Friend-feeding instinct thwarted by ocean
August 3, 2011 3:15 PM Subscribe
One of my best friends is having a baby.. but I'm on the other side of the ocean. If she was here I would be bringing her tons of lovely food, so I'm looking for a food-delivery-type thing I can arrange from the UK that would be helpful to a new mom in the US.
She's in the Mobile, Alabama area and a vegetarian. I was thinking a fruit-of-the-month type of thing, but less boring and more new-baby-intensive-- something nice, simple, and yummy. Fruit and cheese? If it was something I could arrange for once a week for a month that would be neat. Anyone know any really great mail-order food of this kind? Is this a good idea? I want her to feel taken care of!
She's in the Mobile, Alabama area and a vegetarian. I was thinking a fruit-of-the-month type of thing, but less boring and more new-baby-intensive-- something nice, simple, and yummy. Fruit and cheese? If it was something I could arrange for once a week for a month that would be neat. Anyone know any really great mail-order food of this kind? Is this a good idea? I want her to feel taken care of!
Best answer: It's a very nice idea. I've done this for friends in need. But consider getting pre-made meals delivered, instead of fruit of the month or something. The catch about those fruit of the month things is that you end up with 8 pounds of peaches on your doorstep. The fruit is not always great due to shipping enjostlements, and sometimes you really don't want to eat 8 pounds of peaches this week.
Here's one person who does vegan meal delivery in Mobile that I found after googling for a minute. It might suit the bill (no connection to the provider, and no idea if they're good). You can probably find others.
Even if you don't want 8 pounds of peaches, it's nice to know that you'll have delicious meal tonight with no (or minimal) effort.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:22 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's one person who does vegan meal delivery in Mobile that I found after googling for a minute. It might suit the bill (no connection to the provider, and no idea if they're good). You can probably find others.
Even if you don't want 8 pounds of peaches, it's nice to know that you'll have delicious meal tonight with no (or minimal) effort.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:22 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm going to counter what Admiral Haddock and say yes, do the Harry & David Fruit of the Month. Someone gave me that when I gave birth and I absolutely LOVED it for several reasons: It lasted a year, so long after the flurry of gifts and meals and people taking care of me had worn off and I was just a harried under-slept mom, I would still get this beautiful, sweet gift every month. And the fruit was absolutely beautiful, and packed really nicely, so definitely not bruised, overripe, etc. Harry & David is a very reputable company and they've been doing it for a long time. Lastly, I know that the box we got was a specific "small box" category, so it wasn't an overwhelming amount of fruit.
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:33 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:33 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Definitely a different strokes for different folks thing--maybe I just don't like fruit as much as BlahLaLa. But I'd just mention that I was talking about Harry & David, too--I didn't find the quality to be any higher than what I could get in my local Whole Foods, and it was much more expensive (and the 8 pounds!). And, of course, there's no saying you can't get meals delivered periodically over a few months.
It's certainly a very nice gesture either way!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 4:00 PM on August 3, 2011
It's certainly a very nice gesture either way!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 4:00 PM on August 3, 2011
I second Harry & David Fruit of the Month.
I have given this gift to many people on several occasions. It is the highest quality fruit, and it is just the right amount.
posted by Flood at 4:41 PM on August 3, 2011
I have given this gift to many people on several occasions. It is the highest quality fruit, and it is just the right amount.
posted by Flood at 4:41 PM on August 3, 2011
Best answer: We had a friend overseas buy us Dinewise a couple times. Excellent food. Not sure how vegetarian-friendly they are, but the side dishes of veggies were great.
posted by luckynerd at 4:47 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by luckynerd at 4:47 PM on August 3, 2011
Harry & David is a lovely elegant gift, but for me as a mom, prepared meals would have been much better. Maybe this is because I live across the street from an excellent produce market so I'm undervaluing the gift of the fruit... but hot meals are such a comfort and to have someone prepare them for me would have been such a wonderful respite. I just think it's more likely she'll be like "oh thank God, dinner!" than "oh thank God, peaches!"
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:53 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:53 PM on August 3, 2011
Best answer: Funny... the other day, I was going through some old paperwork, and I found a shopping list I'd written for my then-husband the week after our baby was born. In BIG letters, right at the top, I'd written "STUFF I CAN EAT WITH ONE HAND!!!"
ESPECIALLY if she's going to be nursing, a new mom is depleted, exhausted, fuzzy-brained and sometimes incapable of accomplishing ANYTHING. Formal "meals" may go by the wayside for a few weeks/months post-partum.
What I would do - although Fruit of the Month sounds rather yummy - would be to find an ally in the U.S. to select and deliver a BIG box of Trader Joe's snacks and frozen/premade foods once per week for a few weeks. While not ultra-luxe, 90% of their food is tasty, unique and - most importantly - EASY. Even one-handed. :-)
posted by julthumbscrew at 6:26 PM on August 3, 2011
ESPECIALLY if she's going to be nursing, a new mom is depleted, exhausted, fuzzy-brained and sometimes incapable of accomplishing ANYTHING. Formal "meals" may go by the wayside for a few weeks/months post-partum.
What I would do - although Fruit of the Month sounds rather yummy - would be to find an ally in the U.S. to select and deliver a BIG box of Trader Joe's snacks and frozen/premade foods once per week for a few weeks. While not ultra-luxe, 90% of their food is tasty, unique and - most importantly - EASY. Even one-handed. :-)
posted by julthumbscrew at 6:26 PM on August 3, 2011
Are you talking about having stuff delivered right now, while she's pregnant? I'm currently pregnant and what I feel like eating changes on a daily, sometimes hourly, bases. While everyone's mileage varies, and pregnant women's mileage can be extremely variable, i gotta say, i would be extremly cautious about setting up food delivery to a pregnant lady. Make sure you talk with her before setting her up on food delivery stuff. And please do research on things pregnant women need to avoid, you'd be surprised some of the random seeming things we are supposed to watch out for!
posted by HMSSM at 7:23 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by HMSSM at 7:23 PM on August 3, 2011
I've never experienced a fruit-of-the-month delivery, but when our little one was born four months ago, the most welcome dish (albeit amidst lots of lovely hot meals) was a tray of fresh fruit.
posted by purpletangerine at 7:57 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by purpletangerine at 7:57 PM on August 3, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for all the replies! One-handed easy-to-eat stuff is just what I'm looking for.. I wish I could just hand-pick and send stuff from here but I don't want to take a chance on it being seized. The Harry and David thing looks like just the ticket!
>Are you talking about having stuff delivered right now, while she's pregnant?
No, it's for the post-delivery part... she'd due in a week or so. She's got a hoard of supporting family and husband around so I'm looking more on the treat side than the subsistence side.
> so long after the flurry of gifts and meals and people taking care of me had worn off and I was just a harried under-slept mom, I would still get this beautiful, sweet gift every month.
Yes! That's just what I like about a regular delivery idea! Thanks again everyone!
posted by Erasmouse at 1:36 PM on August 4, 2011
>Are you talking about having stuff delivered right now, while she's pregnant?
No, it's for the post-delivery part... she'd due in a week or so. She's got a hoard of supporting family and husband around so I'm looking more on the treat side than the subsistence side.
> so long after the flurry of gifts and meals and people taking care of me had worn off and I was just a harried under-slept mom, I would still get this beautiful, sweet gift every month.
Yes! That's just what I like about a regular delivery idea! Thanks again everyone!
posted by Erasmouse at 1:36 PM on August 4, 2011
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posted by k8t at 3:21 PM on August 3, 2011