Food Dos & Dont's

[Rock-Angel]

Just wondering if theres anything thats a big No!!!

its just Im looking forward to a chicken kebab tonight with colslaw and onion and letuce etc but have read we cant have colslaw? is this true? Ill cry I love there colslaw its made there and OMG lush!

I know we arent meant to eat soft ice cream but I only eat ben N jerrys anyway so no worries there,


Meat? does it have to be properly cooked? Im doing a beef joint tomorrow and hubby doesnt like it cook to a crisp he likes it still very red in the middle?!

Whats your dos and donts?!!

 

[gems2209]

For me i have always been very carefull with meat while im preg, it's i big no no if itsnot cooked all the way through (not even pink)
As far as coldslaw goes, well have always eaten it, as long as its not the home made stuff.
Also eggs, they tell you they have to hard, well i have never done that and haven't had any probs i have always had them runny. I eat loads and have never had a prob with mine.

For me the really big no no's are under cooked meat, nuts, and liver.
Although on my son i kept saying Oh no i can't eat nuts its not safe, i stayed well away. Yet i ate peanut butter and jam samwiches for months, but as far as i was concernd i wouldnt touch a nut thank god my son was fine. Just at the time it really didnt click with me that i was eating nuts

 

[Chopsie]

Coleslaw is absolutely fine. It's mayonnaise made with raw egg that you need to avoid, but any shop bought coleslaw will be made with pasteurised egg mayo, so no probs at all. If you're having it in a restaurant I'd ask first about the eggs in it as it might be made fresh, but from a kebab shop, I'm guessing they buy it in rather than make it themselves!

As for meat, we're advised to have any meat well cooked, but only because of the risk of food poisoning. You're at no higher risk of getting it now you're pregnant, but it might take you longer to recover. My GP told me that only listeria or salmonella pose a risk to the pregnancy, and you wouldn't get either of these from red meat. You do need to make sure poultry is thoroughly cooked though as it can harbour both of these if undercooked. I've had medium rare steak and lamb a couple of times during my pregnancy with no problems whatsoever. According to 'The Pregnancy Bible' all we need to avoid completely are -

Unpasteurised milk and cheese
Mould ripened cheese such as brie and camembert (anything with a rind on, basically)
Blue cheese such as Stilton
All sheep and goats milk products
All pates, even non-meat ones
Raw or undercooked eggs or products containing them
Raw meat dishes such as steak tartare or Parma Ham
Raw fish (eg sushi)
Raw or undercooked shellfish

You only need to avoid nuts if you or your partner have any allergies (although I think they may have recently changed this advice to just if either of you have nut allergies) and I've also read that liver should be avoided because of the high vitamin A content, but I think it's anyway, so that's no issue for me!

 

[gems2209]

MW told me even though there are no nut allergies in our families, to say away from them amyway

Now thats not fair if you right chopsie coz i went all xmas with no monkey nuts
xmas just isn't the same with out them for me.

 

[Chopsie]

I found this from the food standards agency website -

Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you, the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hayfever, asthma and/or eczema.

If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breastfeeding.

Your MW is maybe erring on the side of caution, but it only seems to apply to peanuts anyway - although monkey nuts are shelled peanuts aren't they?? I'm not much of a nut expert really, all I know is, nothing comes between me and my Nutella

 

[curlygurl]

The advise on nuts keeps changing - they are currently waiting for the Food Standards Agency to issue a definitive answer, but the research shows that unless there is a history of allergy in your or your partners family then all nuts are safe.

 

[gems2209]

I found this from the food standards agency website -

Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you, the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hayfever, asthma and/or eczema.

If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breastfeeding.

Your MW is maybe erring on the side of caution, but it only seems to apply to peanuts anyway - although monkey nuts are shelled peanuts aren't they?? I'm not much of a nut expert really, all I know is, nothing comes between me and my Nutella

I am mad for peanutbutter and jam sandwiches

 

[Skipper]

So is cooked shellfish ok? I eat loads of fish and had a seafood risotto on Friday night and then felt a bit guilty but I couldn't see past it! It had clams, mussels, prawns, squid etc. in it, but all cooked of course. I have more of a craving for fish now than I ever did........

 

[splashmonkey]

I think so skipper. There's some fish you have to avoid cos of mercury, and I think they say no oysters but could be cos they're raw? Prawns are definitely alright if cooked I know that much.

 

[buddabun]

My book tells me shellfish is fine as long as it's well cooked and hot (i.e. no prawn cocktails/cold prawns etc)

Sushi is fine as long as it has been previously frozen for 48hrs to kill any parasites. Most places do this as really fresh good quality fish isn't always easy to come by but asking will help. I was relieved to read this as I love sushi and will be partaking once the nausea lifts!

They do say about mercury not to eat more than the equivalent of a tin of tuna a day

 

[splashmonkey]

Ooh, I heard no more than 4 a week budda! Ah well, I don't think I get through quite that much anyhow lol. I think it's avoid completely for the other ones though, shark and marlin and swordfish or something I think? Even the cold prawn thing is a bit of a debate, TBH, they say the same about cold meats and eating last night's dinner cold and stuff, but the odds of them picking up significant bacteria are pretty squiddly, over here at least. BTW everybody please note that the freezing thing ONLY applies to fish, not meat or anythign else - in fish it's little worms that can cause a problem, which are killed by freezing, but in everything else it's bacteria, which just hibernate in the freezer and will wake up again once defrosted.

 

[buddabun]

Maybe it's 4 a week. either way it's more tuna than I could possibly eat!

I'm sad about swordfish as I love it but I think I can live without it!!!