Healthy Eating
Newborn
by Dana Wilkoff
One of the hardest things about getting healthy for me is meal planning;
add in two kids under the age of 4 and a newborn, and it becomes nearimpossible some days. So what do I do to avoid the dreaded fast food
restaurants? I plan ahead—way, way, way ahead! About two weeks before my third child was due, I started cooking doubles of everything and
freezing them, a practice that has greatly benefited me ever since. I have
found that the only way I can stay on track is with a good plan and a fully
stocked freezer; having these make healthy meals much easier and take
the stress off me in those first few exhausting months with a new baby.
For a family breakfast, I freeze items like homemade oatmeal muffins, banana muffins, and blueberry muffins. Another great option
is pancake bites (made with a homemade whole wheat batter) with
chocolate chips or blueberries studding them. Add some fresh fruit,
and you have a 30-second meal that is still healthy. Trust me, this
makes mornings a lot less stressful!
Lasagna
For dinner, I pretty much
freeze any meal that we
Banana Muffins
have, and it usually keeps us
stocked for about three months. Lasagna, baked ziti, lasagna roll-ups, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, fajitas, enchiladas, vegetable casseroles, and much more can all be
frozen! I also invest in some good spices for chicken,
pork, and steak, as this is another quick way to have a
healthy meal. Also, did you know you can cook brown
rice and freeze that, too? I cook two huge pots of it, put
them in portioned out baggies, and I have a healthy carbohydrate that can go with any meal.