Stocking The Freezer

[SGWhiskers]

OK, I'll start with I'm bored! I just moved to a new state and have not started work yet. I need a purpose. I realize it is way early to worry about what to put in the freezer for after the baby is born, but I'm bored with a capital B.

This is my first baby, so I don't know what they do or don't like the taste of in breast milk. I've heard spicy foods can be a problem, but I don't know if that is an old wives tale or true. I'm gluten-free/CF/EF and don't eat MSG. Too many tomato products might be a trigger too.

I would like to have at least a 3 week supply of food in the freezer for my hospital stay and post partum. I'm not sure if my family will be coming out to stay for days or weeks, but if my husband cooks, I'll wind up eating spagetti every night. If my mom cooks, I'll be in a tizzy worried about CC. She is learning, but has only made me one full meal and it was pretty stressful on both of us. When the inlaws are here, I will be guarding my food like a hawk. They are thoughtful, but accidental cross contaminators.

So, what freezes well gluten-free/CF/EF? Soy agrees with me, but I have not found a decent cheese replacement.

I have a spare freezer and did I mention I'm bored?

I'm only trying to freeze for 2-3 people at a time. If there are more than that in the house, then they can fend for themselves with gluten free ingredients and cross contaminate the food all they like. I'll eat from my freezer stash.

We won't start decorating until the next ultrasound in 6 weeks.

[JeepWidow]

Congrats!

I personally love to freeze soups. In particular I love to freeze Chili, Bean Soups and Creamy Chicken Noodle and Chicken and Rice. I'm also obsessed with Shredded Chicken, so I will boil several breasts and sit around and hand shred them whenever I have time to kill. I'll store the shreeded chicken in quart size bags and find it really easy defrost and throw into a quick meal at a moments notice. I've thrown some into a can of soup,quesadillas, used it for tacos, or with rice and beans, for an instant protein add to make something quick and easy taste like a real meal.

[GlutenFreeManna]

What does EF stand for?

[sa1937]

OK, I'll start with I'm bored! I just moved to a new state and have not started work yet. I need a purpose. I realize it is way early to worry about what to put in the freezer for after the baby is born, but I'm bored with a capital B.

This is my first baby, so I don't know what they do or don't like the taste of in breast milk. I've heard spicy foods can be a problem, but I don't know if that is an old wives tale or true. I'm gluten-free/CF/EF and don't eat MSG. Too many tomato products might be a trigger too.

I would like to have at least a 3 week supply of food in the freezer for my hospital stay and post partum. I'm not sure if my family will be coming out to stay for days or weeks, but if my husband cooks, I'll wind up eating spagetti every night. If my mom cooks, I'll be in a tizzy worried about CC. She is learning, but has only made me one full meal and it was pretty stressful on both of us. When the inlaws are here, I will be guarding my food like a hawk. They are thoughtful, but accidental cross contaminators.

So, what freezes well gluten-free/CF/EF? Soy agrees with me, but I have not found a decent cheese replacement.

I have a spare freezer and did I mention I'm bored?

I'm only trying to freeze for 2-3 people at a time. If there are more than that in the house, then they can fend for themselves with gluten free ingredients and cross contaminate the food all they like. I'll eat from my freezer stash.

We won't start decorating until the next ultrasound in 6 weeks.

Have you checked this thread? http://www.celiac.co...39&#entry637939

I'm sure some of those things could be frozen...or even partial meals could be frozen and then added to at mealtime. Soups (depending on the type) freeze well...like chicken-rice or veggie. Or if you have some favorite meals, make double or triple portions...

[sa1937]

What does EF stand for?

egg free ???

[GlutenFreeManna]

egg free ???

Oh, that's probably it! I'm having a little brain fog today and couldn't think of any foods that started with E.

[GlutenFreeManna]

Okay, here are my ideas:

Rissotto

Mini meatloaves

meatballs

Chili

Chicken fajitas

Mashed potatoes

Homefries

french fries

Burger patties

barbecue chicken

Pizza-- I recently discovered Chebe mixes and it says you can premake the crust and freeze, you can just make it without cheese if you don't have any cheese substitute. It kinda ends up more like bruschetta that way, but it's still yummy with a bunch of veggies or meats of you choice. You can also do a pesto sauce if you are avoiding tomatoes.

Enchiladas--also good without cheese, and since many canned enchilada sauces are not gluten free you can make your own and control how spicy it is (I always make mild for myself and spicy for my H).

Okay and here's a website for some recipes and inspiration: Open Original Shared Link Scroll over "assembly line recipes" and click on a category. The recipes are not all gluten free but many could be made that way with some substitutions and I like the way it is organized so you can do a bunch of items in one day of cooking.

[tarnalberry]

I did not find that my chicken rice soup froze well at all. Maybe if I had used whole grain rice rather than white? Maybe if I didn't cook it all the way? Eh... it was runny and mushy. Bleck. (I'm throwing out about 8 quarts of it because it's just not worth eating.)

The chili I made worked out great! Taste wise, anyway. Turns out she has reflux and I'm avoiding (amongst other things) tomatoes and onions.

