POSTPARTUM FREEZER MEALS | Cozy Scandinavian Meals for Lying-In After Baby
Image from The Modern Proper
Having meals in your freezer for after your baby arrives can be a game-changer. As I prepare to welcome my second baby into the family, during wintertime, amidst a global pandemic no less, I’m focusing the last months of my pregnancy on making sure my first months postpartum are as supported as possible. Having meals ready to heat takes a huge load off both my husband and myself, and it ensures we can focus on what really matters: healing after birth, getting to know our new baby, and making sure our oldest child, Tess, feels supported.
I wanted to look forward to my postpartum meals, as well as have fun making them. Trying to prep a bunch of food ahead of time can feel like a slog, so I decided to take on a fun twist for my postpartum meals. I’ve prepped four postpartum meals to celebrate the heritage of each of the Gather Birth co-founders. In recent years, more people have not only been focusing on the necessary healing time of postpartum, but how their heritage and culture honored and supported this period.
The four meals in this post pay homage to the Scandinavian countries and heritage of Gather co-founder Meredith. When I think of Scandinavian culture, I automatically think cozy. Hygge has become a popular interest in recent years, and since my little one will be born smack-dab in winter, this feels like a perfect place to start. I’ve chosen a warm porridge breakfast, two soups, and, of course, Swedish meatballs to prep and freeze. Below I’ll share a bit about why I chose each meal to support my postpartum transition, any alterations I made to freeze the meals, and of course, link to the recipes so you can make them yourselves!
Image from The Modern Proper
Norwegian Risøt Breakfast Porridge
I couldn’t say “no” to a porridge spiced with cardamom. This porridge is made with rice, rather than oats, which means it’s easy to digest and gluten-free. In the early weeks of postpartum, we want to be gentle on our digestive system and eat simple foods to keep our transforming bellies nice and warm. This dish calls for berries on top to add a nice pop of acidity to a creamy, rich porridge.
To prep and freeze, I made a full batch and split it into several portions. I filled three large mason jars, which I sterilized ahead of time, leaving an inch free at the top to allow for the mixture to expand when it froze. Leaving space in your jars is super important, otherwise you’ll find porridge and glass all over your deep freezer. I left the berries out of the porridge, and instead will thaw them to room temperature and add to the porridge the same day it’s reheated.
Check out this recipe over at The Modern Proper.
Image from Arctic Grub
Vegan Brennsnut Soup
I’ll take a dumpling any day of the week. And dill? Yes. Give me all the dill. So dill dumplings? I’m absolutely sold. This vegan version of the Norwegian soup, Brennsnut, is perfect for postpartum. The soup is full of veggies that are cooked down, making it very easy to digest. I’ve made the dumplings much smaller, to allow for a dumpling in each bite, as well as making it easier to digest on my postpartum body.
The recipe calls for a mushroom stock, which is full of protein, however you could use a chicken bone broth if keeping it vegan isn’t your goal. Adding healthy fats to dishes is incredibly important in postpartum, so if you don’t use a mushroom stock or bone broth, consider serving this with some avocado toast on the side.
Similar to the porridge, I froze this recipe in several batches, stored in sterilized mason jars, leaving room at the top for expansion during freezing. Dumplings are super sturdy, so I chose to freeze the dumplings directly in the soup. I placed four dumplings in each container, one for each member of the family (I still get to eat for two.)
This amazing recipe is from Arctic Grub.
Image from The Recipe Critic
Swedish Meatballs
How could I make recipes from Scandinavian countries and not make Swedish meatballs? It would be a missed opportunity, for sure. These meatballs are made with beef, however you could easily swap out for ground turkey or chicken if you’re not a red meat eater. The red meat in the meatballs will provide a good dose of iron and protein as I heal post-baby. I also cooked up some egg noodles to serve underneath the meatballs and creamy sauce. Again, a high-fat sauce isn’t a bad thing. If you’re a body feeding parent, you should be taking in an extra 500 calories a day to ensure a solid milk supply, so bring on the creamy meatball sauce.
To freeze, I cooked the meatballs, sauce, and egg noodles ahead of time. I placed the noodles in an aluminum pan and layered the meatballs and sauce on top. I allowed the dish to cool down before placing an aluminum lid on the pan and putting it in the freezer. Remember to label each of your meals with the name of the dish, any reheating instructions, and when it was prepped!
This savory dish was created by The Recipe Critic.
Image from Rhubarbians
Vegan Danish Split Pea Soup with Dill
I purposefully chose to prepare two soups for postpartum meals, mostly because soup is such an easy food to digest, especially when it’s full of cooked down root vegetables. In the early days postpartum, our body is still soft and open. Out uterus still has several weeks before it returns to it’s pre-pregnancy size; our organs are still slowly returning back to their original places; our energy is depleted from a newborn, birth, and the output of our body (blood, milk, postpartum tears). A soup is a simple way to pack a nutritious punch. Again, I’m a sucker for dill, so this soup made the list. I also love that it is packed full of protein-dense split peas.
I decided to adapt this meal to make in the slow cooker. Instead of cooking the soup ahead of time, I place all of the chopped, uncooked ingredients, minus the broth, into a gallon freezer bag. I labeled my bag to include the instructions to thaw overnight, add 6 cups of vegetable stock, and cook on low in my slow cooker for six to eight hours. The split peas may break down more than if I had cooked it on the stove, but I’m okay with that. I also chose to omit the crispy fried onions on top, but may sprinkle with seed crackers when I serve.
This hearty soup is from Rhubarbians.
Image from Arctic Grub.