https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 16 May 2026 09:19:44 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1904360 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:34:57 +0000 MsMini 1904360@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I made a bunch of stuff from our garden harvest items (inside out cabbage rolls, hamburger hash, pasta sauce, etc) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1904317 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:15:54 +0000 winniebee 1904317@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@FaithFertility: I just make a double batch of something we are having for dinner. Then it cools and I throw it in Tupperware and into the freezer :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1904310 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 20:14:23 +0000 ElbieKay 1904310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When I was pregnant, my husband made froze huge batches of green curry chicken and bolognese sauce. We lived off that and takeout for several weeks! And I ate my staple-at-the-time breakfast of almond butter on multigrain toast, an apple and honey, and a huge mug of tea. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1904238 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 19:44:38 +0000 FaithFertility 1904238@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@winniebee: ummmmm I feel like I need to, and I really would love to hear how you freeze these meals.....I think it is a great idea!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1904088 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 18:36:09 +0000 genarator 1904088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Soups, crockpot freezer packs, chicken enchiladas. I use Pinterest. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1903668 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:08:32 +0000 MapleMoose 1903668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Last time I took a weekend and made a ton of freezer and frozen crockpot meals. This time I'm just making larger portions of meals throughout the week and freezing leftovers into dinner portions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals/page/2#post-1903667 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:08:20 +0000 gingerbebe 1903667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Ha, no generator, but we do have a series of surgemasters and extension cords in there, between the washer/dryer, the fridges and freezers, the plug-in hybrid, and our porch bug zapper! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903657 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:01:30 +0000 looch 1903657@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: and a generator, I assume?</p> <p>That's really impressive! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903649 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 13:59:20 +0000 gingerbebe 1903649@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh! Also, this is really bad for the environment, but I took a page from my baby meal delivery rules and stocked up on paper supplies. Like Costco-sized packs of paper plates, utensils, napkins, red cups. We still do dishes between the baby bottles, pump parts, water bottles, cereal bowls, coffee mugs, our freezer meal containers, tupperwares of leftovers, the frying pan, and crockpot, but at least its just every other day instead of constantly trying to clear out space in the sink for the baby's stuff. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903620 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 13:46:27 +0000 Radish 1903620@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: My husband and I really liked it - LO wasn't a fan but I'm hoping it was just an off day for her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903540 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 13:20:04 +0000 Cole 1903540@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: That was super helpful, thank you!</p> <p>It reminded me that the other thing I have done was create a list of meals that require very little prep work and a basic grocery list so it is easier to send my husband or mil. If the baby stays put through the weekend I think we will do a big stock up run for stuff like cereal, coffee, cheese and some more freezer staples like frozen berries for smoothies. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903474 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:43:54 +0000 winniebee 1903474@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: wow sooo impressed!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903452 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:35:43 +0000 gingerbebe 1903452@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a five and a half week old baby and our freezer meals have been saving my life. I do all the cooking at our house and for the first month or so LO was screaming day and night because of colic and reflux and I was breastfeeding. I hardly had time to sit down to eat even WITH the meals AND my mom around for 3 weeks helping and my supply tanked! Just now getting it back up.</p> <p>I did fully cooked frozen dinners in individual portions for the most part. From 24-34 weeks, I made a point to cook dinner from scratch 2-3 times a week and made the recipes for 6-8 people. That meant we could eat dinner, pack leftovers for lunch, and pack the other half away in the freezer. If I made meatloaf, I'd pack a few slices with mashed potatoes, allow everything to cool on the counter, and add a scoop of frozen veggies before packing up the container with a label (date + name of entree). I bought a box of Reditainers (the black containers with clear lids that you get at Chinese take out) from Amazon for $40 for 150 containers. They are freezer, dishwasher, and microwave safe.