Before Baby Food Plan

If you know me, you know I am a big spreadsheet person! Seriously, in conversation I have been known to say, “I have a spreadsheet for that!” One of my most shared google sheets is my “Before Baby Food Plan” and I wanted to share everything on it here today! In a perfect world we would have loved to have family nearby that could stock up our freezer and bring us food constantly but we didn’t have that (especially with baby #1! Baby #2 it was all about the #mealtrain) so I wanted to be extra prepared. This is also a good freezer meal planning list for meal prep and for recipes to make for friends who just had a baby in case they want to save what you make for them for later.

The first thing I did was order a deep freezer for the garage! I figured this would be nice to have anyways and could also be used to store breastmilk. Here is the one we got from Amazon: Chest Freezer, 7.2 Cubic Feet and here is a similar one: 7.0 cu. ft. Chest Freezer, White.

Next I ordered a bunch of these Medium Freezer Safe Food Containers and Large Freezer Safe Food Containers. I put meatballs, sauce, muffins, granola, etc in these.

Tip- Make sure you label everything with what it is, the directions on how to cook/reheat it, and the date! Everything lasts at least 6 months.

This list is crazy but totally doable and I really did make all of this in the month before I had Reece!! (In California you’re allowed to take the month before your due date off as part of your maternity leave and I used my time wisely!). Everything listed here tasted really good too!! Note- I only made granola, granola bars, meatballs, and sauce before Parker is born because this is much harder to do if you have a toddler.

Breakfast/Snacks:

Craig’s Waffles- I made a triple recipe- make with belgian waffle maker so they fit in the toaster later

Almond Date Breakfast Bars from the first Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (one of my faves!)- good for breastfeeding with oats/healthy fats- I still make these for all my friends that have babies! I individually wrap them in foil and put them all in a freezer bag to make them easy for grab and go snacks.

Smitten Kitchen Granola- double batch

Pioneer Woman Mom’s Muffins- I made a double recipe- good for breastfeeding with oats/healthy fats

Coconut Banana Bread- I cut this in half so that we would have 2 before wrapping it really good in foil

Pumpkin Bread- I also cut this in half before freezing

Overnight Oatmeal- I put in bags and wrote directions on bag for the wet ingredients to add so it can be put in crockpot night before

Lunch/Dinner:

Classic Beef Meatballs (double batch) , Tomato Sauce (note- I use San Marzano crushed tomatoes and I quadruple the recipe), and Chicken Meatballs (double batch) from The Meatball Shop Cookbook (another one of my faves!)

Old-School Baked Ziti- double batch- I used whole wheat pasta and ground turkey to make it healthier (make sure to top it with the ricotta and basil- SO GOOD- also I use regular pasta and ground sausage when I make it for friends!). I sometimes put this into different size containers for the freezer (not just 9x13 size- get them at the dollar store!).

World’s Best Lasagna- this is very time consuming but you will be so happy when you get to eat this and have a few glasses of wine!

Ina’s Tomato Soup- linked the recipe from this site that I used because she gives all the freezer tips to store it!

Chili- I only do the chili part and freeze it flat in ziplock bags so that you can stack them

Our favorite Enchiladas

Crockpot Meatloaf: I made 3 of these because they were so easy to put together

5 Crockpot Chicken Recipes- these aren’t the most gourmet recipes but super easy and great to have on hand

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