Postpartum (or anytime!) Freezer-Ready Snacks & Meals

I am so grateful that I was able to stop working a full month before my due date.  This gave me the perfect amount of time to relax, meditate, prep for our baby's arrival, and even get an art project completed for the nursery.

I spent a full week cooking snacks and meals for the freezer and stocked it just about as full as I could!  Two and a half months later and we still have several items left to eat.  Below is a list of the things that I cooked with notes about which were actually useful in the immediate weeks after coming home from the hospital.

Full freezer, ready to go!

Nursery Art Project

Postpartum Meal & Snack Plan:

• Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon
• This is still in the freezer, but not because it isn't delicious!  Dan and I were able to cook more than I expected afterwards so we just haven't gotten to this yet.  I also froze some sweet potatoes to serve this with.
• Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
• One of my favorite meals ever, but not right after giving birth!  The buffalo sauce was too much for my stomach to handle for the first few weeks.
• Lentil & Quinoa Enchilada Bake
• Delicious, but again, not a good option for right after birth.  This one has still not been eaten because I cut out dairy after the first few weeks after giving birth and recently had to try giving up egg and soy (in addition to my usual gluten free).  I am currently trying to figure out what proteins are bothering the little one's digestive system!
• Cheesy Rice Taco Bake
• Delicious, but I should have made a more bland sauce for after birth.  This contained green chili and was a bit too spicy for me.
• Breakfast Burritos
• These were great, I just wish I had found larger gluten free tortillas for mine!  Also, since giving up dairy and soy I unfortunately haven't been able to finish the large batch I made.
• Chicken Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Cups
• These were amazing right after coming home from the hospital.  Things you can eat with one hand are the best and a few of these for breakfast provided lots of protein to start the day.
• Nut & Seed Banana Oat Bars
• I ended up having to make a second batch of these pretty quick because they got eaten so fast!  Like the egg cups, these were great as a snack you could eat with one hand and included lots of good nutrients.
• **These are delicious straight out of the freezer - no need to thaw!

• Larabar Bites
• I also ended up making several batches of these.  They were delicious as a quick snack or a healthy replacement for dessert.  For flavors, I made chocolate fudge brownie, chocolate mint, pumpkin pie, lemon pie, and oatmeal raisin.  My favorites were oatmeal raisin and pumpkin pie!
• **These are delicious straight out of the freezer - no need to thaw!

Below are your recipes for a few of my favorites.  If you want recipes for any of the others, please leave a comment and I'll get that to you as well.

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Chicken Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Cups

Yield: 12 egg cups
Gluten free, soy free, can be Paleo, Whole30, and dairy free without the cheese

Ingredients

• 1 package pre-cooked chicken sausage
• 12 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Salt & Pepper, optional
• Coconut oil, to grease muffin tin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease one muffin tin.
3. Cut chicken sausage into bit size pieces (I sliced into rounds then cut each round in half).
4. Divide the chicken sausage pieces evenly amongst the twelve cups on your muffin tin.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.  Add a little salt and pepper, if desired (the sausages add lots of flavor on their own).
6. Divide the egg mixture evenly over the chicken sausages in your muffin tin.
7. Sprinkle each cup with cheese.
8. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until egg is cooked through.
9. Allow egg cups to fully cool before freezing.

*To freeze: Wrap individually in wax paper, then aluminum foil (double layered = freezes better!) and place in freezer-safe container/bag.

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Nut & Seed Banana Oat Bars

Yield: 6 bars
Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, vegan

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cherries, pitted dates, or raisins (chop first if using cherries or dates)
• 3 small ripe bananas 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Coconut oil, for greasing pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-9-inch square pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, seeds, nuts and dried fruit. 
4. Place the bananas, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
5. Pour the banana puree into the oat mixture and stir until all ingredients are well mixed.
6. Evenly spread mixture into your pre-greased pan.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
8. Let cool completely and cut into 6 bars.

*To freeze: Wrap individually in wax paper, then aluminum foil (double layered = freezes better!) and place in a freezer-safe container/bag.

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Pumpkin Pie Larabar Bites

Yield: ~12 bites
Gluten free, Paleo, egg free, dairy free, soy free, vegan

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates (about 10), pitted & quartered
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch salt

Directions

1. In a food processor, combine the dates and nuts.
2. Process the nuts and dates until a thick and relatively smooth mixture forms. 
3. Add the remaining ingredients and slowly pulse a few times until everything is evenly mixed.
4. Using a cookie scoop (or ~1 Tablespoon), scoop the mixture into balls and individually place in mini muffin cups (the paper disposable kind).
5. Place the muffin cups in a freezer-safe container and store in freezer.

-Brought to you from Erin's Kitchen