</p> <p>By the time baby got here, I had something like 60-70 individual meals packed away. On top of that we premarinated meats in Ziploc bags to thaw and grill/bake, froze chili, coney sauce, and spaghetti sauce in gallon size bags flat, and froze things like muffins, bread, and cookie dough. We also stocked the freezer with a lot of meat - bags of frozen chicken, 1lb portions of ground beef, bacon, hot dogs, etc. Also we stocked up on cereal, coffee, deli meat, frozen fruit, baking supplies (chocolate chips, nuts, oats, flaxseed meal, sugar, flour, butter), and frozen veggies (corn, peas, mixed veggies, green beans, which hold up great in frozen dinners) when they were on sale. </p> <p>So right now, DH's days look like this: cereal in the morning, sandwich with fruit, carrots, and hummus for lunch, and a frozen dinner of his choice. We make a big pot of half-caff coffee every other day and stick it in the fridge for iced coffee. I'm eating things like muffins, avocado toast, hard boiled eggs, smoothies, fresh fruit, lactation cookies, homemade granola with almond milk, homemade soups, and whatever frozen dinner I feel like. </p> <p>Each week I make a quick grocery list and its usually fresh fruit, some snacks, almond milk, juices, yogurt, salad fixings, baby carrots, and more sandwich bread. I use the perpetual grocery list posted on HB and I can either fill it out and have DH go make the run, or I will do it as a break/treat for myself. </p> <p>If I had to go back and change anything, I would make less tomato-based foods and spicy foods (chili, soup, spaghetti sauce, jambalaya, red beans and rice, etc. etc.) because LO has acid reflux and I think it aggravates him when I eat these foods. And I'd prepare WAY MORE nutrient dense one-handed foods like lactation cookie dough, muffins, and breads. There were a few days I subsisted on (storebought) muffins and wished I had more homemade ones!</p> <p>All of our soups, beef stew, meatloaf, tuna noodle casserole, chicken and dumplings, chicken and rice casserole, mild coconut curries with rice, stirfries with rice, and dirty rice have been wonderful reheated.</p> <p>Are the frozen dinners as good as fresh? No. But its still really good. And we can pull a variety of entrees from the freezer every few days and thaw in the fridge. 3-4 minutes later, hot and tasty homemade meal from scratch. Better than a frozen TV dinner or fast food for sure.</p> <p>I still cook fresh dinners but its usually a crockpot situation that's hastily thrown together during naps on top of pumping, washing bottles, eating, showering, laundry, and HOPEFULLY mom catching some sleep too. And in these first six weeks, its only in the last week or so I've felt able to even do that.</p> <p>Right now, </p> <p>Yes, we have a chest freezer, plus an extra garage fridge. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903327 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:41:51 +0000 Cole 1903327@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HappyBaker: I have been using Pyrex dishes, putting saran wrap over the food and then the lid. Other things I have been using ziploc freezer bags which are fine but not really my favorite. I would love to get one of the vacuum sealers but I waffle because I have been trying to cut back on plastic so buying a device to store my food in more plastic seems counter productive. </p> <p>I tried freezing soup in a mason jar and it broke which was disappointing. I want to try again before giving up on that but it feels so wasteful to have lost that soup and now to try again... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903309 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:34:23 +0000 Mommy Finger 1903309@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do a lot of freezer meals in general, especially in the colder months b/c I tend to think of heartier dishes coming from the freezer. My friend and I are starting to swap freezer meals so that we have some variety. I bought a bunch of the foil pans from Costco and freeze in those or in ziploc bags where I can dump the contents in the crockpot. I have a Pinterest board specifically for my freezer meals. Here are some things I currently have in the freezer:</p> <p>Chicken Pot Pie<br /> Chicken fajitas<br /> Chicken cacciatore<br /> Chicken enchiladas<br /> Chicken florentine<br /> Chicken Parm casserole (I added a base of cooked quinoa) <a href="http://thrivinghomeblog.com/2013/07/chicken-parmesan-casserole-recipe-an-easy-freezer-meal/" rel="nofollow">http://thrivinghomeblog.com/2013/07/chicken-parmesan-casserole-recipe-an-easy-freezer-meal/</a><br /> Buffalo chicken lasagna<br /> Chicken taco meat (cooked in crockpot and frozen in portion sizes)<br /> Pulled pork (pork shoulder cooked in crockpot with various seasonings and frozen in portion size)<br /> Polenta pie (AMAZING!!!) <a href="http://www.strawberryplum.com/polenta-bake-with-italian-sausage-lacinato-kale/" rel="nofollow">http://www.strawberryplum.com/polenta-bake-with-italian-sausage-lacinato-kale/</a><br /> Sausage and peppers</p> <p>I would appear that we eat a lot of chicken :) I'm going to start doing some soups too. I'll make and then freeze flat in ziploc bags so that we can pull some out for dinner. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903307 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:33:33 +0000 MrsMccarthy 1903307@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ChiCalGoBee: no garage over here unfortunately. Just a cramped 2 bedroom. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903295 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:26:36 +0000 looch 1903295@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrswin: Haha, the one thing I am picky about is my lasanga, I still don't like it using your method. I've tried, and it just isn't right.<br /> Good suggestion though, for the non picky folks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903272 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:14:53 +0000 mrswin 1903272@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: to get the pasta to defrost/cook from frozen well we use a couple of fail safe methods in our house.