Make it now, eat it later

One of the many pieces of advice I got while pregnant was to make big batches of food in advance and put them in the freezer for when baby arrived. I understood that I wouldn`t have much time after baby arrived to cook (or eat!) but I also didn`t have much energy before baby arrived to cook. I tried but only managed to make a cake...which is still in our downstairs freezer. Thankfully, when Charlotte came to live with us we had the help of family and friends (and take-out) when it came to meals. During the first week, my partner in parenting made a big batch of vegetarian chili and we did manage to freeze some of it for later use.

This week, after a particularly hectic day, we broke out that chili and re-heated it. It turned into a nice snack-like late dinner. We put the chili over nachos chips with whatever veggies were in our crisper (chopped up), shredded cheese and pickled jalapenos from the condiment shelf in the fridge.

 Before: frozen veggie chili 

 After: Nachos!

I will definitely be making more batches of food for freezing in the coming days and weeks - like pastas, sauces, lasagna, meatloaf and probably more chili because it was such a big hit. I encourage anyone with a child on the way, a young one at home, or a busy schedule to do this too. It does take a little planning and effort to make food but you can cook it once and eat it many times. Just make sure to seal up the food tight and label it if you`re prone to forgetting items in the deep dark corners of your freezer. A little prep now can save you time, money and headaches later on...and it can be quite delicious.  

Here are some quick links to recipes you can make and freeze for your future starving self:

Baby Center`s 10 Frozen Assets

Canadian Living`s Deep Freeze

The Kitchn - Recipes that Freeze Well