I finished meal planning for June yesterday with the knowledge that all the while we will have our new little baby here for the meals, probably sleeping, but still - we will be all together. I love that part of the ending of pregnancy when you start seeing dates and thinking to yourself, 'oh, our baby will be here' Like even the perishables in our fridge have an expiration date that exceeds our new baby.
With the excitement and blessings that a new baby brings, I am also feeling deeply grateful while meal planning after the big kids and I attended our first Empty Bowls event last week. One of the local high school's key clubs spent the last few months creating hundreds of pottery bowls all for the special night. Greyson, Gemma, and I each got to choose a bowl we liked best and then had a meal of soup, bread, and drinks where the proceeds went to local organizations that help combat homelessness and hunger. The kids love their new bowls and literally keep showing them off to anyone that visits our house (hah), and as we talked about on the way home - the bowls are our reminder that lots of people and kids have bowls that our empty while ours are full of dinner every night.
In terms of meal planning for next month, I tried my best to choose meals that are both easy to throw together (read: a lot of 'dump it all in the crockpot or casserole dish' type meals) and also that the other three kids wouldn't complain about too much. I had previously set a goal for myself that I'd try to make five post-baby freezer meals, alas - life and exhaustion, and three kids, and low motivation sort of derailed that goal. I did manage to freeze half the potato soup the other week to count for one. And my momma and I made enough enchiladas to count for another - so two out of five baby freezer meals ain't too bad, right?
We made a big shopping trip this week too and bought a lot of quick type meals, just in case all momma-zombie breaks loose in those rotten first eight weeks and our meal planning efforts crumble. So we are stocked up on frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets, and lots of frozen breakfast foods as back ups. And I'm super blessed that Brandon starts his vacation tomorrow through the second week of June as sort of a quasi-paternity leave - so he will be here with extra helping (and cooking) hands through the first two weeks to keep us all nourished (bellies and hearts!)
June/Post Baby Mealplan:
June 1-3
W (Last day of school!): hot dogs and smores over the fire
R: Chinese green beans & ground turkey over rice
F: cowboy casserole
June 6-10
M: grilled steaks & grilled garlic parm zucchini
T: meatball subs
W: spaghetti (with leftover meatballs) & salad
R: chicken, stuffing, and veggies casserole
F: hamburgers on the grill
June 13-17
M: chicken & gravy over mashed potatoes
T: tacos
W: grilled lemon salmon & veggies
R: crockpot sweet & sour meatballs
F: candied kielbasa
June 20-24
M: slow cooker chicken parm sandwiches
T: korean beef over rice
W: potato soup (baby freezer meal) & salad
R: ham & cheese tortellini
F: crispy shrimp alfredo
June 27-30:
M: pizza mountain pies over the fire
T: enchiladas (baby freezer meal)
W: teriyaki chicken casserole
R: sweet sausage & broccoli rigatoni
What are some of your favorite post-baby meals (or snacks! I need some breastfeeding snack ideas!)
Post baby meal for kids: nuggets. Post baby meal for me: chicken wrap made with chicken strips (cooked in the microwave for maximum easiness) lettuce, tomatoes, cheese & ranch. Super easy and filling for a breastfeeding mama!
ReplyDeleteSnacks-- almonds, beef jerky, muffins & to stay awake at night while feeding, animal crackers. :)
So excited to "meet" your little one, learn his name and see your kiddos love on him!!!