Food & Meals to Bring a New Parent

When I was thinking of what nobody/no books told me about being a first time parent, I learned a lot about what foods I’d recommend. I never really knew what to bring new parents but now I have better ideas. On the first night home, my parents gave us a roast chicken, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole (a fav of mine!) and cookies. It was ahh-mazing to have a real meal and to have leftovers to eat the next day. Some of the other foods they gave were equally appreciated (specifically grapes, salad stuff, and eggs).

Suggested new parent meals/foods:

  • food for their freezer: things they can pull out to defrost or that can go right into the oven. Maybe you don’t know what they’ll have or when they’ll need a meal. Here are some freezer-friendly foods I like. Include reheating instructions & ingredients, just in case.
    The Three Bite Rule - Traditional Lasagna
  • snacks/sides: munchies they can turn into a lunch or for whenever the hunger strikes. My first trip out of the house was for this stuff. Healthy and fresh foods are greatly appreciated after freezer meals. Suggestions: hummus, veggies & pita chips; guacamole and chips; crackers & presliced cheese; salads, fruit, etc. Seasonal items would be fun too. Lemonade & popsicles in the summer or hot chocolate mix and some cookies for the winter, etc.
  • single serve foods: I made some of these and found them helpful when just one of us was hungry, or as lunch, etc. Individual burritos, sandwiches ready to become a panini, or individual muffin-tin servings of food work great.
    muff_tin_spinach_590_390
  • ready made foods are great too. You don’t even have to cook, just buy stuff that goes together to be a themed gift: a “pasta pack” of fun shaped noodles with a jar of pesto, frozen garlic bread; or “bfast bag” with yogurts, granola, orange juice, & some fruit; or a “lunch box” with chicken salad, pita pockets, apples, and chips; or “snack time” with pudding cups, fancy trail mix, goldfish, and a bottle of lemonade. You get the idea. Dress it up with a stick-on bow. Tell them what it is, and then put it away for them if anything needs to be refrigerated/frozen.
  • treats: it doesn’t have to be a meal. A crate of clementines or some cider donuts or whatever is seasonal would be great. Ice cream bars? Yes, please. Something the new parent doesn’t neeeed but would like is fun to have. Trader Joe’s has fun sodas or a neighborhood bakery might have great treats.
    The Three Bite Rule - Cranberry Soda Cocktail

My other suggestions:

  • don’t give them a dish you need back unless you’re family and will be there often. It is easy to give my mom’s dishes back because she can take them on her next visit. From anyone else it’d be annoying to wash, to remember, to store, to coordinate returning it. This is prime time for disposable cookware. Or you could buy them a cheap rubbermaid container & note on it that it is theirs to keep. I’ve heard some people buy Dollar Store plates to give food away on or stuff at yard sales that they don’t need to get back.
  • tell them “no thank you needed” whatever you bring them, tell them a thank you would be for them to cuddle their cute baby or to sleep an extra 5 minutes. You don’t want them scribbling a thank you card (since likely they thanked you for a shower gift & sent a birth announcement, and they’re exhausted). I wish those who I hadn’t ever even met but who were so generous to give a gift said this to me. Students in one of my mom’s classes were so sweet to give gifts, but I didn’t even know their last names. It was hard to come up with a thoughtful thank you note for those folks. I decided my bff wouldn’t mind a thank you text message the night we ate the meal she brought us, instead of mailing a card.
  • arrive the time they tell you and don’t stay more than an hour. The new parents are trying to get the swing of things and don’t need you hanging out all afternoon. Maybe the baby is super happy, well, that might mean they enjoy an hour with you sharing the new babe but the next hour might be naptime, or feeding time, or just the 20 minutes they need to themselves. Unless you are being put to work loading the dishwasher or you’re rocking the baby while they lug laundry upstairs, you should assume it is better to come several times for shorter visits. I have loved visits to have some interactions with people who can converse with me. I’ve capitalized on my parents visiting as time to shower/make lunch/anything that needs 2 hands.
  • tell them they look good/they’re doing a good job/the baby is adorable. Whether any combo of these are true or not, they need to hear these things. on repeat.

February 2015 Roundup

Bring on March. I’m ready. I love my birthday month…hint hint! I’m feeling a bit more settled with the baby and being on maternity leave. I also am ready for the news to no-longer drone on and on about the snowiest February ever. Yes, we can see that, moving on.

