Freezing Meals Before Baby

I am due in less than a month (eek!) so we are trying to prep as much as we can to help make the whole process smoother when Teeny comes. This includes making meals in advance to freeze in order to avoid having to cook or think about what to make when you're sleep deprived with a baby never more than a foot away from you.

I did a lot of looking around online to see what other people are making and the highest recommendation seems to be things you can eat with one hand (presumably, you are holding the baby in the other). Another thing that I hadn't thought of was breakfast and lunch, not just dinner.

This is my compiled (but incomplete) list of things I will make and freeze before Teeny gets here.

• empanadas. I am actually making these tonight for dinner and just making extra to freeze (that's the easiest way to do it instead of spending an entire day cooking and freezing). You can freeze them before you bake them or after. You put them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper until frozen then you transfer them to a ziploc bag so they aren't all frozen together when you only want to eat one.
• waffles. We have a fancy waffle maker that we actually get a lot of use out of. We have made big batches and frozen them before, even without a baby on the way.
• quinoa with vegetables. I cheated and already made this. I was unable to finish the leftovers in one day so I froze the rest. I am excited to have this again! (Recipe in a previous post)
• banana bread or muffins. I'm undecided which to make, which probably means I'll end up making both. I will preslice the bread before I freeze it so I can easily take out one piece at a time.
• soup. Probably chili because we eat that fairly frequently. I won't make it as spicy as we normally have it because I plan on breastfeeding and you may need to adjust your diet if your baby is gassy or intolerant of some things. Spicy foods are included in that.
• lunch meat. Okay so I won't be making this but I will be freezing it so I can easily make sandwiches.

I may add more to this list (notice above where I said it's incomplete) but I will also have my mom and David around for the first few weeks and they can help out with meals too.

Other things I learned in my research:

• freeze things in individual portions because they're quicker to defrost and you never know how many people will be eating at a time
• I don't agree with this but some people say to make and freeze desserts like brownies and cookies to serve to people who stop by to meet the baby. I personally think they should be bringing YOU something but whatever.
• If you need things frozen for longer than 3 months, make sure you follow the proper freezing procedure (usually double wrapping things) to make them last longer without freezer burn.
• People recommend cooking up their meat and seasoning it then freezing it so you can use it with lots of different things (taco meat, sloppy joes, etc)
• Chop vegetables ahead of time if you won't be cooking them ahead of time. This will save you lots of prep work later.
• Most things taste better if you are able to freeze them before heating them and then just throw it in the oven when it is time to eat it. However, sometimes this isn't possible (especially if you don't have a nice, big chest freezer like we do).