Postpartum Prep: Pack the Freezer to Nourish the Family Part 2: Menu-Planning for a Delicious Freezer Stash
By Ariel Voorhees, Owner of Gather Round Family Chef Service
This post is Part 2 of a three-part series! If you missed Part 1: “The Absolute Best Baby Gift Isn’t on Your Registry,” you can check it out here.
When most first-time parents prepare for postpartum life, they think of the things they’ll need. This is no accident: there’s a billion-dollar industry focused on marketing and selling baby gear to expectant parents.
But the wisest parents – perhaps those who are preparing to welcome their second, third, or fourth baby – those parents know that it’s not the things that will help them through the intense postpartum period. What’s most helpful is the support that they can enlist from their community.
This blog series focuses on one aspect of support: a freezer full of meals to keep the postpartum family nourished, healthy, and strong.
So you’re ready to pack your freezer full of postpartum meals. But if you’re going to spend your energy, time, and money to make meals for the freezer, you want them to taste great when they emerge from their frozen hibernation. So… which recipes are best for the freezer?
Best postpartum recipes to freeze
There are several categories of meals that freeze well and thaw beautifully. In my Burlington-based personal chef service, Gather Round, I stick to these categories to ensure my clients will enjoy the dish just as much after it’s thawed and heated as they would have immediately after cooking.
Soups & stews like Hearty Beef and Vegetable Stew
Curries like this Thai Turmeric Salmon Curry with Spinach
Stir-fries such as Pork and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Casseroles are classic just like this Spinach and Tomato Lasagna
Meatballs & Meatloaves like Glazed Meatloaves with Mashed Potatoes
Burritos, try these Breakfast Burritos (a Gather Round best-seller!)
Breads & Sweets, give these Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Lactation Cookies a go
Smoothie Packs, here are some ideas 5 DIY Freezer Smoothie Packs
Note: I love using recipes from New York Times Cooking and America’s Test Kitchen, but I’ve avoided presenting them here to prevent paywall issues. But if you already have a membership to those paid recipe databases, reach out for more tips– I’d be glad to share my favorites with you!
Healthy ingredients to promote postpartum healing
Within each category, there’s plenty of room for variety. And although any healthy and comforting homemade meal will nourish you and promote healing, it’s extra helpful to feature the ingredients and nutrients that are particularly effective promoters of postpartum healing and lactation.
Complex carbohydrates, e.g. whole grains
Iron-rich foods, e.g. meat, seafood, leafy greens, and beans
Protein-rich foods
Oats
Water (don’t laugh! It’s super easy for lactating parents to get dehydrated)
Dietary restrictions, allergies, and sensitivities
When planning the menu, don’t forget to steer clear of any ingredients that typically give you dietary trouble. Also, it’s fairly common for nursing infants to be sensitive to dairy eaten by the lactating parent, so ask your own parents and parents-in-law if there’s a family history of that sensitivity. And if your friends and family are offering to bring over freezer-friendly meals, remember to communicate those dietary restrictions to them!
A little help from my friends
And speaking of supportive friends and family, Gather Round offers a few specific ways to harness their good will into nourishing postpartum freezer meals so that you don’t have to do it all yourself!
The Pack the Freezer Baby Shower is perfect for the squad that’s always ready to roll up their sleeves and help out. And a Pack the Freezer Gift Certificate is the best solution for a family, office team, or circle of friends who want to crowdfund a postpartum freezer stash. And did you know that you can put a Freezer Stash on your baby registry so that even non-local members of your support system can chip in to fund this vital postpartum service?
As the chef of Gather Round Chef Service, I’ll pack your freezer full of customized meals that will comfort and sustain your family, promote postpartum healing, foster parent-baby bonding, and allow you to focus on what’s really important: raising a relaxed and healthy family.
Bon appetit!