Freezer meals for when baby arrives

[Mrsb999]

First day of maternity leave and I'm thinking of starting to cook up batches of meals and freeze them to have in the first few weeks of babies arrivals - I don't want to be surviving on takeaways!

Any suggestions on healthyeals that freeze well? I'm also planning on breastfeeding so am a bit unsure as to whether certain meals on my list e.g curry and chilli will affect my milk?

So far my ideas are

Mild chicken curry
Chilli con carne
Lasagne
Sauce for bolognase
Cottage pie
Stew

Also I have already bought a load of the silver foil takeaway type containers, stupid question but can the meals be cooked from frozen in these or should I take them out the freezer and defrost first?

As hinted at by Brugsmansia, I'd add fish pie to your list. We mix peas in with the white sauce and add spinach between the saucy fish and potato, no need to pre cook the spinach as it will wilt as you cook the pie later.

I generally defrost before reheating if it's going in the oven (pies in foil dishes) but things like chilli I microwave anyway so if I forget to take out, will defrost in the microwave first (not in foil, obviously).

I'll also be getting easy "shove in the oven" things in our freezer like breaded chicken, fish cakes, potato waffles etc.

I lived off cheese toasties for lunch as a student so the thought of reliving that as a new mum is actually quite appealing. Will I start watching Neighbours again too?!

Bejeena, just bear in mind that if you are breastfeeding, the reality is that in the early weeks almost all babies spend part of the day cluster feeding - constantly on the boob. This is completely normal but can surprise you if you don't know about it (it's one of the most common reasons why women think they haven't got enough milk, when it's actually a completely normal part of bf). My DS would cluster feed in the evenings, typically 6-10pm he'd be on and off the boob. Hence why meals you can eat one-handed are good! On the plus side, it got me out of cooking and the washing up

Arf (kindly) at warming it up when the baby is settled.

The word you are looking for is IF.

My ds screamed every time I put him down for three weeks. I could make a coffee and sandwich with one hand, eat any meal you liked with only a fork, and I could get out of my pyjamas and into new ones, brush my teeth and get into bed all without putting him down by the time he was 4wks old :)

One handed meals will be your friend. I didn't mind: I was totally besotted with him and would have NEVER put him down at all if I didn't need to shower :)

Agree with all the above suggestions and wanted to add I just made a double batch of sausage rolls for the freezer. They freeze well after baking and are a nice treat (and pass the One Handed Eating test).

You can also freeze cooked rice portions to go with the chilli etc, so even less faffing around.

You can arrange to eat two handed with a young baby but be aware breastfeeding makes you very hungry! So faced with the choice of wait and reheat the food, or eat one handed while feeding, I always chose to eat as I was hungry :)

I just got the packets of microwave rice rather than cooking my own

Oooh yes micro rice is a good idea!
In the freezer we now have
4 veg lasagne
8 beef lasagne
4 sausage and bean casserole
6 chilli con carne
6 bolognase

All individual portions. Currently cooling down ready to be portioned is 4 x chicken Provençal. I've still got pork and apple casserole, chicken casserole, chicken curry & shepherds pie!!

All your recipes sound great. Ideal for dinners and lunches. The meals I really struggled with were breakfasts and lunches and remembering to have snacks.
Granola bars, fruit, yoghurt and fruit toast/ bagels great for breakfasts
I also stocked up on tinned tuna,baked beans and quick cook cous cous for lunches
I'd also grab some dried fruits and rice crackers from Holland and barrets
You sound really organised btw!
X

ne really easy thing to do is chicken /legs/ wings quarters shoved into a freezer bag with a load of marinade. You can just chuck straingt into oven and have a full meal with some salad/roll etc.

Tray bake of flapjacks with dried fruit also a not too bad 'sugar hit' to have on hand.

Microwave rice was FAB for us in those early days (or weeks! )

Pound shops sell the plastic takeaway type containers in packs of about 6 which I use for bulk cooking. Microwaveable! Much quicker than oven but you can cook from frozen in the foil ones yes.