From Average to More Series: Meals

Sorry, again, for the infrequent posts. I guess that's why I have so few followers! But, nevertheless, I really blog for the self expression not for popularity. Not really my style anyway! This post is all about meals after our new little one is born. If you read *this post* you would know that this is a very important and somewhat touchy subject for me. Yes, it's just food, but food is what heals a recovery body, feeds a new baby through the mama and keeps the rest of the family happy. Three times a day I do not want to be stressing out while I would much rather be nursing a new babe or spending the little ones' nap time helping the oldest with school work. As for the grandparents and other family, I would like them to be able to just visit with the kids and not feel obligated to feed us. With a pregnancy that is not going quite how I had planned, this is one thing I can still tackle with in my activity limits!

So, this week I started stocking the freezer with meals and meal ingredients. Earlier this week I accomplished 4 meals of a delicious creamy macaroni and cheese and 5 dozen meatballs. Both I vacuum sealed because they need to last at least another four months. In order for a good number of meals to fit in the freezer that will be in our house I decided to put the macaroni and cheese straight into the bag after mixing and flattened it after sealing. This allows for me to either stack or stand each up without taking up a lot of room. I like an organized freezer! They also thin enough that a mere 60 minutes in a sink of cold water should thaw them completely so no worries if I forget to take one out the night before. There is a method to my madness...

My target amount of meals either complete or partially prepped is 50. Most will be dinner items but some will be quick breakfast items and things to make lunches with when there aren't any leftovers. Let's get to listing!

Fully assembled main dishes:

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Orange Chicken Kit
Crockpot Chicken Paprikash Kit
Crockpot Chicken Broccoli Alfrado Kit
Crockpot Chili Kit
Spinach Rice Cassarole
Chicken Olive Rice Cassarole
Crockpot Beef Stew Kit
BBQ Pulled Pork
Lasagnas, vegetable and meat

Cooked meal components:

Meatballs
Browned pub style steak
browned hamburger
Grilled chicken, sliced
Formed/raw burger patties

Breads:

Unbaked rolls
Pizza dough
Sandwich bread
Waffles
Hamburger and Hotdog rolls

Store bought items to have on hand:

Tortillas
Hotdogs
Tomato paste (for quick GF tomato soup!)
Cheeses
Snack foods (nuts, pretzels, raisins, etc.)
Tortilla chips
Salad makings

Baking mixes

Cornbread
Muffins
Pancakes

Amounts of each of these will greatly depend on space, budget and my energy level. I would like to get most of it done in the next couple months before it gets hot and I bigger. Yesterday marked the half way point at 20 weeks and I am excited to now be able to say I am more than half way there! Other than being forced to slow down because of contractions, this is a relatively easy pregnancy so far physically. Emotionally, I seem to be finding a time of digging around in the skeleton closet of my soul. Through my good friend who has been doing myofascial release on me for a few months now I spent the day yesterday at a wellness center and had a full two hour session of MFR with the owner. One hour was on the table and the other in the salt water pool (heaven!) Through letting myself unwind and surrendering to it I realized I am carrying years of hurts, worries, insecurities and physical pain in my not-so-old body. Slowly they have been distorting my body layer by layer. After the first unwinding I was considerably more comfortable! After 2 hours of therapy and a good nights sleep I woke up for the first time in over a month without my round ligaments (they support the uterus) screaming. I so look forward to continuing this exploration. And just to clarify... I realize to some of my fellow Christians this may sound 'spiritually dangerous'. To this I say, God made my body and the mysterious and awesome fascial system that surrounds every muscle and organ! He also designed it to tell us when we are hurt, stressed and sick as well as how to fix it. For me it takes nothing more than some strong hands to start a stretch and a clear prayerful mind to correct what needs to be. Just like yoga can be focused on Christ or Buddha, so too can this be done in His Glory or not. So don't be afraid because God is who is doing the real healing for me!

Tune in later for more of the series!

Til next time.