Hey everyone! Today I am less than a week away from my due date! I didn’t get quite as much meal prepped as I had hoped because of some scheduling issues at work but I definitely got quite a few meals that will make my life as a new mom a little bit easier!

Keep reading if you want to see what I made, including all the recipes! Let me know in the comments what you made before your baby arrived, or if you have some easy ideas that I could still get done!

I tried to spread out my cooking into a bunch of different days but you could totally do it all at once if you have a free day to yourself! I just find that doing it all at once can get overwhelming with all the dishes etc.

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients
ground beef (I went a little overboard and bought 12 lbs.)
pasta sauce (I used Hunt’s Thick & Rich 680ml cans)

Directions
Saute the ground beef until cooked through. Drain any excess fat and add pasta sauce. I cooked 4 lbs. of ground beef at a time and ended up adding about 3 cans of sauce to each batch.

I will also made my own pasta sauce sometimes, but being in my third trimester, I didn’t have the energy to do so this time around!

I got 11 servings of spaghetti sauce to freeze (I’m sure there will be enough leftovers for at least one lunch as well in each portion) plus one large bag that I then used to make lasagna rolls (see below for recipe).

Thaw overnight in the fridge and heat in a saucepan until bubbling. Serve over freshly cooked pasta of your choice, topped with Parmesan cheese.

Tip: Allow the sauce to cool before placing in bags.

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Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients
spaghetti sauce (approximately 3 lbs. already made)
whole wheat lasagna noodles (2 boxes)
4 cups spinach
2 containers of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
salt and pepper
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
pasta sauce (I used Hunt’s Thick & Rich)

Directions
Cook lasagna noodles as directed. Drain and set aside to cool. Saute spinach until wilted. I added some minced garlic to mine but that is optional. Combine spinach, ricotta cheese, eggs and salt and pepper in a bowl.

Lay the lasagna noodles out and layer the ricotta mixture followed by the spaghetti sauce and some shredded mozzarella cheese. I like to individually portion mine for a dinner for two but you could also make a large batch of these and freeze them in a casserole dish.

To assemble the dish, add some pasta sauce to the bottom of your dish, top with assembled lasagna rolls, some more pasta sauce and some shredded cheese.

I got 7 two person servings with approximately 3 lbs. of spaghetti sauce.

Bake lasagna rolls, covered with foil, at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. Cooking time will vary if cooking from frozen.

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Homemade Burgers

Ingredients
2.5 lbs. ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and form into burger patties. I have a ‘patty press’ that makes this part very easy! I made 1/3 lb. burgers and got 8 of them with the above ingredients. I will probably still make more of these when I get a chance because they are great to have on hand for busy days! They can be cooked from fresh, thawed or frozen – the cooking time just obviously varies.

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Turkey Sloppy Joes

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground turkey
2 cups carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
1.5 cups onion, chopped
1 tbsp. thyme
1 tbsp. oregano
5 cloves garlic, grated
1 910ml container tomato sauce
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tomato paste
1-2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add carrots and saute until softened, about 3 minutes, add onion and continue to cook until translucent. Add thyme, oregano and garlic and saute for about 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add ground turkey and cook until it is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat, if any. Add tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and stir to combine. Lower heat and simmer for 5-30 minutes. The longer you simmer it, the less saucy and more flavourful it will be.

Serve on your choice of buns and enjoy!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

Ingredients
frozen tart shells, or a whole pie crust
1.5 cup strawberries, sliced
1.5 cup rhubarb, sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar of your choice
3 tbsp. flour

1 cup oats
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar of your choice (again, I used coconut sugar)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice, sugar and flour in a bowl. Divide into tart shells.

Next, mix together the oats, butter and sugar and add as a topping to your tarts. Bake for 30-40 minutes until bubbling.

I flash froze these and then placed them all into a ziplock freezer bag so we can easily grab one or two out of the freezer and bake them until they are warm!

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Lactation Cookies

Thank you so much to my beautiful friend Amanda for sharing this recipe with me! The cookies are delicious and I can’t wait to start eating them to help with my milk supply once our baby boy is here!

Ingredients
2 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1/4 cup water
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tps. salt
6 tbsp. brewer’s yeast (found at a Bulk food store)
3 cups quick oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix together ground flaxseed and water and set aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cream together butter and sugars until mixed thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well. Add in flaxseed mixture and vanilla.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, brewer’s yeast and quick oats. Add in wet mixture and mix together until combined. (I found that I had to add a couple tbsp. of water because the mixture was very dry). Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. I baked some cookies without flattening them but preferred the ones where I flatted them with my fingers. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly brown. This recipe makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

I just froze these cookies, already baked in a ziplock bag so I can grab a few out at a time. My friend Amanda recommended freezing the dough in pre-portioned balls, for freshly baked cookies every time! I am definitely going to try that next time!

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This is all I have made so far.. I realize that 3 out of 4 of my dinner recipes are beef! Ooops!

This week I am going to get a bunch of boneless skinless chicken breasts, trim them and portion them into double servings to freeze so I can easily pop them out of the freezer to thaw for dinner, rather than having to thaw an entire package of chicken each time!

A few more meals that I still have left in the freezer from my last meal prep are:

Chili (I’m not a fan, but it’s something quick for my husband to heat up if I have had a crazy day with baby)
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Soup
Buffalo Chicken (for sandwiches, or burrito bowl style meals)

Let me know if you would like any of the above recipes and I will do a blog post about them in the future!

Another few options that I planned on making but didn’t find the time are:

Quiches
Fajita Kits
Taco Meat

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and found it useful if you are trying to get some meals prepped before a baby or just for yourself! Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any tips or questions for me!

xox. -K