33 Weeks Pregnant: Everything I Cooked for the Freezer

Nesting, lentils, and a freezer that is officially out of control

I don’t like Costco. I just don’t.

Ders (my husband) and I joined this weekend and everyone keeps calling it adult Disneyland and I genuinely cannot relate. It is fluorescent lighting, bulk mayonnaise, and people moving with a level of confidence I do not possess. I made him push the cart because I was so anxious.

I almost bought a 25 lb bag of jasmine rice. I picked it up. I stood there holding it. And then I had this moment of like… who do I think I am? A restaurant? A homesteader? Absolutely not.

But I am 33 weeks pregnant. And apparently when you are 33 weeks pregnant you start acting like winter is coming.

So over the course of three days, with Ders chopping things and me sitting when I needed to — we cooked a lot. Not in a cute trad-wife way. In a slightly anxious, “I will heal my body and mind” way.

Here’s what’s in the freezer.

A huge batch of ginger congee.
It feels very warm and soft and responsible. Ginger, garlic, turmeric, jasmine rice, bone broth. Topped with sesame oil. I portioned it out so future me can just heat it up and not think. Future me will also add a soft egg for some protein… Or Ders will :)

Red lentil dal.
Red lentils, coconut milk, bone broth, ginger, cumin, turmeric, onion, garlic, spinach. Cooked in ghee. It tastes grounding. It also makes me feel like I care about iron.

Ghee walnut balls.
Oats, walnuts, almond butter, maple syrup, ghee, cinnamon, almond flour, chocolate chips. It called for dates but iykyk I will not be eating anymore dates after this baby comes out (currently eating 6/day to soften cervix).

Lactation cubes.
I didn’t feel like making full cookies… Maybe I will in the coming month. But for now, I blended up coconut milk and a shit ton of ginger, and then put that in a pot and added turmeric, pepper and local honey. Then I put them into ice cube trays and plan to have warming teas with it.

Breakfast burritos.
Because I am still me. We made 40. I am stoked to eat these. The highlight of the Costco trip was discovering the organic tortillas that you have to cook. They are actual crack. Shout out to my friend Caroline who told me about them haha.

I don’t know if this is nesting or just me trying to feel slightly ahead of something that is going to completely humble me… Or feeling panicked about time so trying to take advantage of the fact that I have a lot of it? There is something comforting about opening the freezer and seeing food stacked in there. It makes it feel like I did something useful. Like I prepared. Like future me — sleep deprived, bleeding, learning how to feed a human — will at least not have to sauté an onion.

Anyway. I still don’t like Costco.

But I do like opening the freezer right now.