I wanted to make it as easy as possible for him to feed the big kids after the baby was born, so I made up a list of meal ideas, along with snacks, and stocked up before the baby was born & on Day 2 of my labor, when we went walking at Costco and the grocery store to try to get things moving better.
I was so very tired at the end of my pregnancy, the idea of cooking was overwhelming. We ate a lot of Corn Chex (gluten AND rice free) and Chipotle. When I would feel badly about it, I, and DH, would remind me that it's not the way we normally do things, and we were still not on the SAD (Standard American Diet). What I now consider not as good food, is still not the worst food we could be eating. I tell you this so you know I'm definitely not perfect. I have my moments. But if we can choose better than SAD foods for our less than ideal times, when we need a little convenience, we'll be better off overall. And then, when things are settle down, get back to the way I want and should be eating.
I also stocked up on paper plates, bowls, plastic forks & spoons. I don't normally use them, but when it comes down to whether I'd like DH to do dishes or feed us, I choose feed us. We have no dishwasher except us, so it's not that we can even just pop dishes in the dishwasher. I refuse to feel badly about this. There are times in life when we need to do some things differently than normal. I'm thankful I have the option!
Here's the list I typed up, printed and taped to our fridge. I inlcuded the kids' allergy/intolerances, so if I needed to give it to DH's or my moms, they'd have an easy reference.
E1 & E2 Allergies: Gluten, Soy, Oats
E3 Allergies: Gluten, Soy, Rice, Blueberries, Bananas
E3 Allergies: Gluten, Soy, Rice, Blueberries, Bananas
Breakfast
Hot Cereal/Grits w/maple syrup
Quinoa - hot with maple syrup & pecans
Smoothies - Almond milk, Almond butter, chia seeds, etc.Pumpkin Smoothie
Muffins (gluten free, premade and frozen)
Eggs (not for E2), scrambled eggs with beef and Hunt's ketchup (me)
Cereal (Corn Chex)
Pancakes (mixes in basement)
Egg Muffins (diced ham, eggs, spinach, etc.)
Lunch
hotdogs w/frozen strawberries/blueberries & peas (3-4 frozen strawberries per kid; ¼ c blueberries per kid; ½-3/4 c peas per kid)
Cooked Trader Joe's Rice Pasta w/frozen strawberries/blueberries & peas (3-4 frozen strawberries per kid; ¼ c blueberries per kid; ½-3/4 c peas per kid) Corn Pasta for E3
Almond Butter & Honey in a bowl w/apples & carrots & peas (1 piece bread, open face; split 2 apples between 3 kids; ¾ c peas for each kid; 2 carrots per kid)
Almond Butter & Honey Sandwiches w/apples & carrots & peas
Dinner
Crockpot Chicken w/Carrots
Maple Chicken (will post recipe soon)
Roasted Chicken with Green beans (no pepper on 2 pieces with bones for E2)
Chili (kidney & black beans, rinsed, 1 can each, giant can of diced tomatoes, 1 lb ground beef, browned)
Chicken Soup
Pasta w/green beans (make ¼ c E3's corn pasta separate in separate water or first)
Hamburgers w/fried eggs, avocado, frozen strawberries & Green beans (2 hamburgers per person, 3-4 strawberries per child, ¼-½ c green beans) This will require 2 lbs of meat.
Frozen Crockpot Meal
Stir Fry (meat & stir fry mix)
Eggs & Pancakes (mix in baggies downstairs) (2 eggs & 4 pancakes per child, except E2 won’t want eggs, probably)
Orange Beef Stirfry
Sloppy Joes
Snacks
Muffins (only 1 per child/snack time)
Fruit Strips (only 1 per child/snack time) (Archer Farms from Target)
Apples (2 cut up and distributed, Eveline doesn’t need as many as big kids)
Carrots and Almond butter (at table! only a little almond butter for E1, he doesn’t like it as much)
Popcorn