There is no good advice for what will or won't be tolerated in breastmilk. In theory, there isn't anything that is actually a universal problem - the "spicy food" thing is mostly a myth. But every baby varies. Milk is a common culprit in reflux and gassiness in a baby, but you're already dairy free, so that doesn't matter. (Wheat is another one, but, again, doesn't matter.) After that, cruciferous vegetables are usually next suggested on the list of things to try avoiding if there is a problem (they tend to cause gas) and the same with soy. Caffeine (tea, chocolate), onions, and tomatoes (and other nightshades) are all on the list of things to walk down as well. And, of course, some babies are oddballs and have problems with their own special food. And plenty of babies have no problems with mom eating anything. Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing until the little one starts eating!

Really, I'd think about the really easy stuff you can do for after - I half live on microwaved frozen veggie mix - either plain, or thrown in a pot with rice for soup, or mixed with diced potatoes and ground beef for ... well, a mashup of stuff. The frozen foods are a great idea, but being prepared for when they run out or don't work is important!

[SGWhiskers]

Congrats!

I personally love to freeze soups. In particular I love to freeze Chili, Bean Soups and Creamy Chicken Noodle and Chicken and Rice. I'm also obsessed with Shredded Chicken, so I will boil several breasts and sit around and hand shred them whenever I have time to kill. I'll store the shreeded chicken in quart size bags and find it really easy defrost and throw into a quick meal at a moments notice. I've thrown some into a can of soup,quesadillas, used it for tacos, or with rice and beans, for an instant protein add to make something quick and easy taste like a real meal.

What kind of noodles do you put in your creamy chicken noodle. The only time I tried to freeze gluten-free noodles in a soup, it thawed like mush.

I hope baby does not have a problem with soy. I LIVE off it. That is my one serious comfort food.

The assembly line recipies are an interesting idea. I really like that for everyday cooking too. The meat recipies seem most practical in my life. I have plenty of easy meals I can throw together in 20 minutes, but I'm thinking that it would be nice to have prepared meals at least once a day tto take the stress off. Isn't that why relatives always bring over cassaroles for new mothers? I'm just going to cook my own.

So, I can cook chili and it won't necessarily bug baby? I figured that one was out for sure.

Thanks for the ideas.

[tarnalberry]

So, I can cook chili and it won't necessarily bug baby? I figured that one was out for sure.

Nothing is out for sure!

If I knew then what I know now, I would have made a smaller quantity (2 or 3 meals worth) of a larger variety of simple things (6 or 7 different things, limited overlapping ingredients), rather than a lot of a couple of favorites.

Have plenty of very easy to eat things - like nuts and dried fruit and "bars". 'Cause you don't really want to drop hot food on the nursing baby.

Also, in those first few weeks, really, there's not a whole heck of a lot people can do for you other than cook and hold the baby while you sleep. (Learn to sleep when the baby sleeps. So true. I should be sleeping now, but I tried, and it's hard for me to get to sleep at noon!) Have things (recipes/ingredients) that people can make for you when they are over to help. (Or you might find that they are "helping" in ways you don't really want.)

Which reminds me - freeze muffins. A whole bunch of muffins. Preferably mini-muffin size, but whatever. (Ditto for pancakes/waffles/whathaveyou.) They can be reheated in the microwave in a jiffy, can be eaten while nursing, and can be ready and available in the middle of the night easy peasy. That, and have a bunch of water bottles all over the place so that you always have something (that won't easily spill) available to drink. (And get the hubby used to you saying "please refill my water bottle". )

[sa1937]

I did not find that my chicken rice soup froze well at all. Maybe if I had used whole grain rice rather than white? Maybe if I didn't cook it all the way? Eh... it was runny and mushy. Bleck. (I'm throwing out about 8 quarts of it because it's just not worth eating.)

The chili I made worked out great! Taste wise, anyway. Turns out she has reflux and I'm avoiding (amongst other things) tomatoes and onions.

I think I used leftover white rice (Uncle Ben's) that I had cooked in my rice cooker and haven't had a problem with it being mushy...maybe because it's long grain rice and it didn't cook for very long in the soup. In fact I just pulled a serving out of the freezer for tonight to go with the loaf of bread I have in the oven.

I usually have a stash of chili in the freezer, too, and it freezes very well.

[JeepWidow]

What kind of noodles do you put in your creamy chicken noodle. The only time I tried to freeze gluten-free noodles in a soup, it thawed like mush.

I'm doing some more expermenting this weekend and will let you know. In the past with non-gluten-free noodles (only gluten-free since may) I have really liked that the noodles turn kinda mushy and like dumplings, with the creammy base it tastes pretty good (I wouldn't recommend it for traditional soup, probably go with rice)

[TrillumHunter]

Muffins are a great idea--spread with peanut butter and you can have a pretty filling and nutritious snack. You've gotten lots of good ideas for freezing, but may I recommend a crockpot? Toss it in and it cooks itself. There is even a book and blog about crockpot cooking that is gluten free.

One other thing--I was starving when I nursed. At 2:30 I felt like I would pass out if I didn't have something to eat. I ate many jars of peanut butter between 12 and 6 am. Oh, and I couldn't drink milk with my third child.

Prayers for health and happiness!