A Meal for a Friend with a New Baby

My friend Brit had her second baby a few weeks ago, and he is the cutest, snuggliest little guy! I always forget how tiny newborns are until there’s one right in front of me. I wanted to make a meal for her since I know that cooking is one of the hardest things to find time to do when you have a newborn. I’m always looking for good ideas of meals to bring to a friend with a new baby, so I thought I’d share what I brought over.

Brit already texted asking me for the recipes right after she ate dinner, so I know she loved it!

I like to make meals for new parents that can be either quickly reheated or eaten cold. I remember the very first time I brought a friend a meal who had just had a baby. It was about 5 years ago. I knew pretty much nothing about having a baby at this point, but someone sent out an email asking us to bring her meals, so of course I signed up. I roasted some bone-in chicken breasts (so easy by the way) and a mix of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots. My friend texted me later saying that she had eaten everything cold, with her fingers, directly from the pans I brought them over in. And once I had my own baby, I realized that you really do end up standing in front of the fridge grabbing the easiest thing and devouring it before your baby needs you again.

Brit’s family is vegetarian, and dairy-free right now. I turned to Oh She Glows, one of my absolute favorite websites for vegan recipes. (I’m not vegan, but I still like to try out vegan recipes from time to time!)

I found a delicious looking Roasted Potato and Asparagus Lentil Salad that I knew would be perfect served warm or cold. While I whipped that up, I simmered a giant pot of quinoa so I could bring over a big batch for her and have leftovers to keep at home, too. Since she has a toddler, I also packed up a bag of baby carrots, hummus, and pita to round out the meal. I figured that her toddler would like at least one of those things.

Can’t forget about dessert! Honestly, I usually go the store-bought route for a dessert, since it’s just one less thing to worry about. But today I had some time to spare and decided to try these Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars from pbfingers.com. The bars aren’t vegan since they do have an egg, but I got the OK from Brit on eggs. You could always sub a flax-egg to keep it vegan.

The bars were delicious!! I love that they were a little bit healthier than the typical cookie bar, too. They took no time at all to mix together. I hate having to cream butter and sugar together because it means I need to lug out my Kitchenaid mixer. So, I was glad to find a recipe that was just stir, stir, stir, plop in pan.

Teddy taste tested the bars after his nap, he was definitely a fan!

Do you have a go-to meal to bring to friends?

What’s your favorite vegetarian or vegan recipe?