</p> <p>For lasagna we use the oven ready noodles and assemble the lasagnas dry and freeze them. We defrost them in the fridge and the condensation from the defrosting plus the moisture in the sauce is enough to cook the noodles all the way through. We were not happy with the results when we tried to use the fresh lasagna noodles, they got too soggy.</p> <p>@winniebee: For best results don't cook the noodles much before freezing (blanch them for 2-3 minutes max). They will cook perfectly when you reheat them because of the moisture in the sauce </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903256 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:05:44 +0000 ChiCalGoBee 1903256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsMccarthy: Do you have a garage with room for a freezer? Our freezer is pretty tiny, too. We don't have ton of garage space, but have found some smallish deep freezers at pretty affordable prices that we're considering buying for both freezer meals and to freeze breast milk. Before I made the freezer meals I went through our entire freezer and threw out a lot of stuff that wasn't good anymore and was just taking up space. It really helped! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903254 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:03:27 +0000 ChiCalGoBee 1903254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mfa_lady: Totally a smart way to do it. I sat down one morning and made a list of everything I'd need for 5-6 recipes, and then went through my pantry, shelves, spice rack, fridge, etc. to see what I didn't need and already had. I then did one huge shopping trip and got everything I needed, and it was great as I could buy bulk ingredients for multiple recipes. It made it so much easier to bang out all those meals at once! So glad to know we'll have home-cooked meals when cooking is the last thing I'll want to do post-baby! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903252 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:03:04 +0000 dc yoga bee 1903252@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I hate freezer meals! They never taste fresh to me. I also hate leftovers though. We will have to budget for eating out! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903250 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:00:39 +0000 ChiCalGoBee 1903250@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cmomma17: <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/312932/bean-burritos" rel="nofollow">http://www.marthastewart.com/312932/bean-burritos</a></p> <p>Great recipe, because it even comes with the "how to freeze/defrost" tips right in there. We haven't had these yet, but we have dug into the breakfast burritos (eggs, turkey bacon, red pepper, cheese) and I've since made a few more for our stash. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903186 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:27:57 +0000 youboots 1903186@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I will make a bunch of good spagetti sauce but the croc pot is so easy, I will just have a handful of recipes that require few ingredients. I am going to do Safeway delivery. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903152 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:15:26 +0000 mfa_lady 1903152@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I want to start doing this! I've been freezing leftovers more often so that we'll have a personal meal here and there, but I want to really do some prep. I think a friend of mine is going to help me plan a big freezer meal day where we get together and freeze a boatload of meals. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903139 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:09:21 +0000 bushelandapeck 1903139@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't make any myself but we were fortunate to have several people make things for us. It has been a huge help since we've been home, especially with a toddler running around! I also bought a chest freezer and stocked up on lots of frozen things from TJs than we can eat (bread, muffins, quinoa). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903090 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:44:00 +0000 MrsMccarthy 1903090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I intend to but we don't have a very big or good freezer so only a couple. Maybe a lasagna, some Mac n cheese and some chicken soup. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903070 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:36:42 +0000 BandDmommy 1903070@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I need to get on this. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903059 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:31:58 +0000 winniebee 1903059@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HappyBaker: I jus use regular old glad Tupperware </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903055 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:28:48 +0000 HappyBaker 1903055@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I need to start doing this, with LO#1 having freezer meals ready to go was amazing.</p> <p>What kind of containers are you guys freezing in? I've used those disposable aluminum pans before but I feel like the seal isn't super air tight. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pregnant-ladies-are-you-making-freezer-meals#post-1903053 Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:28:28 +0000 Cole 1903053@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cmomma17: I have read it comes out better if you flash freeze it- spread it out thin on a cookie sheet and freeze it that way before putting it in containers. However, I don't bother, I just slightly under cook it (really, just barely) and let it cool before freezing. I then toss it in the microwave and fluff when ready to serve it. It's a bit mushier than freshly cooked but so much faster that I really don't mind! I usually double or triple a batch every time I make rice because it takes so long without a rice cooker. </p>