The Postpartum Meals I Made For Baby #4

I can’t believe our fourth baby is due any day now! I’ve approached postpartum meal planning a couple different ways over the years – sometimes, I’ve prepared tons of crockpot meals, and other times, I’ve done a combination of crockpot and oven meals.

This time around, I prepared both crockpot and oven meals, plus some fully cooked meal elements such as taco meat. I’ve found in the past that too many crockpot meals can all start to taste the same or have a similar texture – and we want to WANT to eat well postpartum! So, my solution was to try to make quite a variety of meals so everything feels fresh and different.

I wanted to share my list of postpartum meals this fourth time around in a blog post, in case it’s helpful to you as you look for meal ideas!

Freezer Meal Inventory for Baby #4

**Recipes are linked in the list below. If you’d like a printable PDF version or to see better formatting, click HERE!

Crockpot Ranch Shredded Chicken Tacos
I have this in 1 gallon size ziploc bag.
Crockpot meal
Needs: Soft tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa, guac, etc.
(Soft tortillas are also in freezer)

Chicken Pot Pies
6 small loaf pans
Oven meal
Fully cooked

Pork Strips
2 small bags
For stir fry or even spring rolls

Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
1 9×13 pan
Oven meal
Fully cooked

Creamy White Chicken Chili
Stored in “Souper Cubes” in freezer
Fully cooked (I just prepared the soup according to the recipe but I’ll be adding the cream cheese and half & half later.
Probably needs stovetop reheating, possibly crockpot
Needs: 4 oz. cream cheese and ¼ cup half & half day of, plus shredded cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, etc.

Crockpot Zuppa Toscana Soup with Sweet Potatoes          
1 bag
Crockpot meal
Needs: French bread, side salad

Crockpot Chicken Sausage & Peppers (#27 on THIS LIST)            
1 bag
Crockpot OR oven meal
Fully cooked
Needs: rice

Sloppy Joes            
1 bag
Stovetop reheat meal
Fully cooked
Needs: Sandwich buns, side salad or veggies, fries
(Buns are also in freezer)

These are SO easy and so good! A great way to get some extra protein/iron after having a baby, too. I browned 2 lbs. ground beef in a skillet along with 1/2 to 1 diced onion. (Onion optional. You can also add finely diced celery.) Then I just like to add equal parts ketchup and BBQ sauce (I love Sweet Baby Ray’s), and continue to simmer it for a bit. I start with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of each condiment and add more of one or the other to taste if need be. I also add 1-2 cans of Ranch Style beans (similar to chili beans). Then you’re ready to serve it on buns (or to cool off and store in the freezer)! If we have green onions on hand, those are always great to slice and serve inside the sloppy joes. I also froze a whole package of whole wheat hamburger buns.

Taco Meat
1 bag (2 lbs.)
Fully cooked
Stovetop reheat meal
Needs: Soft tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa, guac, etc.
(Soft tortillas are also in freezer)

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole                      
1 9×13 pan
Oven meal
Fully cooked

Sausage Breakfast Casserole
1 9×13 pan
Reheat in oven or portions in microwave
Fully cooked

Energy Balls            
3-4 quart size bags

Morning Glory Muffins                  
1-2 bags

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins (in this cookbook)                  
2-3 bags

Healthy Instant Oatmeal Packets
52 individual packs (I made apple cinnamon and cranberry almond – yum!)

Smoothie Packs                
14 individual smoothie size bags
Includes juice and yogurt
Can add additional juice, milk, or water

There you are! Hope this was helpful for you! Happy meal prepping!