Food Basket for New Parents...

[a_and_w]

Some friends of mine recently had a baby, and I'd like to get them a nice food basket as a gift. Are there any particular foods folks would recommend for parents with a newborn? Also, are there specific websites that folks can recommend for this purpose? Thanks.

[maryv]

If the mother is breastfeeding, she'll be looking for things she can scarf down one-handed. I ate a lot of bars in the newborn period - cereal bars, fruit-and-nut bars, powerbars, etc etc. Maybe your basket could include something appealing like the Kind fruit-and-nut bars.

[spellweaver16]

And oats help keep up a good milk supply, from what I've heard from lactation consultants on other boards I read.

[meggie t]

Friends just became parents for the second time and we sent them a basket from Stonewall Kitchens. We chose a pancake basket with wisk, syrup and mix. Very nice! There are a ton of choices, and prices are fairly reasonable.

[a_and_w]

All awesome suggestions and great info -- Hounds rule!

[ccbweb]

http://www.zingermans.com/Product.pas...

Zingerman's has a basket/box they call the "midnight feeding box" for new parents.

Many of the other suggestions on this thread are good ones, too.

[HillJ]

I would highly recommend Wine Country Gift Baskets
www.winecountrygiftbaskets.com
on selection, generous full baskets and outstanding price
If you live in a state that permits wine shipments, you'll have even more to chose from
Their breakfast in bed tray is my personal fav.

[Nicole]

Personally, I wouldn't want pasta and sauce...maybe it's just my taste, but to me cooking pasta is an emergency meal, not a treat. Agree that fruit is a great choice, as well as cheese, crackers, nuts, cookies, chocolate. You could include some of those cute chocolate celebratory cigars. Or maybe a chocolate teddy bear or something. I don't know a specific website that is great, but I'm actually always pleasantly surprised by what a wide selection of gift baskets are available on amazon.com. They have contracts with a million different retailers, so you get to browse a bunch of stuff at once on one website. Search under "gourmet foods" and you will find lots of choices.

[gourmethunter]

I think the suggestions for pasta and sauce are great... makes for easy prep and cleanup... Otherwise harryanddavid.com is the first site that comes to mind...they have a ton of gift baskets/boxes I've only used them once but ordering was easy as pie and I received huge thank yous for the gift.

As a mother of three... I can tell you cooking healthy meals is a difficult task, at least in the first few weeks. If you can't find a suitable place to order online, perhaps there is a local gourmet store or restaurant you can give them a gift certificate for? That way they can have it delivered and have no dishes to worry about. If you live close maybe drop off something you've made thats easy to heat and serve? snack items like fruit, nuts, quick breads etc are also welcome gifts since it's nice to have something to put out for the inevitable onslaught of visitors.

Hope that helps :)

[danhole]

I agree that the best idea, if you are close enough, is to make a dish and drop it off. Maybe soup, pot roast, salads - something not too complicated. If you are going for a basket, I would make sure it had some meat (summer sausage perhaps), cheese, fruit, crackers, spreads, and fruit. This is what we call a "snack meal" and we have these types of things on the side of a bowl of soup. Maybe the basket could even include a easy soup mix.

[Richelle]

A few things are really nice, first, a few cravings new moms have in common, the need to eat juicy fruits, such as apples, peaches, plums and so forth. Pasta is a good idea, different types with different sauces, cheese is great too and keeps well, dark cocolate for the brastfeeding mom, it keeps the milk coming. A few herbal teas, and a few magazines to read while she makes the baby drink.

[rockycat]

New mom's cravings? I must be weirder than I thought. All I wanted were the two most important things I couldn't have while pregnant - Vietnamese coffee and seriously good blue cheese, lots of it. Don't know how you'd do with that in a food basket, though.

[Hunicsz]

I agree, pasta & sauce is a good idea. I wouldn't worry too much about garlic, as most babies are fine with almost anything their moms eat (especially if they consumed those things when pregnant). If there is a problem eating the sauce, the dad and/or other family also need to eat.

Also, I think fruit in any form is a good idea. I wish someone had brought me some nice peaches or berries or fruit salad when I had a baby 4 months ago. Not only tasty, but healthy. And, a lot of women experience constipation after birth, so extra fiber is a good thing.

[charlesbois]

Among other things, I would at least do a small packet of pasta, some sesame breadsticks and a small jar of pasta sauce that is not too pungent. Pasta is easy to cook, the smaller packaging means no leftover jars in the fridge where bottles and things will have to be stored, and mild sauce so minimal garlic taste transfers to breast milk.