new baby food basket ideas

[bear]

My niece is expecting her first child in a couple of months, and I would like to put together a gift basket with some easy-to-prepare but satisfying meals. They are pretty short on money, so practical seems the way to go. Other than the obvious tuna, pasta/sauce staples, does anyone have any creative ideas? I'd like to avoid heavily processed foods, so no Hamburger Helper, etc. I'll also include cards with suggestions about how to use the products.
Thanks!

[lgss]

If she's going to breastfeed you may want to keep that in mind and avoid things that are too garlicky or otherwise spicy and may pass via breastmilk to make the baby restless.

[bear]

Hey, everybody. Thanks for the great ideas. I've decided to wait a month or so to put the basket together since the baby isn't due until mid-July, so I have plenty of time to try out the ideas. I think I'll take a few from each...maybe an Asian meal, an Italian, some dried/packaged sauces, good tuna and beans, etc. Thanks for the links, Linda, for some more good ideas. smtucker, yes, I'll definitely include a bottle of wine! She is looking forward to being able to indulge again, that's for sure, and loves a good Chardonnay.
Thanks again, everyone. I'll report back (hopefully I'll remember!).

[BobB]

If your budget suits, you might consider including a mini blender so she can make her own baby food later. I've had friends who do that, they just puree whatever they're eating (as long as it's not too strongly flavored) and feed it to the kid.

[aforkcalledspoon]

How about some pre-made sauces in jars or pouches like tikka masala, thai curry, etc? A quick simmer with whatever veg or meats they have on hand and they are good to go! A bag of basmati rice to go wtih? I felt up to that kind of stuff right after the babies. Or some nice muffin mixes? As silly as it sounds, I didn't trust myself to measure anything wtthin a half cup of accuracy!

[aforkcalledspoon]

Or deluxe italian tuna in olive oil? That is one of my favorite treats. The TJ's microwave rice pilaf is pretty tasty. Some nice preserves and peanut butter? I used to eat that in the middle of the night between baby feedings. There was a book "A Twist of the Wrist", can't remember author, lots of recipes of stuff made from pantry, some of the ideas were great (so I remember thinking at the time, but now I can't recall anything! but that's just my sieve memory)

[smtucker]

A bottle of wine. The poor girl hasn't had a lovely glass of wine with a meal in 9 months by the time the baby arrives. My hospital served all the Moms champagne within an hour of delivery. Along with a big juicy steak. Montana is a different kind of place!

[jenwee]

you could make them soup mixes in a jar: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Friendsh...

Maybe a mix of rice (faux rico a roni if you will...preseason it and alls they have to do is cook it. You could probably do the same with quinoa which is a coomplete protein

)

if your really adventurous maybe you can get them some canned fruits that look nice or premake them some sauces....

[jenwee]

oh! you could make them a baking mix so they would be able to have pancakes or waffles.

[gordeaux]

Do they cook? How's their Asain staples reserve?
oyster sauce
ponzu
chili garlic sauce
crushed ginger
crushed garlic
rice wine
sesame oil
a small bag of decent rice
a decent soy sauce
If they like thai curries, add in a few canned pastes, and a few cans of coconut milk
Stock them up for the starts of quick stir fries for a good 6 months for about 20.00 if you have a decent Asian grocer around

[LindaWhit]

I'm assuming they live close to you and you'd be delivering this basket? Dried mushrooms to create a different pasta sauce; some dried pasta, some hard cheese to help with that sauce, along with a fresh baguette. Or maybe a GC to buy cheeses and bread at their local cheesemonger?

A spiral-sliced ham with the makings of a great mac 'n' cheese?

Homemade muffins and/or scone mixes (Google for the dry mix recipes).

A store-bought bag of "gourmet" corn chowder soup mix.

[bear]

Thanks, Linda. I should have been clearer. I'm looking to put together a basket of shelf-stable food to give along with a shower gift, which is why I'm feeling stuck.

The mushrooms with some creative pasta additions would be great. The "gourmet" soup idea is a good one, and some of the hard cheeses would hold up through the shower and trip home, so that would work, too.

[LindaWhit]

Shelf-stable - that helps.

Some additional ideas: hard dried sausages that could be cut up with the pasta; canned beans to go with the tuna along with some nice olive oil, and also maybe dried Knorr sauce mixes (just add milk and butter - they're not too bad!).

ETA: Perhaps you can get some ideas from various gourmet gift sites:

http://www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com/

http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/pantry_items.asp

http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/gifts_...

Scroll through and maybe a "pick and choose" from various sites, you could put together an assortment of things to help her make easy, quick dinners with various condiments, sauces, etc.