Living Like the Kings

Easy freezer meals – preparing for a new baby

In preparing for baby T’s arrival, I’ve been putting together some super easy freezer meals (I’m so not a big fan of spending forever on a meal that I can’t enjoy right away). I thought I’d share these with you guys – they’re great for any occasion, really.

1. Pioneer woman’s meatballs – we cook them just a little on each side, then freeze them in bulk.

2. Lasagna or lasagna stuffed shells. I usually make one for dinner and either freeze half or make double. I figure if I’m putting the effort into making them, might as well double the ingredients.

3. Pumpkin (or really any kind) muffins. I keep a week’s worth on the counter and freeze the rest. These pumpkin ones take absolutely NO time and practically no ingredients.

4. Italian chicken roll ups. Another one that I usually double and make some for dinner, then freeze the others.

5. Crockpot chicken enchiladas. What’s easier than something you can make in a slow cooker?

6. Turkey pot pie. It’s even better if you make these in mini pie crusts for smaller portions.

7. Easy turkey meatloaf. Or any meatloaf recipe you’re fond of, really.

8. Slow cooker healthy turkey chili. Usually I make chili on the stove top, but this chili is great to make in bulk, then freeze whatever you don’t end up eating.

9. Slow cooker chicken broccoli Alfredo. Plus this website has a TON of other freezer meal ideas.

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Body after baby: 1 week

Since I spent 9+ months journaling the weight gain and the body changes during my pregnancy with Taylor, I decided to brave it and journal the body after baby. I’m not sure how long I’ll go (probably a year or until I am back to pre-baby body, whichever comes first), but it’ll be interesting to keep track of the changes.

Here goes.

The starting weight is going to be my weight gain during the pregnancy. The goal weight is my weight pre-pregnancy. To prevent any judgement of whether or not I am overweight, underweight, etc I’m just going to use the lbs gained/lost rather than the actual weight. I think things are just simpler that way. I’ll also track exercise, any particular diet items, and other things like the fact that I’m breastfeeding, which, for me, has led to weight loss. If there is anything else that you want to see or for me to mention, leave it in the comments.

1 week post partum.

Starting weight (40 weeks pregnant): +35 lbs

Current weight: +19 lbs (16 lbs down! But to be fair, the baby was almost 8 lbs)

Exercise: none. I am still healing after Tay’s birth and it’s been hard to do much more than lift the baby or walk across the house. I have tried to take short, slow walks through WalMart or the grocery store at least once a day. I think small steps toward a good exercise routine will help me get back to my feet quicker.

Diet: none. I am doing my best to remember to eat at all. I am keeping an eye out on the nutrition and making sure that I get plenty of fruits and veggies and making overall healthier choices.

Breastfeeding: I am feeding on demand right now so I can’t really guess how many ounces. She eats on average of 8-12 times a day, for about 20 minutes at a time so I’m guessing that that’s a ton of calories going out already.

I also took some pictures at 4 days post partum for comparison (I wish I had taken the photos in the hospital – I literally looked 8 months pregnant).