Great nutrient dense meals already prepped and ready to grab.
I have been prepping and getting ready for baby girl to arrive and that includes making sure good, healthy, & nutrient dense food is cooked & can be pulled out out of the freezer when we don't have the mental capacity or energy to even think about cooking.
I have chosen to focus my freezer meals to be mostly AIP/Paleo & with high nutrient density. When I started down this journey I knew I needed some containers and most likely an extra freezer. I have been wanting an extra freezer anyways for the ability to buy meat in bulk, so this was a good excuse! I got this one from Lowes: Chest freezer
Containers I bought: Loaf pan & deli containers
Now for the what you are MOST interested in... the meals!
AIP Meatloaf: I double this recipe getting about 4 mini loaves worth and getting 2-3 servings out of each loaf pan. To up the nutrient density, I added nomato sauce & pureed grass-fed beef liver.
Paleo Chicken Pot Pie: I doubled this recipe and got 6-8 mini loaves worth of 2-3 servings out of each loaf pan.
Nutrient dense chicken soup: I just did one big batch of this in my instant pot, which gives me about 8 servings of soup.
AIP Bison Chili: I did not double this recipe and it likely will give me about 5-6 servings of chili, I added pureed liver to this as well.
Paleo freezer waffles: I got a mini waffle maker back in the summer, which makes the perfect size freezer waffles. I mixed up a box of this mix and just made a huge batch of waffles and threw them in the freezer. I like to do this anyways just to have quick grab and go breakfasts.
Zuppa Tuscana: I looooove this soup so much. I did one normal batch of this but used steak bites instead (just because that is what I had).
Paleo Pumpkin Bread: I love all things simple mills, so I baked 1 box of this bread and got 2 mini loaves out of it.
Paleo Banana Bread: I know that I will likely be relying on carbs while breast-feeding so I made sure to have a few breads that are easy to eat with one hand, but still nutritious. I love this banana bread recipe, because it keeps the sugar low.
Paleo "oatmeal" raisin cookies: not everyone's favorite cookie, but I love them, and this recipe is so yummy!
Paleo granola bars: I found these homemade granola bars from Paleo running momma, and I gotta say they are good, but there are A LOT of nuts in them, and I can't even eat a whole one. I probably won't batch these again, but I do think they will be helpful additional calories & protein when I need an easy grab.
I am planning on making some pre-made breakfast burritos, as soon as I can find Siete's burrito wraps (grain-free tortilla option). For the burritos, I will make them using:
Burrito wrap
Scrambled egg yolks (personally avoiding egg-whites right now)
Bacon or sausage
Roasted root veggies (beets, sweet potatoes, carrots)
sliced avocado
I'll wrap them in aluminum foil and freeze them.
Tips for freezer meals:
Choose your favorite soups, chilis, casseroles, etc
Make 1-3 batches of each
Break them into smaller serving sizes, enough for your family size
Freeze them fresh
Pull them out the day before to let them thaw
You can reheat faster by placing in the oven on lower heat for 20-30 mins or placing back into the instant pot and pressure cook for 5 mins.
I do not recommend microwaving ANYtime in plastic, even if it is "BPA free".
Other freezer meal blogs & resources:
Do you have more questions?? Shoot me a message or email me, I'll be happy to help.
xo,
Amelia Hunt, FNTP