New Baby Celebration!

Celebrate with Frozen Foods!
By Camille Rhoades

I live in a wonderful neighborhood full of great neighbors that love to celebrate one another’s joys and you can bet that new babies are cause for full neighborhood rejoicing. First babies, second babies, third babies, they just love to celebrate babies!

When I first moved here I found it a little strange, but have since grown to enjoy the excitement. There are months, however, where it seems like we are having a baby shower every weekend and that can be overwhelming. I love to buy baby clothes and trinkets as much as anyone, but it can become hard on a budget in those baby boom months.

So, I went searching for ideas and boy did I find a wonderful new one! Frozen Food Showers! What is that, you ask? Like a baby shower, a food shower celebrates friendship and the arrival of new little one. Unlike a traditional baby shower, the gifts are ready-to-freeze or frozen foods that the family can enjoy in those exhausting first weeks after the baby's arrival. What a wonderful gift!

Imagine having a couple weeks’ worth of meals ready to toss in the oven when you are exhausted and trying to focus on baby. Priceless! A couple little tips to remember include packaging meals in containers that need not be returned and including the recipe for the family, because we all know they will love your recipe! Also, if it contains nuts it is worth mentioning on the label - just in case.

So, next time you are throwing a shower, try something new for the mother-to-be. Get together and “unwrap” loads of favorite meals to help make life a whole lot easier and spare yourself a trip to the baby department and head to the kitchen instead. Your effort will be long appreciated and there will be plenty of chances to buy adorable baby outfits down the road.

* DVO welcomes your kitchen hints and cooking or nutrition questions! Email us and we'll post your hints and Q/A's in upcoming newsletters! *