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Suggestions for bringing meals to new parents?


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Just about any main dish was welcome when we had our babies last year. The items my older kids liked the best were the sides—things like french bread, fruit, something dessert-y, etc. With the current season, fresh fruits, veggies, and things like salad would be great.

 

I agree with what previous posters said—something that can be eaten easily while nursing or holding a baby and avoiding things that would disagree with nursing babies. For me, that would be anything with beans and/or cabbage.

 

Erica in OR

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When I had my 2nd baby a friend of mine went to the store and bought all the ingedients for a few simple recipes. She then wrote down the recipes and delivered everything to me.

 

She told me she was sorry she didn't have time to fix the food (she had 2 littles also, one a little baby) but wanted to help. It was great. I had simple meals and a couple new recipes.

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Breakfast casserole! You know the one with tater tots or hashbrowns, topped with cooked sausage and cheese then a scrambled egg mixture over all and bake? Everyone brings dinner .. but breakfats can be tough too! And a lot of times there are leftovers that need to get eaten from all the dinners that are brought.

 

My friend just had number 7 and I took a big breakfast casserole and a big tub of cut up fruit.. it went over very well.

 

My kids favorite thing about dinners was that we had dessert every night=D And there favorite of those desserts was a brownie trifle. Boxed brownies, sliced strawberries and whipped cream. yum.

 

I love the idea of new recipes and the ingredients too. Especially if they crockpot..

Edited by tomandlorih
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I always ask about food intolerances and aversions before taking a meal. Meals I've recently taken:

 

bacon & spinach quiche, fresh fruit and brownies

spinach and chicken pasta with salad and bread & dessert

Tuscan pasta with basil tomato sauce with salad & bread & dessert

chicken pot pie with fruit salad & dessert

white chicken chili with corn muffins, salad & dessert

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Some of our favorites to receive are lasagna, tater tot casserole, baked mac & cheese, and pretty much any noodle or tortilla casserole.

 

Stay away from broccoli or cabbage or beans, as others have mentioned, for nursing moms.

 

A pasta salad with poached chicken and lots of fresh veggies would be an easy large-scale dinner to make. I do one with Italian dressing and cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers.

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#1 tip: Use this website to coordinate meals http://www.takethemameal.com/ifaq.php

 

You can pick every day, or just a few days/week... And put the family's preferences/allergy info there- plus you can see what other people are bringing so they don't end up with 9 ham dinners.

 

#2 tip: use disposeable foil pans and zip-lock bags so the mom doesn't have to deal with washing/storing/returning.

 

Salads- the giant $4 box of triple-washed lettuce from Sam's club, slice some carrots & cucumbers, add a bottle of dressing. Add some baked or grilled chicken (boneless/cut-up) for a 1-dish meal.

 

Breakfast casserole & OJ, with biscuits

 

BBQ chicken (pour BBq sauce over chicken pieces/breast/whatever and bake.) Brown rice, green beans.

 

Think of things that are easy to serve- if you send a turkey, pre-slice it and get rid of the bones so all she has to do is heat & eat.

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But remember that some food (like onions and garlic) don't always agree with nursing babies when Mama eats them. Just keep that in consideration when choosing foods.

 

This rules out EVERYTHING I make :-)

 

I like to make penne pasta mixed with sauce, browned Italian sausage, peppers, onions, and red sauce. I cook everything (under cook the pasta and veggies), toss it together in a casserole dish, top with mozzarella, and send it with baking or freezing instructions. If you use hot Italian sausage, you barely need to season the dish and the rest of the ingredients completely diffuse the heat.

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Thanks for the suggestions. Now that I have been able to think about it a while, I usually make:

 

Shredded chicken with buns, bbq sauce on the side. salad

 

Sloppy Joes, potato salad, fruit

 

Chili Mac with fresh bread

 

Chicken Tortilla soup and cornbread

 

Lasagna, salad and fresh bread... but I stopped doing that when I got 3 lasagnas in a row. I was very thankful for the meals, but they were all huge lasagnas and I ended up freezing the 3rd and eating sandwiches that night.

 

Chili, cornbread, salad

 

A ham with macaroni and cheese & rolls

 

..............

I do always ask if the nursing mom has any problems with foods while nursing. Surprisingly most do not, including myself.

 

Oh, and I always bring a baked good of some kind. Brownies, cookies, etc

 

Maybe a bag of chocolate for mom.

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Pasta dishes tend to go over well, are cheap to make, and freeze very well. Pair with bagged salad, bread and maybe some fruit and you have a pretty good meal.

 

Shredded chicken, pork or beef that can have sauces added, such as bbq sauce with buns, chips or fries on the side and corn on the cob is also easy and can be made on a large scale in a crock pot.

 

I like crustless quiche bites also. We make a normal type quiche recipe but make it in mini muffin tins or cupcake tins. They freeze well also.

 

Individual meat loafs are fun also. Make normal meatloaf but cook it in a mini muffin tin. Each person gets their own "loaf". Pair with mashed potatos, and a veggie.

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When I had my second baby, one friend brought a delicious spinach lasagna that was already divided into individual portions, in freezer-and-microwave-safe disposable containers. It. Was. FABULOUS. Each one held enough for one ravenous nursing mother or two normal people, and it was super easy to store, heat, and eat them while my husband was at work.

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When I had my second baby, one friend brought a delicious spinach lasagna that was already divided into individual portions, in freezer-and-microwave-safe disposable containers. It. Was. FABULOUS. Each one held enough for one ravenous nursing mother or two normal people, and it was super easy to store, heat, and eat them while my husband was at work.

 

Now that is a great friend. When the twins were new it really was hard to find time just to portion the thing up!! I'm doing that next time I deliver a meal, I think!

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Simple meals that will not interfere with nursing are....

 

pot roast, potatoes, carrots, simple salad, and rolls or

 

ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans or

 

roasted chicken, wild rice, salad

 

center cut pork roast, roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, greens

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