Preparing for Baby {Stocking My Freezer: Part 2}

By contributing writer, Nikki

A pregnancy update:

My final weeks before delivery are getting shorter and shorter. Though I am aware of every waking moment that this little boy is still in my belly, I am also aware that I can easily fill my days with “one more thing” to do before his arrival.

I am currently 37 weeks and a few days (3, but who’s counting? Oh, I am, that’s right). Let’s see how my original game plan is coming together. First of all, it was my original goal to be done with all of my “preparing for baby” stuff by 38 weeks. That way if he comes early (my 2nd was 2 weeks early) I am not left scrambling. No, it isn’t a huge deal to not have everything in “perfect shape” for baby’s arrival, but I am a planner and a stewer (that is: one who stews over everything she didn’t do once it is too late to do it. It is useless and drives my husband crazy, so it is just easier to do as much as I can so I can just “chill.”) But I digress. My point is, I am on track for completion by Monday (38 weeks). Highlights from my original plan and what I have done:

For my most important items to be done first list (newborn clothes washed, car seat washed and assembled, pack n’ play/co-sleeper out, nursing supplies, hospital bag) I am pretty much done. The only thing I don’t have done is my hospital bag. I am going to work on that today! It is just really easy to throw my stuff together and I know I can do that last minute. It isn’t like the movies. You do have a few minutes to get stuff together before you DASH out of the house 🙂

I spent so much time wrangling the laundry monster that I didn’t have much time for other things. But as a result, I know everything I want for my hospital bag will be clean and available. Also, I ordered a few things online and am waiting for them to get here (and get washed) so I can add them to the bag. So Ihave 4/5 done for my “most important list.” I am making my hospital bag list (will share that next week!) so even if my bag isn’t fully packed, it will be nice to not have to recall all that I want in there.

As for my “other tasks” that I would LIKE to have completed by 38 weeks, I think I did great with those (blogging has held me accountable…love that!): I looked at the list and can say that all items, 1-5 have been tackled! I killed two birds with one stone by making some of my freezer meals into smaller portions and saving them for Karli (even when the rest of us eat other stuff that isn’t dairy/egg free, she can eat something we know is safe for her). That saved me time in the kitchen!

Stocking My Freezer {From Plan to Action}

**See my original freezer cooking post for my plan. Below is how it was put into action.**

1. Take an inventory of my freezer. I used my cute inventory printable from Getting It Together. Knowing all that was in there was crucial to making a good plan of attack. My situation is different than many of you as I don’t buy my meat from the store. My husband is a hunter so all of our red meat is courtesy of him (Venison) and always in our freezer. So knowing I need to work with what I have rather than shop for it was easier!

 

2. Figure out how many meals are needed. I calculated that ideally I would like to have 8 weeks (yes, that is a lofty goal) of food planned out. My church has an amazing ministry where tons of meals are provided so I can thankfully rely on much help and assistance from some of the best cooks around! If I figure 56 meals total, and I assume that several nights are “throw together” since it always works out that way, I wanted to account for 50 meals. No, I did not freezer cook enough for 50 meals. Let’s just get that out there right now.

As I said, it was a lofty goal. I cooked a little each day until I was just swollen-ankled enough that I knew it was time to sit down. I tripled what I cooked for dinner and was able to save 2 meals (or so) each time I cooked. The result was about 10 meals and 8 breakfasts. I also have a few lunches for my husband and several allergy free meals for my daughter. Mix this with another 10 meals (I have no idea how many I will actually receive) from my church and I have the first crucial weeks covered. It is also grill season around these parts so my husband will grill (ideally) every other night so we don’t dip into all of the freezer meals right away. I have plenty of frozen veggies for sides and will make (in the next few days) rice and quinoa to freeze for the girls. My husband and I follow Trim Healthy Mama so we don’t eat those ourselves very often.

By the time you factor in his grilling (again, we have the red meat and the pork for this already in our freezer, he can pick what he wants to cook the day before and pull it out) we are comfortably up to 30 meals. That to me is more than enough for an easy postpartum meal plan!

3. Plan my meals. This section was funny to act out. Being really pregnant and choosing my time in the kitchen wisely, I found that I didn’t want to get in there and cook based on what I would want in a few weeks. Rather, as mentioned above, I cooked according to what I wanted that day and tripled it. It allowed me to provide for my family that day and make better use of my time. I will still write it all out for my husband and I to refer to over the next coming weeks, but as of right now, I put everything in one drawer of my freezer so we can pick what we want to eat. Yes, I am relaxing about it.

Now for the exciting part…what I made!

Bolognese recipe from Trim Healthy Mama’s cookbook (the recipe is the BOMB!). (S)

 

This Chicken Cacciatore recipe is our favorite and is from Stacy Makes Cents. (E)

 

Chili recipe from Trim Healthy Mama’s cookbook (E) or Leigh Ann’s chili recipe works well too.

 

 

Recipe for breakfast burritos, make one large egg filling (I sauteed 1/2 pepper, 1/2 onion in butter and then added 18 eggs for as many burritos. I also added ham.). Add to tortillas with cheese and roll! Wrap in paper towels and then tin foil to make reheating options easier (throw right in oven or remove foil and microwave in paper towel!). For you other THM’ers this is an S and I used plan approved tortillas so I can actually have two (they are little) for breakfast and still be in S territory.

 

 

 

Also, not pictured is taco meat. I made enough additional meat to cook 2 dinners and 1 lunch. I also have tons of fish (salmon, flounder and cod) and those are last minute meals that can be heated up. They are all filets and can be grilled or cooked inside in just a few minutes. So really I am covered for almost 2 months (meaning I will only have to shop for current items such as salad supplies and dairy items, but with the garden I may only need dairy!)

How do you feel about freezer cooking?

Check out our other great freezer cooking posts in our freezer cooking series: Freeze Your Way to Freedom.  

This post is part of my Preparing for Baby series. Check out the other posts!

My Game Plan
Stocking My Freezer: Part 1
Stocking My Freezer: Part 2
Grace for the Pregnant Mom Series

Note from Leigh Ann: If you’re looking for more posts from Intentional By Grace on pregnancy, check out my Grace for the Pregnant Mom series!

There are tons of posts to encourage you in your pregnancy like birth stories, scripture encouragement, vitamins I recommend, and more!

Making Babies is my favorite pregnancy resource. I use it all the time!

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