February flew by, despite the fact that I didn’t leave the house much. Baby T hadn’t had his 1-month shots (not to mention leaving the premises with a newborn is a production) so I didn’t go many places. It is a good time of year to be home-bound and snuggly. I spent much of February in yoga pants or pjs to breastfeed, nap, or figure out mommy-hood. There were good days, and some of the toughest I’ve had in awhile. What a mix!

Here’s what you may have missed during the food of February:
I highly recommend this quick and easy breakfast bake that is pretty much a savory bread pudding or savory french toast. Do it. Customize it. You’ll love it. This was something I prepped for the freezer and was really happy with it. It puffed up for a fluffy breakfast-for-dinner meal straight from the freezer.
The Three Bite Rule - Breakfast Bake with Ham, Eggs, and Cheese
For the superbowl, I jazzed up some potato skins. They were good, though I could have done a better job making it more evenly seasoned.

I’m so happy how this pulled pork eggs benedict came out. I looove leftovers getting to shine in other ways. This pulled pork has 9 lives. I didn’t see any out so I stalked a guy in the meat area and he got one for me. It was huge, and being priced by the pound meant it cost a small fortune. Even with my cheap-skate tendencies I didn’t mind at all since I knew it’d freeze well and I’d be using it a few ways. Wait till I get the next batch out of the freezer!
The Three Bite Rule - Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict
Hands down, the best dish of February was this salmon with creamy dill dressing. I went from being happy with the most decadent breakfast in the world, to posting a salad topped with fish! It also knocked off 2 of my monthly goals (more seafood & making salad dressing). Yes!!
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon with Creamy Dill & Cucumber Dressing

Progress on this year’s goals: 
The Year of the Earring: you betcha. Here’s this month’s selection 
make more salad dressings:
YES! I did it! I made a Creamy Dill & Cucumber dressing for my salad with salmon.
factor more time into how long every-day tasks/trips will take: I didn’t quite succeed in this when heading out with the babe. I’ll keep it in mind though.
recreate restaurant menu items: ehh. nope. Not this month. Maybe by not going to restaurants I’ll have to recreate what they’re offering.
be more adventurous with my reading selections: I gave up on “All the Light We Cannot See”. I found it depressing and I was battling postpartum hormones so I switched to It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell of the blog Can You Stay For Dinner. I loved it, though the beginning was bumming me out a bit. She is enchanting and has a tremendous and moving story to tell of her life-long relationship with food. I highly recommend. Now I’m onto some next options. I borrowed a few from the library for my kindle and will see what I get into. 
use the crockpot more: I made one I really liked! I didn’t blog it since there aren’t many steps/techniques/tips for crockpot food, plus, I didn’t tweak the recipe at all. It was chicken cordon bleu topped with stuffing. It was good, and made for a million servings Mr. J took to work and I ate between feedings for the little one. I cut the chicken into chunks and used some diced spiral ham I had in the freezer from Christmas. 
#seafoodsunday once a month: So it wasn’t a Sunday, but make this salmon asap. You can thank me later. Plus, the seasoned butter was fun to squish.

Maternity Leave & Adventures in Mommy-hood

I’m back…sort of. I shared the arrival of my sweet baby boy Thomas in a little January Recap but here he is if you missed just how cute he is: or follow on instagram if you can’t get enough 😉
birth

It is definitely an adjustment. I’m so in awe of him. I can’t get over just how much we love him. He’ll be sleeping and I just miss him or I’ll get up for a 4am feeding and I feel badly that his diaper is wet rather than feeling tired. I realized the other day that he has more eyelashes than a few weeks ago and that surprised me about how much I know about him.

There are other times that I just can’t figure him out. What is he thinking? Why is he upset and why doesn’t anything stop his cries. Breastfeeding is going well sometimes and other times is so incredibly hard. It is such a gamble. I’m grateful to pass the occasional chance to feed him to Mr. J now that I’ve tried pumping a bit. Overall I think we’re doing well. Time is a bit of a blur. I feel like we’re learning more all the time and I expect that to continue.

Baby T is now just about a month old! How did that happen?? I’m relieved the first month is behind us. I hear it is the hardest and we agree there were definitely tough times as we try to figure out what we’re doing. The baby blues are for real, and I don’t think I’ve shed this many tears before in my life.

But this face, who could resist?
Thomas

Likes: being swaddled; eating a bottle from Daddy!; visits from the family & Skype chats with those farther away; how many snow days have had for us all home together; all the ad-orable outfits he’s been gifted & his soothie pacifier.

