Give New Parents Food in Your Life Because They Need Energy
Caring for babies is physically draining. Not only do they prevent you from sleeping as much as you would like, but if you are their mother, they literally feed on you . Therefore, it is very important to feed new parents, and preparing delicious and light meals is one of the most enjoyable things you can do for them.
When two of my best friends had twins last year, I volunteered to come down and “help” for a week. (As the older brother of the twins, I thought I was somewhat prepared. I wasn’t.) Aside from changing diapers and providing extra hands to hold the tiny people, my main concern was to feed the larger people, and most importantly, to keep things comfortable and tasty. If you’re not quite sure what “comfortable” means, I would follow our own advice from Beth Skoreki and “just imagine a person trying to put something together with an infant in their lap / arm. If they can still mostly cope, everything should be fine. ” In addition, there are a few other things you can do to keep your beloved parents full of strength and happiness:
- Don’t let them wash the dishes: young parents already need to wash the dishes a lot, both in the kitchen and outside, so it’s best not to complicate your housework. You can bring food in disposable dishes, or if the idea of disposable dishes is terribly wasteful, you can always offer your service as a dishwasher.
- Make a large batch of something and freeze it in separate portions: Soups, stews, pasta dishes and casseroles keep well in an ice box, and freezing them in separate portions allows friends to defrost what they need as needed. Bonus points if you freeze food in freezer bags , which not only makes storage easier, but also helps preserve the flavor and texture of your food. Even more bonus points if you bake a couple of loaves of really good bread, one now and the other to be sent to the freezer for later .
- Use muffin molds: muffin molds aren’t just for muffins, although they are great uses. While a batch of your famous blueberry muffins will undoubtedly be welcome, you can also use a reliable tin can to make a batch of hearty omelets or a bunch of “ smoothie snacks ” for breakfast all week.
- Give your mom the food she needed: I will never forget the horror I experienced when I learned that pregnant women should not eat meat delicacies. (I knew the martinis were the victim of a miracle of life, but the prosciutto seemed too big.) If your friend missed the charcuterie, go to your local meat supplier and bring that parent a meat (and possibly cheese) tray. Rather than giving a pound of prosciutto – which can be very difficult to separate even without a baby on your thigh – look for ways to make this salty snack easier to eat. Prosciutto wrapped in melon or pineapple slices, salami pinned to a small ball of mozzarella or cherry tomato, and grapes in goat cheese are all winners. Throw in a can of good olives and some fancy almonds and you have a great snack board.
- Don’t forget drinks: water is the best drink, but very boring. If you know Mom is a big fan of a certain lemonade, juice, or soda, gift her a box of her favorite brand (I recommend La Croix mandarin) and never underestimate the revitalizing power or really good coffee or tea. (If mom avoids caffeine while breastfeeding, toss a bag of beans to those who don’t, so they can take an early morning shift of two.)
- Bake Cookies: Cookies are always welcome and can be eaten straight from the freezer, which means you don’t have to worry about spoiling them. I made this lactation cookie for my friend when I was visiting and everyone, including me and my dad, loved them as hell. (However, I cannot comment on whether these cookies help with lactation; I have not noticed any difference.)
Also, don’t forget to complement your gift basket or gift with delicious snacks. Trail mix, dried fruit, homemade energy bars and whole fruit are all top choices for easy eating.