This is a tradition that is as old as the hills and it needs to be kept alive!
What is more beautiful at the end of a day of a newborn breastfeeding marathon, a toddler that seems to think she needs to snack as often as the baby and, oh ya, what’s the record for the least amount of sleep? What, you ask? Why a hot meal to which you did not have to give on iota of brainpower or womanpower, of course. It is a better gift than any set of onesies or new bath towel, no?
If you’ve been on the receiving end of this gift, maybe you need a few resources to be the giver or maybe even the gift coordinator to coordinate many meals for the hungry recipients. Here are a few thoughts and ideas:
- This is the greatest invention ever! Mealtrain.com. Here you can list the families preferences, aversions, allergies, etc. It also will specify what time is best for the family,
whether to call first and lists their contact info. It makes it possible for you to email the link to friends, makes it easy for them to respond and makes the calendar available for the family to reference. - I could either way on leftovers. On the one hand, it can be nice to have leftovers for the lunch, etc. But on the other hand, if you end up with a fridge full of leftovers and you’re not a big fan of leftovers, it can be overwhelming. So, it’s a good thing to check on.
- I like to make a main dish, a side dish, a salad and a dessert and if they’re really lucky, I’ll include a loaf of banana bread that they can nibble on for breakfasts and snacks. Mama’s gotta eat!
- Try and bring the meal in containers that you won’t need returned. Ah, that collection of tupperware and casserole dishes that sit on the counter for days…weeks…months. You know what I’m talking about!
- Be considerate of their time. While that new baby is precious and you might want to just tuck him in your pocket and walk away with him, your hot meal and their hungry tummies have a ticking time clock. So, drop the meal, hugs all around and scoot!
- And for goodness sake, whatever meal you make, make it for your family, too! Making a pan of enchiladas for your family? Make TWO, take one and boom, you did it! One shopping list, one trip to the store and one mess in the kitchen–TWO meals!
New mommies aren’t the only ones who can be blessed by a meal. Maybe an elderly neighbor, someone just home from surgery, someone who’s lost a loved one? And, sometimes it’s not a whole meal that’s needed. A pot of soup? A dinner plate? A batch of cookies? A bag of groceries; milk, bread, eggs, apples?
Now, what do you like to make and take? We all could use some good meal ideas.
This post brought to you by Jenny Leggett who made a double batch of cookies to take to a new mom last week and I managed not to eat all of the dough before they were baked.