✽ Stock Up On Meals
Once your baby arrives, you won’t have time for basic hygiene, let alone cooking. Babies are on their own time schedule, which usually means that just when you’re ready to prepare a fabulous five-course meal, your crying bundle of joy is demanding to be held nonstop. And who wants to spend baby’s future college fund on take-out? Besides, the goal is to lose the baby weight, not to pack on more pounds eating pizza day and night just because it’s a quick fix. One solution is to stock up on healthy meals before your new baby’s arrival; another is to keep the meals coming after your baby comes home. Whether you’re a first-timer or already have a few kids under your belt, here’s how to secure all the food you’ll need to be the best new parent you can be. 20
BIG Baby BOOK
Have you ever been in the middle of cooking dinner, only to realize you were missing one crucial item? Before you had a baby, it was a cinch to run to the store for what you needed. But now, with a new baby in the house, that seemingly simple task isn’t so easy. So the time to stock up the freezer is now, before the baby comes. Once you hit the second trimester (or whenever you feel a burst of energy), grab a once-a-month cookbook (see Resources) and make and freeze a week’s worth meals. And forget about those bulky foil pans because you can freeze some meals in plastic storage bags or containers to save freezer space.
Make meals in advance off-site. Cleaning up your kitchen can take a lot of the fun out of cooking. So make life easy on yourself and find a professional meal preparation kitchen near you. Two such kitchens with multiple locations in the Atlanta area are The Dinner A’Fare (DinnerAFare.com) and Dream Dinners (DreamDinners.com). When you get there – don’t forget to bring a large cooler! – just assemble your meals while they provide the food, supplies and containers. Ingredients are already chopped and ready to throw together in the amounts your family prefers. If you are allergic to or dislike an ingredient, skip it! You could take along several friends and make it a fun time. And what a timesaver: In about two hours you can make 10-12 meals for a family of four to six.
Before (and After) Baby’s Arrival by Kerrie McLoughlin
Make meals in advance at home.
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Count on friends, family and neighbors. Most people understand that having a new baby is not about spending your every waking hour cooking and cleaning, so after your baby is born, people will hopefully start asking if you need anything. Just say, “Yes!” They don’t even have to cook. Restaurant gift cards, salads and sandwiches, take-out and kitchen clean up can be a huge help. Before you give birth, you might also set up a meal calendar online at Google.com/calendar and then send out a mass email to family and friends with the link.
Call for backup. If all else fails – and if you can afford it – find a company that will deliver food to your door. (We’re not talking about pizza or Chinese food in your neighborhood.) Many food service companies, including national ones such as Schwan’s (Schwans.com), let you order from online menus and will ship entire frozen meals to your door, including meats, vegetables, sides, breakfast foods, etc.
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