Tips on easy to make meals for family when you are pregnant.

congragulations on your pregnancy

you can cook various one pot dishes like Rice, pulav, biryani, kichdi, bisi bheletin baath (MTR) , vaangi bath (MTR) tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, curd rice,

for chapathis, do you get thin peta bread or Fajitas? you can use them with Indian gravy

for making dal, cook a large portion and store in Freezer . whenevr u want dal, just scoop out a portion, add water and tomatoes/ onion etc. it will be ready in 5 mins

for gravy items, make tomato, onion, ginger garlic paste in large batch and freeze. soak rajma, chawli, moong, or matki or chole or any other beans. in cooker, add oil, mustard, spices and a portion of this gravy, salt and the beans that you hve soaked with some water. ur gravy is ready in 3-4 whistles. entire process will take 10 mins if gravy is ready in freezer

in case u get pre-cut vegs, u can use that.i read in some other forum, that in some mom and Pop shops, some indian ladies might sell pre cut vegs on demand on some price.

last but not the least, get your DH to help..!

 

Hi Satsha,

Congratulations for your pregnancy. Even I'm in third trimester and find difficulties to cook regular meal sometimes. Though I'm a housewife and I prepare meals 3 times a day. I don't prefer much frozen food or leftovers so I look for some instant dishes that you can prepare even if you're tired or have less time.

1. Veg. cheese grilled sandwich :- put slices of cucumber, tomatoes, onion on a bread. I also throw in some lettuce salad(the ready one). add shredded cheese and sprinkle some salt & pepper. I grill it in my small griller or eat raw sandwich with tomato ketchup.
You can add variety of veggies of your choice and have it with juice.

2. Poha :- It's a quick snack between the meals but my husband and me prefer it as a dinner. I have my own quick poha recipe that takes not more than 15 min. yet comes out tasty.

3. Veg. burrito :- some leftover rice, canned beans/corn, some freshly chopped veggies - put it all together in a tortilla with sour cream and cheese. If possible I make fresh salsa or use the ready ones. Look for quick burrito recipes.
Even if we don't make guacamole or miss few ingredients, it always comes out good. Throw in whatever you have and your time permits.

4. leftover rice recipes:- I cook more rice and use it next day to make Chinese fried rice, schezwan rice or simple fried rice with lots of veggies. I even use cooked rice to make parathas and have it with curd and chutney.

Chinese fried rice or schezwan rice is easy to cook. For schezwan, I fry onions, capsicum, cabbage or whatever veggies I have and add 2-3 spoons Ming's Schezwan chutney/sauce and salt per taste. It comes out so good. for Fried rice, instead of Schezwan chutney, add some garlic paste, green chilly & soya sauce and a vinegar.

5. Instant Dhokla/Idli/Dosa etc. :- I keep many instant packets handy, they are easy to cook. I prepare green chutney with mint/cilantro that lasts for a week at least and have it with dosa or parathas when I don't have time to cook sambhaar.

6. canned beans with naan :- I quick fry Goya Chole/beans/chickpeas/lentils etc. with onion/garlic paste and tomato and have it with frozen naan/chapati.

7. Egg omelet :- make omelet with tomatoes/onion/chilly, toast the breads and have it with orange juice.

8. Pancakes :- we have it for dinner sometimes

There are lots of easy dishes but I can't think of it rightnow. I call my mom or read recipe book for ideas as I tend to forget dishes very quickly . I don't follow recipes strictly and use whatever is easy to throw in. DH helps cutting veggies while I pre-prepare other stuffs.

Hope this helps you. Please share your meal ideas if possible.

 

Satsha, it's not good to stand for long in third trimester. I use a round stool if cooking is gonna take an hour or more. You can try that.

 

hi Nidhi ,

loved so many ideas frm u.well hope i can implement thm.as i m in start of my 2nd tri ,so still feel tiring many times for standing quite a long time in kitchen .even my DH dont like food items which are more thn 1 day old so i cant prepare in stock .nd evryday i think oh wht to cook,nd it seems a big task.but i saw soo many dishes which i can make quickly and will definitely try thm.

thnx dear
Pari

 

hey ssm014,

nice to know about tht paste idea for gravies nd making daal in bulk ,will surely go ahead with tht frm tody itself ,it will definitely my standing time in kitchen.

thnx dear
Pari

 

Thanks Pari. I'm happy you liked my ideas.

With so many mood changes and strong sense of smell during pregnancy, it's not easy to cook 3 times a day. I make my DH sit in front of kitchen and talk to me or play music while I prepare dinner. he still wonders how it helps me to cook quickly

 

Nidhi,

same here Nidhi,i also dont like to cook these days at all,but hv to do as there is no other way .u r just like me in this thing,evn i say to my DH tht u hv to b infront of me whnevr i will cook ,i will not cook alone .he may do his work whtevr he want to but atleast sit infront of me or be around me .i dont know wht satisfaction i get in cooking whn he is there. guys can never understand our weird demands somtimes :rotfl.nd we can never stop such things right .

TC nd god bless

 

Dosa batter.. you can keep for atleast 3 days and add variety like uttappam..egg dosa.. masala dosa etc..