail mix, cheese stix, cut up veggies and fruits, etc.

Of course, I am also a big fan of potato chips and ice cream (which is probably how I gained 60lbs thus far!)

[Raene]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

Do you do beans? beans freeze reasonably well. They come out mushier than they went in, but they're good for burritos, tacos, etc.

Oh yes, we live on beans!

What about grains, does brown rice, millet, quinoa, etc freeze well?

[Jilian]

You have 9 days worth of frozen food *swoon* Can you come over my house and help me cook please? Can you tell us the kinds of foods you have frozen? I need some more ideas. (sorry to hijack I'm just impressed)

[BlueMonday]

Originally Posted by mouso

Well, I was hardly hungry at all for the first week after birth so I don't have a ton of ideas.

Same. I did manage to eat melon and cottage cheese, which I've stocked.

I, too, have "helpers" coming ... mom & teen sister .... who can't cook or clean. It'll be great to have DD entertained, but I'm still going to have to manage not only my own and her meals but probably theirs too (unless I leave them to their own pizza devices, which isn't a bad option in Brooklyn).

I do plan on making tofu lasagna in early labor, it's super easy and keeps awesome. I figure it should hold everybody for a few days. Past that, I'm thinking cereal and PB sandwiches. DB is an amazing cook, so he handles breakfast and dinner, luckily. Leftover protein from dinner can chop cold over spinach for lunch salads.

[texaspeach]

Originally Posted by Jilian

You have 9 days worth of frozen food *swoon* Can you come over my house and help me cook please? Can you tell us the kinds of foods you have frozen? I need some more ideas. (sorry to hijack I'm just impressed)

To be fair it's just dinners. I've got two pans of king ranch chicken, a big pan of farm house chicken (2 nights), two meat loaves, a pan of enchiladas, lasagna roll ups (2 nights). I figure we're going to have left overs of each too. I hate left overs, but I know dh isn't going to want to cook because he's starting a new job and gets no leave - which is kind of disappointing because he's a much better cook than I am.

[mouso]

Originally Posted by brooklynbabymama

(unless I leave them to their own pizza devices, which isn't a bad option in Brooklyn).

I am a Brooklyn girl, born and raised, now living out west. Man, I miss pizza and bagels... *drool* :
Whenever we go back home I pretty much only eat pizza and bagels the whole time. Yuummmmmmm. Where do you live?

For the vegan bean eaters, this recipe freezes GREAT. I make 3-4 at a time and then they are simple, delicious dinners.

Polenta Pie

Makes 2 pies.
1 roll polenta
2 cans beans- I use pinto and black
1 lg. can tomato puree (28 oz, I think)
1/2 medium onion
cilantro- chopped
cheddar (or whatever) cheese
garlic

Slice up polenta and put into bottoms of lightly greased pie pans. Saute onions and garlic until softened and add tomatoes and beans. Cook until simmering and mash up about 1/2 of the bean mixture to release starch and cook for a bit more- maybe 5 minutes.
Remove from heat- add cilantro (and hot sauce if you like, DD eats it so I don't spice it up) and pour into pans over polenta.
Put cheese on top and bake for 10-15 minutes in 375* oven until cheese is melted and pie is hot.

To freeze: I leave the cheese off and put on fresh cheese when I take it out to bake- I add cheese at the lat 10 minutes of cooking. Bake at 400* for 60-70 minutes from frozen.

I have seriously never met anyone who doesn't like that dish. I serve with some sour cream (or vegan cream) and yellow rice.
I also will add another tube of polenta, can tomatoes, and more beans and make 3-4 at a time to have in the freezer.

[Talula Fairie]

I have some muffins I am going to bake and freeze. And then butternut squash lasagna. Maybe some tabouli salad. Veggies and fruit to munch on.

[Ceili]

Last time my neighbor fed us for like a week and half, sadly she's moved away now, but my friends from MOMS club have about 2 weeks worth of dinners planned for us. Along with that I have 2 trays of baked ziti, 1 chicken and rice casserole, 1 chicken pot pie, 2 dinners worth of black beans (just need to make the rice in the rice cooker), a big batch of chicken soup, a big batch of lentil soup, and pre-cooked taco meat all in the freezer ready to go.

Dh cooks too, so not all of that will get used up immediately. A lot of that is to be saved for when school starts and dh goes back to work. I have several recipes that have instructions on how to make two dinners at once, one for now and one to freeze, so we have a pretty constant rotation of freezer meals most of the time anyway.

[Flower of Bliss]

I've been drinking Stonyfield Farm drinkable yogurts lately. I think they'll be great post-partum (assume we don't have dairy issues). They're easy to just grab out of the fridge and drink one handed.

Protein bars are a good quick easy non-perishable to keep on hand.

We've done a bit of freezing full meals or freezing things that will make meal prep easier (like all of the veggies for a shrimp stir fry frozen together in a bag and our favorite cheeses grated in bags). I've also really stocked our pantry and freezer pretty well.