Surviving Pregnancy with Hamburger Helper

This post is sponsored by Hamburger Helper but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Trying to survive a rough first trimester can be tough, especially if you have horrible morning sickness like I did.  I was pretty much a couch potato, eating only very basic foods because I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating anything of substance.  But while that worked for me, what about my family?  I couldn’t neglect them and either let them starve or fend for themselves because lets face it, they need to eat too!  Thankfully Chris has always been a huge fan of Hamburger Helper recipes and would eat boxes of it each week if I let him.  So I was incredibly thankful to have such an easy quick dinner recipe for him when I wasn’t feeling my best.

On nights where I could stomach looking at real food, I’d have his favorite Hamburger Helper recipes ready for him when he got home from work.  I felt great about being able to make him something of substance so that he wouldn’t have to come home and fend for himself (which happened more often than I care to admit).  And when my picky eater is happy, I’m happy!

The great thing about these Hamburger Helper recipes is that they’re quick, and it usually takes me about 20-30 minutes start to finish to get Chris’ dinner on a plate.  He tends to favor the Beef Stroganoff so we have that quite often, but my favorite will always be the Cheeseburger Macaroni!  It’s such an easy and quick meal that neither of us mind making it a few times a month (and it’s even better with the Hamburger Helper rebate for free ground beef!).  For a limited time you can buy 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper and get a free 1 pound package of ground beef to go with it!

Thankfully this whole experience has taught me what to expect the next time I’m pregnant, and I will be sure to pull them out of my arsenal for next time!

• Fill the house with easy to cook meals for your family.  Since Chris loves Hamburger Helper so I made sure to stock up on a few boxes every week that I made it to the grocery store.
• Stay away from overpowering smells when cooking.  Spices can either be a really good idea or a really bad one.  For me they were bad because they always made me nauseous.  The great thing about the easy to cook meals I chose were that the smells weren’t strong enough to send me running from the kitchen which made it easier to cook on days that I felt up to it.
• Make a few freeze-ahead meals early in your first trimester when you’re still feeling well enough to cook.  That way you’re feeding your family something nutritious later on when just the sight or even thought of food is making you ill.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  After working all day I always felt bad if Chris had to make his own dinner.  But you know what?  He never complained.  In fact, every time I asked him to help me he was more than willing to jump in and cook something.
• Keep it simple.  Don’t overcomplicate things and bite off more than you can chew! Your family will appreciate any effort you put into any meal, so don’t stress if it’s not up to your usual standards.

Luckily Hamburger Helper makes it easy to feed your family a delicious meal no matter what the occasion. For me, it was a saving grace when I was so sick in those first three months. Being able to use the rebate for a free package of ground beef also helps save us a bit of money too, which I am all for. And Chris sure was happy that he didn’t have to live off my ‘just eat enough to survive’ diet for two months.

Have you ever tried Hamburger Helper before?  What is your favorite quick meal for those nights where you just don’t feel like cooking?