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I remember being pregnant for the first time like it was yesterday. The first trimester was rough. At the time, my morning sickness seemed like it was never ending. I could hardly keep anything down. When I did, I ate out almost every day. The meals for the most part were healthy but nowhere near as healthy as they could have been if they were homemade. With my second pregnancy, I ate out less but still on most days I didn’t have the energy to cook homemade meals.
Looking back, I would’ve been so happy to have a healthy home cooked meal on a daily basis. Nature Made Prenatal® Multi + DHA from Sam’s Club provide essential vitamins and minerals (before and during pregnancy) including Folic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Iodine, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D3†but healthy meals is the main source of your nutrition.
Since we’re trying to conceive for a third time, I’m doing things a little differently. This time around I’m meal prepping in advance so that when we do conceive, we don’t have to worry about cooking every night or eating out. Nature Made Prenatal® Multi + DHA should be taken up to 6 months before you start trying to get pregnant and with food so I want to make sure we’ve got all of our ducks in a row.
Freezer Meal Prep Tips for New Moms
When creating freezer meals, there are a few key freezer meal prep tips to keep in mind.
1. Freezer storage bags are your BFF.
Make sure to keep tons of freezer storage bags on hand to store your meals. I like to create a few weeks worth of meals so that I don’t have to worry about prepping if morning sickness or fatigue kicks in.
2. Start slow.
Think about what your families favorite meals are or what you think you might crave during pregnancy. Begin with those as freezer meals first. Not everything freezes and recooks well so you want to keep that in mind.
3. Make sure to include vegetables.
When trying to conceive and during pregnancy, you want to have a well rounded diet so both you and baby are getting all of the nutrients that you need. Include a heaping serving of vegetables in each freezer meal.
4. Avoid fried foods.
One of the things that doesn’t freeze well is fried foods. When reheated, they often become soggy and unappealing.
5. Release the air out of the bags.
The best way to avoid freezer burn is to remove all of the air from the bags before freezing. If you have a vacuum sealer, it would be great to use it during your freezer meal prep.
6. Make multiple meals at once.
Once you’ve figured out which of your favorite recipes freeze best, make multiple dishes at once to freeze. By prepping in batches you can save both time and money. Now that I’ve shared all of my go-to freezer meal prep tips, here’s a quick and easy recipe for steak fajitas.
Steak Fajitas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb thinly sliced steak strips
- Steak fajita seasoning
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions to Freeze
- Place all ingredients in a freezer bag.
- Freeze.
Instructions to Cook
- Place freezer bag in refrigerator to thaw.
- Remove steak and pan-sear in a frying pan.
- Cook to desired temperature.
- Add fresh vegetables and cook until tender.
- Serve with tortillas or over rice with condiments of choice.
†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
*Based on a survey of pharmacists who recommended branded vitamins and supplements.
Those first few weeks after baby can be tough. I love your ideas to prepare before baby gets here. I know that I relied on freezer meals a lot after my last baby! BTW your recipe looks great! Pinning!
I need these meal prep tips. As soon as I get home from vacay, I’m going to start meal prepping. This came at the perfect time. Thank you!!
Awesome tips. I’ve been wanting to try out freezer meals. I hate to cook, so I figure if I prep ahead of time, it will make things smoother for me so I’m not so moody. when it comes time to make a meal.
Thank you for the tips and I will share them with friends or family who may be having a baby as for the recipe I can’t wait to make it for my family as it sounded so yummy.
I have never tried making a few meals at once and freezing them, it seems like a great idea. I will tell my sister-in-law about Nature Made
It’s nice to have one multivitamins for your prenatal needs. Other women have to buy lots of individual supplements and it can get tiring to take them all up at the same time.
Thank you for these tips and that recipe- that sounds delicious! I am trying to learn how to do freezer cooking {although my freezer is tiny!} so this is super helpful!
Yikes, I bought a saver bag machine last year and it’s still in the box. This is the perfect recipe to break open the box. We eat a lot of fajitas, so this is perfect for my family! And vitamins are great idea!
These are amazing tips! Meal prepping is so important for buy moms. As well as having the best supplements in stock.
I have never done freezer meals but I love the idea. I cook everyday but this is something that I need to try to give me a break.,
I love NatureMade vitamins–I take a regular multivitamin from them. (No more babies for me!) And these steak fajitas look INCREDIBLE!
These are great tips. It saves so much time doing freezer meal prep. I usually make a big list, go shopping and the next day do all the cooking and storing. It is definitely worth it in the long run. I
Every week I say I’m going to try freezer meals and then I forget. My Aunt does it and loves it!
I try to set aside time on whatever day I typically go grocery shopping. It makes it so much easier.
Freezer meals are something that definitely make life a lot easier. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Thanks for all of these freezer meal recs!! I am super busy and so anything I can do to help myself it a WIN in my book!
I love doing freezer meals for my family. It saves me so much time prepping meals, especially in the summer months.