Pimp my meal plan

[BookwormDadUK]

My wife is an amazing cook and normally runs the kitchen, but DD was born last week (only tangentially relevant to the thread, but doing that annoying new parent thing of blathering on about it at any opportunity).

I'm taking over kitchen duties for the foreseeable and would love ideas for nourishing meals I can prepare for my wife while she breastfeeds.

What do you love cooking or eating? Mushrooms are the work of the devil.
(Skill level: well-meaning).

Currently on my list:
Cottage pie/mince and potato, chicken/steak pie, Bolognese, carbonara, pasta bake, soups, salmon and potato, chili, curry, casseroles, fajitas.

The key thing to remember is, it hardly takes any extra time to produce twice the amount - so when you make your bolognaises, curries, chillis, soups etc make a load and freeze so you only cook 1/2 as often.

That's an excellent tip, thank you!

Definitely agree with cooking double, make such a difference. “The Roasting Tin” books are great for inspiration, all one pan dishes and so easy.

Congratulations!

Stir fry is super quick if you buy the ready chopped bags. Easy to vary with soy sauce or sweet chilli or a dash of Thai.

If you are going back to work soon, think about easy prep lunches for her. I lived on Heinz tomato soup, hummus with cucumber and carrot sticks and pitta and cheese toasties using a toast a bag. All easy to prepare in advance and forgiving if not eaten straight away!

I was starving in the first few weeks of breastfeeding though my appetite settled down after a while so make sure you have large portions and optional extra sides - eg a bread roll, or dessert so she can get her calories in. As she may have to eat whilst feeding, things which can be eaten with just a fork are good too.

All your suggestions are great. How about adding in some finger foods and some snacks. So marinated chicken drumsticks, samosas, chicken satay skewers, etc for lunches and maybe some flapjacks as between meal snacks - oats are great for milk production and for satiating hunger

Meals you can eat with one hand are helpful when you have a clingy newborn who doesn't want to be put down. So wraps, pasta bakes and salads are all good options.

You could also make a big pot of soup for a few easy lunches.

I also like tray bake style dinners that are pretty easy. Just throw some chicken or salmon in a roasting dish with some vegetables, potatoes, beans or chickpeas. You can vary the seasoning to either garlic and herb, honey mustard, pesto, curry or mexican spices.

Thanks for your replies everyone!

@Rosesanddaisies1 - that sounds about my level! I'll check that out, thanks.

@EwwSprouts - stir fry is a great suggestion. I've never thought of adding sweet chili sauce, only ever soy.

@Icantremembermyusername - I was focusing on evening meals and didn't give much thought to lunches. What a brilliant idea to have some grab-and-go stuff for throughout the day too. I'll definitely do this.

Thanks for sharing your experience @Katrinawaves . Appreciate all the advice. I'm going to attempt some flapjacks 😊

@ADessertOrAMeringue - Interesting point, I'm guilty of underestimating how many varieties of meals can be rustled up with those sorts of variations.

Flapjacks are easy peasy! You can also add dried fruit (I use chopped dried apricots or sultanas) seeds and or nuts to get some extra vitamins and protein.

Meal-wise, how about chucking some meat and veg into a roasting bag with some seasoning and just bunging it into the oven? We have had chicken with carrots, onions and potatoes with a sachet of garlic seasoning recently, but you could use pork, or sausages with peppers, tomatoes, mini corn cobs, whatever you fancy really. We are going to do pork with veggies and barbecue seasoning in the next few days.

As @ADessertOrAMeringue says, food you can eat one handed is a real boon. How about a pasta bake maybe? And make sure that food is in bite-sized pieces. Also consider providing a spoon to eat with as well as a fork. I have started eating my curry and rice with a spoon sometimes if I'm feeling lazy and eating in front of the telly.

And - if she is breast-feeding she will need to drink a fair bit. Think about milky drinks if she likes them.

