Giving a Meal

When I first signed up to bring a meal to a family in need, I really didn't know what I was doing.  All I knew was that I wanted to help!  After the Peanut was born, though, several people brought meals to me, which really helped me see the best ways to do it.  I thought I'd share some suggestions here, in case you're wanting to help out a friend by bringing them a meal!

Meals are a great gift for people who are going through a difficult time (death of a family member, someone in the hospital, etc.) or who are facing a major life change (having a baby, for example).  It's a wonderful way to bless someone!  And it's such a blessing to give someone a meal.

Here are my suggestions when bringing someone a meal {and then I'll give you an example of a meal I gave - - you can copy mine or make your own!}:

Know about any allergies or dietary restrictions
It would be terrible to make a meatloaf for a vegetarian, or tuna noodle casserole for someone who doesn't like fish!  Find out if there are any allergies or other dietary restriction in the family before you plan your meal.  It will save everyone a lot of grief.

Be on time
...and coordinate a time!  Find out when the family usually eats dinner, and have the meal to them on time.  If it's something they'll have to pop in the oven (which I recommend), make sure they have enough time to preheat the oven and bake your meal before their normal meal time.  If you are running late, call and let them know when you'll be there so they don't have the little ones strapped into their high chairs for 30 minutes promising them food that is coming (yes, this has happened to me!).  If you are notoriously a late person, you could always deliver a meal early to go into the fridge or freezer for that evening or another day!

Include all of the food groups
Grain, Meat, Veggie, Fruit, and of course a dessert!

Double what you're making for your family
This is the best way I've found to give someone a meal.  Make double of what you're making for your family, and bring it over before dinner time (or the next day, if it'll keep).  It's so much easier than making an extra meal on top of what you are eating!

The meal I most recently gifted was ziti, salad, bread, and brownies for a family of 4 plus an infant.  I made a large ziti for their family (9X13), which I actually ended up thinking might have been a little too much food for them, and a smaller one for us (8X8).  I have shared the recipes for the ziti and the brownies before.  A bagged salad and a pre-sliced loaf of bread made this meal complete!

I was also sure to label everything that I made - - and I wrote instructions on the ziti of how to bake.

 

Then I bagged everything up (the ziti didn't fit) and headed over!  Notice everything was in containers that nobody would expect to have to return.  Not even cheap tupperware - - it gives a new mother or someone going through a tough time an extra step: dishes.  Ideally, if they wanted to, they could bake this, use paper or plastic dishes and silverware and not have any clean-up afterwards!

 

There you have it!  Happy giving!