5 Meals To Make When There’s A New Baby On The Way

So, there's a new baby on the way. You expect the baby to come in a week or so. You wonder how you are going to juggle everything - your present crop of children, a partner who's always at work, and the new baby that's bound to take over your life. On top of that, of course, you have a household to take care of and a dog that needs walking every morning. You can't imagine the next two weeks without going crazy. 

But if you're worrying as early as now, believe that you're in a good place. This means you can get prepared for what's to come. So, make a run to the grocery (or ask your partner to do it with a list) and get the ingredients you need to prep meals for the week. Because if there's one thing that's disconcerting about being too busy with the kids, it's what food you are going to let them eat. 

Fast-food takeouts are a no-no. At the same time, you do not have the energy to prepare freshly cooked meals for your family already. The best thing for you to do is prep the meals now and remake or heat them up in the next two weeks. But how are you going that without boring your kids into a hunger strike?

Pasta Sauce 

Whether it's meat sauce, white sauce, or pesto sauce, pasta sauces hold up well in the fridge. If you put them in the freezer in airtight containers, these can last for more than two weeks. The best thing about pasta sauces is that they usually taste as good as freshly made ones when you reheat them. All you need to do is cook the pasta in boiling water, reheat the sauce over the stove, and voila, you have a ready-made spaghetti that everyone will enjoy. The best thing about pasta is you can serve it for breakfast to dinner. Your kids wouldn't mind.

Adobo 

Everyone should know about the amazing adobo of the Philippines. It is basically any meat cooked in a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and pepper. Sometimes, Filipinos use a unique adobo sa gata chicken recipe(chicken adobo in coconut milk) for a creamier and flavorful outcome. Chicken is the easiest protein to cook, so that's not going to take you more than an hour to make. The vinegar in the recipe is a natural preservative. Many Filipinos cook adobo and store it in the fridge for a week. 

You can remake it several times. You can shred the meat and cook it with rice to make a kind of fried rice. Or you can simply reheat the adobo and eat it with boiled eggs.

Steak 

You can grill a steak and store it in an airtight container before placing it in the fridge. Once the baby comes, you can slice the steak in cubes, saute it with vegetables, and make a fajita sandwich. You can even pre-cut the vegetables so all you need to do is saute them all together. Get some fajita wraps from your local grocery and let your family make their own wraps. Shredded cheddar cheese and some pre-made dressing will also go well with this.

Frozen Vegetables 

Is there anything more convenient than frozen pre-cut vegetables? You can even get those that are cut in shapes so your kids will love it. You can grill or saute or broil these. They will pair up well with any kind of protein - chicken, beef, pork, or fish. You can also add them to pre-made soup and heat it so the soup can take on new flavors. If you do not have time to make a soup base, you can just add the vegetables to scrambled eggs and make a vegetable omelet.

Rice 

Nothing is more versatile than rice. You can fry it with some meats, vegetables, and eggs to make your own version of Chinese fried rice. You can make a porridge out of it, as well as fried rice balls, casserole, and pudding. The last one is a dessert, which is something that your kids will love while you're busy tending to the new baby.

The worst thing about meal preparation is the time it will take you to cut the ingredients and clean the dishes. When you have meals ready beforehand, all you have to do is heat them in the oven or microwave and mix them up with protein or starch. This way, you will ensure that your family eats nutritious food even when you're too busy to prep them.