Congratulations! Seriously, keep it as simple as you can. Pizza and salad. Pasta carbonara. Chicken ramen bowls. Your time and your pair of hands are a really valuable commodity at the moment. Don't spend half the evening in the kitchen when you could be cuddling the baby while she takes a break, changing nappies, washing bottles. I would suggest buying a cookbook of meals you can make in 30 mins (not the Jamie Oliver one - nice recipes but take ages to make.) Buy shortcut food like ready chopped stir fry veg mix, the ones that are always on a deal with fresh noodles and a sauce. A chicken breast can just be baked with maybe a bit of lemon or pesto, potatoes and served with salad. It doesn't have to be made into a complicated stew to be tasty and nourishing. And batch cooking has its place, but it also adds tasks like decanting into freezable container, freezing, thawing, decanting again possibly, reheating. I would aim at either getting dinner served in 30 mins, or cook once and eat it 2 days in a row.

One thing I found really helpful was my husband cleaning up after dinner every night. Starting the day with a clear kitchen in the morning helps a lot.

Thanks everyone!

@DilemmaDelilah I've always thought the roasting bags were voodoo mysticism but sounds like they produce tasty results! Thanks for all of your advice.

@Marsayla that's exactly my position: looking at meals I can prepare during the duration of a feed so I'm not out of action faffing in the kitchen too long. One thing we've always been hot on is me loading the dishwasher before bed - it's great to hear little things like that can make a difference to the day.

Really appreciate everyone taking the time to share advice.

You've had some great advice but here is a really easy sausage casserole recipe:

Peel and chop potatoes & carrots
1 pack of sausages
2 boxes pasata
Thyme
Rosemary

Throw EVERYTHING in the slow cooker for 8 hours. You should end up with 4 portions (potatoes and carrots portion to your appetites). Be generous with the seasoning.

We serve with additional veg and love a slice of bread on the side.

Best of luck

Thank you very much! Going straight on the planner 😊 Sounds delicious!

things with high levels of omega 3.... so oily fishes etc. to help with milk production.
iron rich foods such as liver to help recover from any blood loss ...
apparently seaweed is also very good for postpartum recovery and milk production

I make a plain chicken broth - just with a whole poussin or baby chicken with celery and carrot (using just water, no salt or other seasoning) and cook on low heat for 2 hours - skimming off any foam that floats the top. the chicken comes out nicely poached and can be added to sandwiches/used as a pie filling and I strain and reduce the stock and serve it as soup (after adding some sliced veg and seasoning/herbs/soya sauce etc.) or add it to stews or other dishes to add flavour/nutrition.

kedgeree
butternut, red pepper, onion and chorizo paella
spring veg risotto
gnocchi bake with mozarella, passata, fresh basil and black olives
chicken and mediterranean veg tray bake
goulash with mash and steamed broccoli
homemade minestrone soup with garlic bread
home made pizza (use a pizza dough bread mix)

Start prepping dinner as soon as you can - it's amazing how much the day can run away with you with a baby in the house!! If I start getting ingredients together at breakfast I'm usually just about ready to serve at 6pm

Lots of great advice! I’d say start prepping early and just do bits through the day so you can look after baby too even if it means quickly chopping an onion at breakfast time. You can get bags of frozen onion/celery/carrot ready chopped that might be useful to have in. Also do pasta shapes not spaghetti! I remember quietly crying into my pasta carbonara when ds was a few days old as it was with spaghetti and I could eat it and feed him at the same time.

Lots of water if she’s breastfeeding, a big bottle with a straw is handy to grab and drink while feeding.

Most of the mealbox delivery services like gousto and hello fresh offer a first box for around 50% off full price then you can cancel the subscription straight away with no commitment.

They are pretty easy to cook if you can follow a recipe and if you order a box for 3 or 4 people you can have the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Or simply cook, where you get the recipe card and all the spices- but you have to but the rest of the ingredients yourself- is only £1.

Thanks so much @therealcookiemonster , @AmaryllisChorus and @RatzTailz for all your great advice and suggestions. I love kedgeree and totally forgot it existed!

Appreciate the tips @FusionChefGeoff and @Workawayxx . I'm going to prepare meals during the prior day's evening feed to mitigate the time pressure and so I don't miss time being with DD. I wouldn't have thought of replacing spaghetti though, I'll definitely use that trick.