Ideas for a meal I can make to take to my friend who has just had a baby...

[Thankyouandgoodnight]

I need an idea for something delish but relatively hands free to make as I have a fairly new baby myself! I will also be looking after her little one while she's in labour (as well as my just under 2 year old) but I really want to give them a meal for when they get back home.

All ideas / recipes gratefully received!!!!

It will obviously need to be something that they can just heat up rather than twiddle with at their end.

lasagne
curry
chilli
mousaka
cottage pie
quiche
pizza

A hearty casserole. Easy to make in advance, then bung it in a dish and it can be heated whenever.

Bring it round with a fresh baguette, and voila.

Also dead easy to make - bung all ingredients in a dish, and bung in oven. Or in slow cooker.

lasagne and a bag of salad
some kind of pasta bake, eg chicken and broccoli

pasta. Easy to cook, easy to heat up, easy to eat with one hand.

No-brainer

Chuck a galric baguette and prepared watercress into the bag and you're away. What a great friend you are.

Also I personally found I was never up for anything too heavy for at least a week whilst recovering from giving birth and feeling as if I was run over by a bus. Pasta is light enough not scare a body feeling a little fragile.

Anything which can be frozen if they don't want to eat it immediately (just incase anyone else has the same idea). Why not make double the amount and then you have a meal for you and your family too for less than double the effort? Lovely of you, when you have your hands full anyway and they will really appreciate it.

I usually do a lasagne and take it over whole in the dish, with a bag of salad. It's easy to heat up, and eat one handed, if necessary.

Big quiche with shop-bought pastry and any cheese she loves that she's not been able to eat for the last 9 months (stilton, etc). COuld be delivered warm to do first meal, then reheated, frozen or eaten cold (also easy to eat with one hand while bf...)

Oh what a lovely friend you are! Another vote for pasta, personally, if she is breast feeding avoid a curry or a chilli, as it passes into the breast milk.

The best present that I received when DD was born was a large fruit cake, but I realise that isn't what you asked about!

Thank you so much for your replies!

Oooh I love the cake idea - I'm not sure that I could rustle that up and a main meal but I could see how things go......what a fab idea!!

I agree - the pasta idea does sound good and I could make a yummy sauce and give her that with a bag of fresh pasta and some salad.

Large fruit cake is a great idea - easy to cut a slice off for the new Mum and something to offer visitors. I'd go with that idea personally.

Flapjacks with dried apricots make a great snack, plus they're (relatively) healthy, what with all those oats and dried fruit

Fresh pasta with a homemade sauce is a lovely idea; pasta bake can be a bit dry when reheated I find. However, pasta and sauce will take more "work" for her than just bunging a casserole in the oven.

Another idea would be a pan of lovely homemade soup, some good cheese and some fresh bread.

Flapjacks with apricots are gorgeous and, according to Rose Elliot anyway, oats are meant to be really good to help beat the "baby blues".

Lancashire hot pot, or beef casserole, filling and hearty with lots of iron.

You have now got me wondering if a large fruitcake or something treaty is better than a main meal if it comes to the crunch and I can only do one or t'other - what do you think??

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to rustle up a beef casserole or hot pot as frying off the meat takes a wee while and I will have a 5 week old and 2 under 20 months under my skirts.

Soup, bread and cheese are always fabulous to eat but it may be a bit labour intensive trying to eat it with one hand?

I didn't really struggle after having lo so can't comment on that (oh was off work for a while) but something to just munch would have been lovely. But then again, I always have munchies for something sweet

A main meal would probably be the better option, something like the lasagne that's been suggested to pop in the oven & let it cook while she does whatever she's doing. Plus shouldn't be too much work for you with your own kids to think about

Could you not make both now and freeze till the time comes, casserole would not come to any harm, add some ( aunt bessies yorkshire puds) and that would be a fantastic meal ! a fruit cake would keep in the tin for ages and only taste better with time !

I could do a cake couldn't I?? Do all fruit cakes alst forever in a tin? How long do you think? I can't do a cassaerole because I don't have space in my freezer

can only echo the pasta, then shop bought garlic bread, salad etc ideas, but just wanted to say that you sound like a really, truly wonderful friend. Have a massive mumsnet pat on the back...and a glass of wine... hands over virtual chardonnay and some salted cashews. well done you.

A big pot of soup would be great (hopefully friends will be flocking round with these when my baby finally appears!) but particularly a really thick one to eat single handed - plenty of beans/pasta so its more stew than soup. And easy to make enough for you too - what a trooper you are! If you have the energy you could make some kind of tray bake that could be frozen - anything based on apples/plums with a crumbly base freezes pretty well. Sure Delia has a few good ones on her website.

ok - time to vote:

1 - Hearty Soup
2 - Pasta
3 - Cake / treaty something

pasta

cake

ok - I made a cake last night, baby born wee hours of this morning and I happened to make a big batch of bolognaise last night too, of which we have loads left over - I may have done both without any trouble at all!

Fantastic - your friend will be so pleased; such a lovely idea.