Postpartum Freezer Meal Roundup
With every subsequent child, having ready-meals on hand has been an increasing “must have.”
When I got pregnant with our third child, a chest-freezer for our basement was at the top of the “buy now” list!
When I got pregnant with our fourth child, my goal was to prep and freeze enough food for about six weeks of dinners plus a few lunch options for adults and some grab-and-go breakfast items and snacks for me (you know how hungry nursing moms get!). I’m also low-gluten and eat pretty clean so I tried to choose recipes that were either gluten-free, could be adapted to be gluten-free, and generally soy-free (substitute coconut aminos if need be!), nut-free, etc.
So at 38 weeks, I finally sat down, planned out these meals, made my costco shopping list, and got to work!
Here’s a roundup of everything I prepped!
Dinner:
I prepped three batches of three of each of these Pinch of Yum Freezer Meals: Beef Ragu, Korean Beef, and Tandoori (inspired) chicken. I’m linking her whole post here because these recipes are GOLD - all raw ingredients into a gallon ziploc, defrost, dump into a crockpot or pressure cooker, and eat. (Though be sure to stock up on the side-carbs each of these needs like pasta, tortillas, rice, etc.)
Chicken Parmesan Stromboli - her directions have you bake the stromboli, cut it, and freeze it in individual slices. I opted to freeze the whole, unbaked stromboli and will bake it from frozen when we eat it for dinner! (I made three of these!)
Chicken Pot Pie - we’ve loved this recipe for years. TBH - I think you should double (or at least 1.5x) the recipe if you want two pies that actually feed a family. As written, the recipe is great for two pies to feed 2-3 people, but if you want to feed more people than that, bulk up the recipe a bit! (I 1.5x the recipe and made two pies!)
Lazy Lasagna - I love lasagna. I hate the work of lasagna. This takes some of that work out. I made three of these. While I originally found this recipe online, I’ve heavily adapted it to my own tastes so the link here is to a PDF of the version I make. I use Jovial GF pasta and cottage cheese because I don’t like the texture of ricotta. But feel free to sub it what you like and make it your own!
NYT Chicken Shawarma - I made three batches of this marinade and bagged the chicken with the marinade and am freezing it raw. I’ll defrost and bake in the oven and serve w rice, fresh veggies, and hummus. A family fav!
Marinated Flank Steak - we LOVE THIS RECIPE. Like the shawarma, I made three batches of marinade and added three large cuts of flank steak. I’ll defrost and grill.
Pulled Pork: The recipe I made is a Danielle Walker recipe which unfortunately means it’s only available in her cookbook and not online. But basically, I frozen cut pieces of pork shoulder with the appropriate pulled pork seasonings. Defrost and add to the crockpot or instapot with some broth. I made three batches. I’m sure you could find a comparable option with a quick google. Serve this on buns, in a rice bowl, as tacos or quesadillas, etc.!
While this is all I pre-prepped, I also stocked up on boneless skinless chicken thighs (throw them in a crockpot or instapot w a can of enchilada sauce + green chiles and you’ve got yourself chicken nachos!), premade pesto (I like Gotham Greens vegan pesto - completely clean ingredients!) and frozen tortellini, and pizza dough + sauce. These are easy enough dinner options to throw together if nothing else you made sounds good!
Lunches:
I mostly opted for soups here which I froze in individual portions for easy defrosting.
Tomato Soup (this only makes about six serving so double batch it for sure!)
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup - this is so filling and cozy and delicious. One of my all time fav soups.
Crockpot Potato Soup - I punch this up a little by buying a ham steak or two and adding it to the soup after it’s been pureed!
Chicken Taquitos - this recipe makes 30 taquitos and the filling is delicious! You freeze them individually and then pull out and bake as needed.
Breakfast:
I didn’t do a ton of breakfasts because it is the easiest and quickest meal to throw together, but I did make and freeze 24 breakfast sandwiches. This recipe is highly adaptable and you pre-assemble and freeze the individual sandwiches.
I also made a quadruple batch of this allergy-friendly granola - a staple around our house these days! FTR - I sub in coconut oil for canola oil.
Oatmeal Banana Muffins - make a few dozen of these for nursing snacks. Don’t forget to add chocolate chips (these aren’t in the recipe, but c’mon!).
