Batch cooking ideas

[iwillbemummy]

Currently 27 weeks and as usual I am awake at silly o'clock on Mumsnet!! Thanks pregnancy insomnia

However, just thinking about the things I need to start doing soon to get myself prepared.

I'd like to get myself sorted early on and stock up the freezer but struggling with ideas of what I could make that is breast feeding friendly and that I'll enjoy (less spicy etc.)

Any ideas???

Thanks in advance

Lasagne
Moussaka
Pasta sauces
Beef stew
Chicken casserole
Mild curries
Meat balls for throwing into tomato pasta sauce
Soups

Basically anything you can eat with only one implement!

I'll add
Cottage pie
Fish pie

I'm due late November and I can see myself wanting mash, mash, mash! I may even just make up batches of mash.

Breastfeeding friendly means able to eat one handed imo

Cottage pie/shepherds pie
Lasagna (individual disposable foil trays are good for freezing)
Pasta sauces
Chilli
Curries

Pasta bake
Burgers (and buy some burger buns for the freezer too)
Cottage Pie
Smooth soups (to drink out of a mug)

Make a big pan of bolognaise and freeze in batches, can be turned into all sorts

Pasta bakes, all made up and ready for the oven.
Chicken breasts, wrapped in ham/bacon, laid out in a dish, covered with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan. Cover and freeze, cook from frozen about 50/60 mins at 180 fan (in my oven).

I'm like mummyhen, 5kg of Costco mince, chopped onions, mushrooms, grated carrot, tin of tomatoes.
Freeze in portions.
After defrosting, it can become spaghetti bolognaise, tuscan Pasta bake (add fennel seeds), cottage pie, chilli con carne.
All suitable for one handed eating.

You can eat spicy foods when breastfeeding, as mentioned breastfeeding friendly is just food you can eat with just a fork!

What do you all use to freeze in? Freezer bags or tubs? I'd like to do this too (:

I use takeaway containers, other plastic tubs we have, bags if they suit the food (not stew etc obv!).

Zip lock bags work for everything and take up less space than take way containers. I've even put soup portions in them.

Depends on your freezer I suppose, we have a stand up freezer with drawers that are fine and organised but not very big, and an extra chest freezer for bulk buying/cooking/stocking up, so containers that can stack inside that are handier for us than bags.

I froze in bags (well my mum did ) to save on space. Meant I could get about 40 meals in one drawer, which included some lasagnes in foil trays.

In addition to dishes already mentioned, I've also frozen some tandoori chicken with veg and some enchiladas in foil trays ready to just stick in the oven.

Also, in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, we tried to make slightly bigger meals so we could freeze a portion, so I've got a few stews, curries etc in there.

Marinated chicken is good for warmer times. I did lemon and garlic, chipped the chicken into dice and could quickly pan fry and serve with salad/Pitta and hummus/couscous. It was a nice change from mince!

What a great number of ideas to add to the list!!!

Have been struggling for inspiration throughout my pregnancy for cooking at all, so this has helped!