Welcome to my {31 Days} series this year! We will soon be welcoming baby # 3 and I realized that there is a lot I need to do before that happens! You can find all the posts in this series here. Thank you for following along with me.
Food, it is a huge focus for me. Perhaps it is because I like to cook, or
maybe because I like to eat! But, I am
constantly looking for new recipes, and attempting to make healthy meals at
home.
Food also is one of my biggest concerns after the new baby
arrives.
arrives.
Over the past several years I have moved away from processed
foods, and cook just about everything from scratch. Any mama that has a baby knows how daunting
those first few weeks (months?) with a newborn are. I know that having time to meal plan and
grocery shop are not going to be things I will be able to do, or will want to
do. Also, making sure that I have bread
made for the day is probably not going to be high on my priority list.
foods, and cook just about everything from scratch. Any mama that has a baby knows how daunting
those first few weeks (months?) with a newborn are. I know that having time to meal plan and
grocery shop are not going to be things I will be able to do, or will want to
do. Also, making sure that I have bread
made for the day is probably not going to be high on my priority list.
What is a budget conscious mama to do? My plan is to make a lot of freezer meals.
I have seen so many wonderful posts on other blogs about
crock pot freezer meals; bulk cooking and then freezing the extra. These sound like wonderful ideas. The problem that I am running into is
space. Our freezer is pretty packed
right now with frozen fruit and veggies from all of my preserving efforts this
summer. This doesn’t leave a lot of
space for actual meals.
crock pot freezer meals; bulk cooking and then freezing the extra. These sound like wonderful ideas. The problem that I am running into is
space. Our freezer is pretty packed
right now with frozen fruit and veggies from all of my preserving efforts this
summer. This doesn’t leave a lot of
space for actual meals.
I typically make a lot of soups in the fall and winter, and
we have already had some chilly days, so soup is back on the menu. What is my normal way of freezing extra
soup? Glass Ball jars of course! And that is not going to cut it. I will be moving towards freezing in freezer
bags, and hoping that I can find enough space to lay it flat to freeze, and
then stack them in a more organized fashion.
we have already had some chilly days, so soup is back on the menu. What is my normal way of freezing extra
soup? Glass Ball jars of course! And that is not going to cut it. I will be moving towards freezing in freezer
bags, and hoping that I can find enough space to lay it flat to freeze, and
then stack them in a more organized fashion.
Soup, however, will not be enough to sustain my growing
brood (especially my perpetually hungry husband). I am going to make sure to have a lot of “pot
pie” filling ready, and also hope to make some of those crock pot freezer meals
that I have seen.
brood (especially my perpetually hungry husband). I am going to make sure to have a lot of “pot
pie” filling ready, and also hope to make some of those crock pot freezer meals
that I have seen.
I have decided to take a step back from everything
homemade. While I would love to continue
everything homemade as far as food goes, I am realizing that I will have to
give myself some grace in this area.
It
is hard when you have made so many changes to your diet to realize you may need
to fall back on some foods that you would not typically eat. Hopefully,
knowing all I know about food now, I can make the healthy choices that will
actually help us continue to eat healthy.
homemade. While I would love to continue
everything homemade as far as food goes, I am realizing that I will have to
give myself some grace in this area.
It
is hard when you have made so many changes to your diet to realize you may need
to fall back on some foods that you would not typically eat. Hopefully,
knowing all I know about food now, I can make the healthy choices that will
actually help us continue to eat healthy.
I’m glad that I have so many bags of frozen fruit and vegetables,
but I am seriously re-thinking our time frame for getting a chest freezer!
but I am seriously re-thinking our time frame for getting a chest freezer!
How did you handle a
small freezer when you were expecting a new little one? Do you have any great freezer meal recipes
you would like to share?
small freezer when you were expecting a new little one? Do you have any great freezer meal recipes
you would like to share?
Jennifer McLarty says
October 19, 2014 at 3:33 amI like the idea of having pot pie filling in the freezer! I will have to do that to prep for my baby #3 (due in February)! I also like the crockpot meal ideas … to have it in the freezer and just have to thaw and toss it in a crockpot. Sounds kind of heavenly when there's a new baby in the house! 🙂
Jessica @ Barefoot by the Sea says
October 3, 2014 at 9:00 amFreeze girl! Sounds like the best idea! Cut yourself some slack and have lots of easy things like peanut butter and bread on hand! Lasagna and pot pie also freeze well as you know. I think your advanced planning will help make things so much easier!