I need ideas for meals I can cook and freeze for when the baby is here please!!

[Lilly24]

I am due to have my first baby in August and I would love to be able to get at least a month's worth of meals cooked and frozen to make life that little bit easier for me and my boyfriend when the baby comes!! Also, how long can they be frozen for? I need to know when to start too :'D

Chilli
Bolognaise
Fish Pie
Currys
Meatballs

Decide what you’d like to have and cook bases, sauces etc so you can add them to meat, veg, etc. They take up less space in the freezer.
If you don’t want to do that then Lasagna, chilliest, curries, etc are good to just re heat.

I did this with my second, I did:

Spaghetti bolognaise
Chilli
Mince (for mince and tatties or to make into a cottage pie)
Chicken curry
Minestrone soup

I batch cooked them a month before baba was due, I also stocked up on pesto and stir through pasta sauces.

Loads of other things freeze well, fish pie, etc.

Most things are ok for a few months in the freezer, so long as you freeze them on the day you prepared them, they'll be fine.

Sauces to reheat and just cook pasta/rice/noodles etc to go with them. If you are due in August, I would aim to do 1 or 2 per week as a large pot for dinner and freezing at least 2 portions from leftovers as you have time and that spreads prep. Sauces like those already mentioned.

But also whole meals that just need to be cooked or reheated in the oven.
Lasagna is good frozen either before or after cooking. Just label which it is. And f you make a huge batch of meat sauce, you can make up a few lasagnas but also freeze some sauce just for spaghetti Bol.
Cottage pie - I add grated carrot and peas (or even more root type veg if I have the food processor out and can chop it up very small) to my meat mix, I do similar but more Mediterranean veg for slag Bol sauce.
Smoked fish and broccoli pie topped with mash, a scattering of breadcrumbs and finally handful of grated cheese. (I make a white sauce using the milk I poached the smoked haddock in before flaking it into a pie dish with small florets of broccoli and covering in that white sauce). Any smoked white fish is nice.
Chicken and mushrooms in a white wine and creamy sauce can be served alongside rice or pasta, made into a lasagna or put under a blanket of mashed potato.

When making mash I know will be frozen, I tend to try and use dried milk (powdered) rather than liquid milk, or else leave it much drier than normal, as the water from ice Crystals will make it slightly more wet anyway.

Also stews, like chicken casseroles or diced beef/lamb in things like tagines or stews can be great but definitely need potatoes (but those could be baked and stew reheated in oven).

As well as above I do a lamb stew so diced lamb, onions, garlic, celery, sweet potatoes, carrots and turnip. Also chicken with tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms.

My suggestion is to freeze in single portions. We found we were not always eating at the same time. It was so nice to be able to just pop a casserole for one into the oven. Plus they cook very quickly that way.

Cake. Slice before freezing with buttercream already applied, then you can get out individual portions for you and any visitors when you need them. Same with scones or brownies.

If your baby is due in the summer, you probably won’t want stews, soups and pies.
Quiche (leftovers make a great lunch the next day) realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-courgette-and-feta-quiche.html

realfood.tesco.com/recipes/speedy-quiche-traybake.html

Smokey Spanish one pot www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/smoky-spanish-summer-one-pot
Burgers www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pork_and_apple_burger_94249
Paella www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/chicken-and-chorizo-paella/ A lot of people freak out at freezing and reheating rice, but follow the instructions at the bottom of the recipe and it will be safe.
Enchiladas www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-and-bean-enchiladas
Pasta bake www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-spinach-bacon-alfredo-pasta-bake

I agree, single portions (those foil trays with cardboard lids like takeaway are cheap and a good size, Amazon if not supermarket) and try to do it that you cool the carb aspect fresh if you can (or things that go with oven chips, wedges etc).
Bolognese, chilli, different curries, lasagne all freeze well, I found creamy stuff wasn't as good.
Nothing wrong with beige food either so frozen fish fingers etc are great as are the 'recipe kits' you get where you just add meat and veg, Thai curries for example.

