Freezer meal ideas for when baby comes

[VirgoPeanutPending]

Hi MNers... hopefully this is ok in this thread, but if there is a more suitable one, please let me know and I will post in there.

FTM here planning for a new born and some family members have suggested making a decent amount of meals ahead of time and freezing them, to be able to eat as well as possible when baby comes as the two of us will be tired, with our hands full and don't have family nearby. They will visit but won't be on hand to help daily. I think this is a great idea and we have a freezer in the garage from when we moved in, so have the space. Anyways, has anyone else done this or thought about doing it?

Some ideas I have so far are things like curry, chilli, bolognaise - we/he can just make the rice/pasta on the day to go with these but it will save heaps of time.

Does anyone have any other meal ideas suitable for freezing? I want to get as much goodness in as possible as plan to BF, but obviously know these best laid plans can change too😊

I've made and frozen this, plus the sausage and mash pie, and the chicken pasta bake
The majority of his stuff freezes

https://www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk/chicken-bacon-pie/

Brill thank you - do you freeze it with the mash already on top? Only asking as my mum does make and freeze things like this but makes the mash fresh and I'm trying to save time on us having to do that bit too

I portion it up after cooking and freeze the lot so you can literally just microwave it

Burritos freeze great :)

Cottage/Shepherds pie. I bought those aluminium single serve tins from the supermarket and you can freeze the whole thing in portions.

I did this and it was so handy!!

Try to think of things you can eat one handed so that if baby is cluster feeding it’s easier to eat. Curries/bolognese etc sound great. I make these regularly too

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/family-meals-easy-fish-pie-recipe

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/burnt-aubergine-veggie-chilli

Oooooh and hairy bikers sausage casserole is mega yum

Mash freezes fine. Most casseroles will freeze really well. Throw some frozen peas or green beans in when you reheat for extra veggies. Big batches of mince sauce that you can tweak into two or three different dishes-spag bol, chilli, cottage pie.

Do you have a slow cooker? You can find lots of recipes on line for prepping raw ingredients and freezing to then defrost and just Chuck in the slow cooker and leave it to do its thing. This sort of thing…
https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/healthy-easy-freezer-slow-cooker-recipes/

Also, if you can’t be bothered Cookfood do frozen meals that are really good (never yet had a bad one from them). As a mum to be/new mum you can apply for a 10% discount for 12 months. Or suggest to friends and family you might like some meals from them as a gift. https://www.cookfood.net/new-parents

Anything you can eat with one hand when your newborn refuses to be put down! Stews, curries and dhal worked well for us. You can get those microwave packs of rice or make the stew/curry with potato so it can still be a one pot meal.

The most useful things i found were lunches/snacks especially when my DH went back to work after his parental leave.
So soups I could shove one handed in the microwave and drink from a mug one handed (lentil soup, sweet potato and leek etc)
Burritos (again cook from frozen in microwave when hungry) i did veggie ones (peppers, onions, sweetcorn etc cooked in fajita spice, then put in tortilla wrap with refried beans, grated cheese and salsa (could also add chicken etc if wanted) and can eat them with one hand

And then so a food shop with things like ready cooked meats,fruits and ready made salads etc when baby is here for things you can literally just open the fridge and grab to break up the monotony of the things you've batched cooked.

Honestly I wouldn't bother. I really resent the idea that a woman should stress herself out in the run up to having a baby by trying to cook a whole load of spare meals under the presumption that it is her job to do it and her partner can't possibly pick up some of the slack when a baby comes.

Your partner should take at least 2 weeks paternity and can do all the cooking in that time. Just order some easier options for lunches and dinners for the first few weeks after that. He can make something quick like pasta for you both when he comes home etc.

Yes, we did freeze a lot which was helpful.
Lasagne, mac&cheese, curry, fishpie, lentil pie, soups, chili, bolognase etc.
Side dish as pasta, rice, etc. always better if you make fresh so I won't freeze them with the food.

If you want to save time you can order "chef prapered frozen meals" which can be delivered to you every week and you only need to heat them up in the oven. It's definitely easier, but a more pricey option.

Of you have space, time and energy definitely cook and freeze.

People her say you don't need--- yes of course you can live of microwave food, sandwiches and takouts but I don't think that's ideal...

Kyse23 those recipes sound amazing! Are they straightforward to make?

Stews or casseroles work well I think, you can pack them full of vegetables for health and variety, and sometimes include lentils or chick peas or beans for fibre too.
Your favourite recipes of these might also work in future when your DC is a toddler, as long as you don’t cook with too much salt.

Lakeland do special labels which stay on if you use plastic boxes to freeze portions in. ordinary labels tend to come off in the freezer.

Arabiatta sauce for pasta (with chicken or roasted veg)
Nutritious soups
Chicken casserole
Beef casserole
Cottage pies
Lasagne
Moussaka

Brilliant.. thanks everyone for the ideas. There are some great ones here, I'll add them to my list.

(A good tip is to copy and paste recipes or screenshot rather than saving links as they can eventually be taken down. Have lost a few old favourite recipes by only saving the links to them that no longer exist.)

@Sissynova Partner will be having two weeks off but that's the only time he will get so I'd rather he be around for doing washing and other household bits that can't be done in advance. We'll both be organising the food to be frozen, as we both cook now, so I don't just see it as the woman's job.

I know from a couple of days eating processed/fast food/takeaways now that it makes me feel rubbish so I just want to be as prepared as possible.

I don't have a slow cooker anymore but I'm seriously considering getting one again. I can see how it will be very useful.