Dislikes: some of Mommy’s versions of lullabies (since she doesn’t know all the words); how long it took for us to switch him into bigger (size 1) diapers – he was wetting through newborn diapers but we didn’t make the connection for a few days of many outfit changes; and getting dressed after a feeding.

New Surprises: the puppies sniff  hello daily but haven’t goobed/slobbered/licked him too much; how much he seems to be growing all the time!

Now, for the food since this is (and will remain) a food blog. We’ve been working our way through freezer food and I’m shocked how long it has sustained us, though we also had some help by way of a veggie lasagna roll up delivery and the first night home we were treated to a spread of roasted chicken, twice baked potatoes, green beans, and several cookie/pumpkin bread gifts.

I do really want to cook and make some interesting things. I haven’t done much yet since it seems like 5-9pm are the bewitching hours here and I haven’t gotten out of the house much. I’m thinking maybe I should use this maternity leave also as time to cook interesting lunches (or rather meals) that are Emily-friendly…things that Mr. J isn’t into if daytime is an easier cook-time. We’ll see. I’m back, but slowly and possibly sporadically.

Make Yourself vs Buy for Yourself

It is officially time for maternity leave. “I’ll be back”. In the meantime, I have a few goodies to share out here in the blog-o-sphere until I come back. Enjoy!

I was randomly thinking the other day of a few things I don’t consider worth it to make for myself. I definitely think some things are easy enough and taste so much better when you make it yourself but many I think the creators have mastered and I’m no master chef. I probably COULD make some of these myself but many aren’t things I care to whip up myself. I assume everyone has their own list but here’s what I’ve come up with:

Foods I don’t make myself: others have mastered and theirs are better than mine
marshmallows
hummus
tator tots
crackers, especially cheez-its
pizza dough

Foods that are so worth it to make myself: 
chicken broth (though honestly I don’t have enough whole chickens to make my own)
veggie burgers
mac & cheese (though Kraft has its place in my heart & stomach)
lasagna
spinach & artichoke dip

I should be making my own salad dressing sometimes. That’s one of my goals for this year. It’ll happen.

What do you think is so important/better/tastier/healthier/easier to make yourself?

A Few of My Favorite Things: Kitchen Tool Edition

It is officially time for maternity leave. “I’ll be back”. In the meantime, I have a few goodies to share out here in the blog-o-sphere until I come back. Enjoy!

The more I cooked the more I realized how many super specialized tools there are out there! Since I’m not a chef, but love to cook, I figured I’d share a few of the tools I love the most. I don’t use too many special things that can only serve one purpose. While blogging a dish it takes long enough to cook, makes notes, and photograph that searching for a very specific tool isn’t likely. I do have a few go-to items I think everyone can use.

Dutch Oven/Cast-Iron Skillet:
This one is a toss up of which you absolutely need. I love both. They get super hot and the stove-top to oven capability is sooo handy to finish dinner or keep something hot, or just to use fewer dishes! They’re heavy and sometimes pricey but worth it. I love the flavor (and iron intake benefit) of the cast iron skillet. I love that barely anything can burn in the dutch oven and the cover.
cassolet_beans_590_390

Meat Thermometer:
I swear by the basic $3 meat thermometer you can get from the grocery store or Bed Bath & Beyond. This takes the question mark out of cooking meat! I think this is a must-have. Especially for pork. I believe those who don’t like pork, only have had it overcooked. I think it’s one that’s hard to tell the done-ness but chicken is a great one too to avoid drying it out and ensuring it is cooked enough through the center. Don’t proceed without one.
kale_pesto_pork_590_390
Blender: 
I splurged on a Ninja for a blender/smoothies. I don’t use it daily, but quite often I use it weekly…at least monthly. I love this one I got. I wasn’t about to dish out $400+ bucks for a Blendtec but the Ninja hasn’t left me with any regrets. I have this blender & single serve attachments. I see it online for $120-ish. I got it at bed bath & beyond with a gift card, 20% off, $5 off, and a store credit. It is totally worth it. I make smoothies regularly so I love when they can be contained in 1 cup to mix, drink, then to go into the dishwasher.
creamcicle_smoothie_blend_590_390
Devil Oven Grabber:
This thing is awesome, and arguably one of my most used. I love this silly thing. It helps you to pull the oven/toaster oven rack out. I know, I know, you could do it without this. I use it with the toaster oven where I don’t normally need/keep an oven mit. This guy makes an appearance about 5x a week on average. It is made of silicone so he safely lives ontop of the toaster oven.
devil
What do you grab in the kitchen first?