The main thing is though label with what it is and when it went in! I don't keep stuff like that past six months tbh but I'm cautious.

On the subject of cake, a batch of cookie dough rolled tightly into grease proof paper can be very useful to slice and bake almost straight from freezer if not too thick and you have a good knife. Great for just 3/4 when an unexpected visitor arrives (or you get the munchies).

Also look at the slow cooker Facebook groups.

You can pre prep meals in freezer bags that
You just bung in the
Slow cooker in the morning.

The microwave rice packets that just take two minutes are also great to go with whatever batch cook you get out.

Congrats. Some babies have milk and soya allergies and so if you plan to breastfeed it might be good to include dairy and soya free meals just in case of allergy.

Re cake, you can freeze all kinds of cake , complete with fillings. I bake a lot of loaf tin type cakes, when cool, slice , lay in a single layer on a tray, freeze, when frozen put in a bag. They take seconds to defrost in the microwave or not long if you remember to take them out half an hour or so before eating. I made some lemon curd muffins recently and they were delicious from frozen.
Re proper meals, I’ve had 2 august babies and both times it was so hot, you need lots of drinks at your side and I personally preferred smaller meals with snacks in between, lovely fruit salads ( you can buy frozen fruit ) with a dollop of yoghurt. You need to eat nutritionally - you can freeze an awful lot of meals even portions of stir fry , tray bakes, the lot. You could just cook slightly larger portions of whatever meal you’re having each day and freeze a portion. That way you’ll have loads by august. It’s fine to keep food in the freezer for 3-6 months.

Yes to cake and cookie dough as well! Definitely handy when visitors turn up and you feel you want to give them something without encouraging them to stay too long.... Oh put some milk and bread in the freezer too, there will definitely be days when you run out and CBA to organise anyone to get some in. You can freeze butter and cheese too (although I wouldn't waste decent cheese as it doesn't do well but a block of cheap stuff grated can be surprisingly handy).

You might also want a supermarket delivery pass. That way you can have a regular shop delivered once or twice a week. It’s amazing how things you took for granted like popping out for a pint of milk suddenly feel like a right hassle when you have a small baby in tow.

I had freezer full of individual tinfoil tray fish pies, lasagne, chicken pie, cottage pie - things that could be slung in the oven and eaten on their own (and eaten out the tinfoil - less washing!).

I also had frozen soups, stews, fish cakes, chilli and bolognese. But the tinfoil individual portions were a total godsend on days when I was just to tired to think about anything.

Def do individual portions. I did lots of mac and cheese with bacon bits crumbled ontop. Food you can eat with just a fork is good as you might have one arm full of baby. Put the frozen portions in microwave safe containers so you can just nuke and eat.

Another thing that's just sprung to mind is the Morrisons boxes that come with fixed contents that DPD deliver next day- they do a meals one, a basic cupboard one or two, and some treat boxes. They aren't all that expensive considering. But there also Amazon Morrisons that can deliver same day- I know I sound like I work for Morrisons but I don't, I could equally moan about them 😂 but whenever we've tried elsewhere during the pandemic the boxes and Amazon have kept us going back to them as something that the other supermarkets don't seem to offer.

Gousto (and presumably Hello Fresh etc) will plague you with offers too if you do any of the baby freebie packs, with Gousto you can pick genuine 10 minute meals for when you feel you want something fresh and you're having a better day where one of you has a bit of time and energy to cook a little something.

Hairy bikers old fashioned chicken stew (without the cider if bf if you are concerned about alcohol albeit doesn't it burn off?? Full of nutrition, several of your 5 a day and freezes beautifully. Also makes up shepherds pies with frozen mash on top-also the 4 minute veg steam bags are great to have on the side of anything so you are getting your veg with minimum effort. Don't forget lunches-soups, bagels etc can all be frozen in advance.