What meal do you take to a family with a new baby?

[HelenJ]

I came home from a c-section and there was two weeks worth of casseroles/pasta/chicken pesto shoved into my freezer (from my brother and my aunt)

I like to make a broccoli/rice/cheese casserole and sometimes quiches for babymoon mamas/bedrest mamas. And oatmeal cookies

Okay I see this is a really old thread, oops

[katiekind]

The more the merrier! I'm glad you tossed in your ideas!

I came home from a c-section and there was two weeks worth of casseroles/pasta/chicken pesto shoved into my freezer

Wow, that was nice! Congratulations on your baby!

[expatmom]

Originally Posted by HelenJ

And oatmeal cookies

I have an oatmeal cookie recipe that I 8x when i make it, then roll it into logs & freeze. I've realized that taking one of my frozen oatmeal logs is a great b.g. (bonus gift) for new baby meal. It allows the mom to slice & bake them whenever needed, for a quick treat or snack, especially if they are having frequent drop in visitors. Or she can slice a few off at a time & bake just enough for her. The oatmeal is great because it boosts milk production.

[naturallia]

Originally Posted by naturallia

I never had that done for me... I wonder if that'll happen this time around.

UPDATE: My goodness did it happen this time around!!!! I didn't have to cook for a solid month!!!! All my friends organized it so well that I had a meal every day and I was so thrilled about that! Some even did my laundry

I'm still in love about it and it sucks i'm being snapped back to reality and having to clean and cook myself after being spoiled for a whole month.

Really it would depend on their tastes. I'd take:

lasagna, garlic bread & salad
pasta bake & salad
tatertot surprise
home made beef stroganoff & veggies
a chicken enchilada dish with white sauce & flour tortillas

[funlovingmama]

Someone made us food incorporating their summertime garden veggies. An heirloom tomatoe salad with buffalo mozzerella cheese and basil. Then pasta with marinara sauce topped with whole cheese-stuffed mushrooms and zuccini. they also gave us garlic bread. For dessert cupcakes with cream cheese filling and strawberry frosting and fresh strawberry on top. We were wowed, and ate leftovers for a week! It was delicious.

[katiekind]

Wow, funlovingmama, that's a delicious sounding menu! How special!

QueenOMC, your list is very helpful!

[Ellen]

We are still right now receiving meals while adjusting to our new baby. We are blessed to be in a church with a lot of young families. Everyone gets meals with a new baby, and everyone is willing to participate when it's someone else's turn. We always schedule the meals to come every other night, so they keep coming for a long time. The nicest and most generous thing someone did this time was to bring us a hot meal (a tasty summer vegetable soup), along with two extra meals for our freezer!

DD1 has been interested in this phenomenon of people bringing us meals. She now likes to pretend, "I made this food at my house and I'm bringing it to your house." It's also somehow easier to get her to eat things when I can say who made it for us.

[rugare]

I always try to make something that will freeze well. (That way if the mama can either it that night, or freeze it for another night when she needs a quick dinner.)

Meals that freeze well are:
Baked Mac and Cheese
Baked Ziti
Stuffed Peppers
Lasagna

My only other advice is that it is thoughtful to put the dish in a disposable pan. (Or at least a pan that you don't need to return. It is one last thing errand for a new mom to make.) Also, I try to bring stuff to complete the meal (like a veggie, garlic bread, desert, etc.) And I always include the recipe that way the family can make sure they don't have any allergies to what I put in it.

[nadezhda]

Someone brought me cheese-stuffed pasta shells w/tomato sauce, a loaf of Pepperidge Farms Italian garlic bread, some sort of veggie, and homemade apple pie.

I think you probably can't go wrong w/some sort of pasta or a whole roasted chicken w/veggies.

[eoconnel]

The one dish I wish I had gotten was a breakfast casserole because it is so hard to get a nutritious breakfast made with a new baby.

[jandjmommy]

Originally Posted by eoconnel

The one dish I wish I had gotten was a breakfast casserole because it is so hard to get a nutritious breakfast made with a new baby.

Great idea! I usually take (besides dinner) some fresh fruit, muffins, and juice so they can avoid having to make breakfast or scratch by one more day w/out going to the store. Love the bkfst casserole idea though--just as easy as muffins! Also I pack disposable plates, napkins, bowls (if soup), and flatware--no dishes to do for mom (or dad).

[Hannah Elise]

Not baked ziti. LOL. Or maybe it's just our area... but anytime there is a funeral and/or new baby, there are at least six different zitis represented. :-P

I'm actually going to read through and see what I can find for freezable meals that are gluten-free, because I'm due in late Dec/early Jan and was diagnosed as gluten intolerant a few months back. I have a feeling I'm going to have to have my own set of freezer meals set by because no one in our church group really understands gluten. :-P

Pardon the typos - this was sent via Tapatalk on my cell phone!

[julbug]

Hannah Elise, did you ever find much? I'm in the same boat and I really need to get started on making some freezer meals if I'm going to have any at all. . We are gluten free and paleo/primal-ish and biblical kosher so I'm really struggling to find meals that fit all of those criteria and that either freeze well or are things that I can just prep and freeze in ziplock bags to dump in the crock pot in the morning to have dinner done by evening.

Anybody else have some gems like that?