'No No' foods during pregnancy

[mandiii20]

Hi girls! This is my first pregnancy and I am unsure as to what I can eat and what I cant eat.

My DP wanted to have chinese for dinner tonight as a treat (as we rarely eat out) and I called the place but they use MSG so that was out. Now he wants Pizza. Is Pizza ok? (I know its fatty but is it a 'no no' food during prengnancy??)

What else other than Chinese, blue vein and cambembert (?) cheese etc...

[mandiii20]

What food contains MSG??

I know my gf who is 7 months pregnants and eats lots of Burger King and Maccas, that cant be good for baby....but is it really bad?

[cwsmum]

I at whatever I wanted when I was preg. I was just a bit more careful about where things came from and how they were stored & prepared.

You need to be careful with things like deli meats, they are fine if they are cooked tho. Eggs need to be well cooked, so does any meat or seafood you eat...there may be some seafood you should avoid but I'm not sure. Any soft cheeses, not a huge cheese fan here, cream cheese is ok tho. Salads should be really well washed, even the 'ready to eat' ones you get in the supermarket.

There's a huge list of things that your should avoid, but most of them I just chose to be selective about where I got them from.

Most take away is fine, I had chicken burgers for lunch almost every day when I was preg with my DS, it was all I could eat. When preg with DD I ate heaps of microwave popcorn :laughing: Pizza should be fine if that's what you want for dinner, or try a different chinese place :)

[Butterflies&Hurricanes]

No chinese?? I ate heaps of Chinese when pregnant with DS... Although we always ask for no MSG - even when not preggers.

As far as I know all you need to avoid really is soft unpastuerised cheeses, Raw meat/fish (sushi), raw/undercooked eggs, pate, fish high in mercury (shark, marlin, swordfish), liver and alcohol.

Hope that helps

[nayasmum]

I know everyone says you cant eat this or that! but i ate anything and my DD turned out just fine! mind you i ended up gaining alot of weight because of it :no: ......oh well!! hehe i no for next time!

[Kyles72]

Surely it wouldnt be too hard to stay away from liver and raw eggs?:barf:

Im just trying to stick to fresh, homecooked meals - not so much overprocessed take away (yummy) stuff

[M~T~J~M]

:wave:

When I'm UTD, I stay away from
* hotdogs
* deli meats
* soft cheeses
* soft serve icecreams/sundaes
* hot chickens (from safeway, etc)
* foods from bain maries
* pre made sandwiches

When cooking eggs, I always make sure that they are fully cooked, or they don't pass my lips!

If I'm buying takeaway, I ask for my food to be feshly cooked, that way I know it hasn't been sitting around. I also swap my normal bbq chicken pizza for a vegetarian pizza. That way, it's not containing meats that I have no idea about (expiry, fresh, etc)

[sueliz]

Hey there!!

Congrats on your pregnancy!! I found this brochure online which is great for what to eat and what not...

http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/consumer/pdf/pregnancy-brochure.pdf

[tgo576231]

its actually illegal to use msg in cooking food for sale

[KatiesMum]

As far as listeria goes - a good general rule is if it is hot (steaming) you can eat it.

Heat kills bacteria - so even if you crave KFC or pizza, it is only bad (bacteria wise) if it has been sitting around for ages at room temp - you can still eat it, just take it home and heat it up properly.

Bacteria (listeria incl) multipies greatly at room temp - below 5 or above 60 degrees is generally ok.

If you are cooking and have leftovers - put them in the fridge straight away, and always reheat them to steaming...

Stay away from -
- runny/raw eggs
- home made mayo if it uses egg - store bought mayo is fine as the eggs are pasteurised
- large fish (varieties of fish that grow large store lots of mercury) This does not include tinnd Tuna which is VERY good for you
- soft serve icecream
- soft (unprocessed) cheese (cream cheese etc which has been processed is fine) though soft cheeses in cooked food are fine if they are hot....
- COLD CHICKEN - possibly the worst thing for listeria - if you want chicken heat it up
- deli meats (again can have hot - eg on pizza)
- salads etc from the deli (they are not kept cold enough)
- shellfish (though again they are ok if served hot)
- raw meat (when cooking wash the cutting board before making a salad....)

Many people eat many of these things when pregnant and never have a problem - but it is a risk .....

[hailse75]

Thanks for that link Sueliz, I had no idea about the sprouts!! I wonder why you can't eat them?? I would have thought they'd be chock-full of good stuff...

[k8y]

Hey there!!

Congrats on your pregnancy!! I found this brochure online which is great for what to eat and what not...

http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/consumer/pdf/pregnancy-brochure.pdf

I've heard of most foods and have been following the foodguide per above, but does anyone know about boost juice's? They use yoghurt in their smoothies, but isn't it like a soft serve type thing?

I've been craving them, but I've avoided them, simply because I don't know.

[mumofsamuel]

OK don't quote me here as I'm quoting other websites that may not be accurate (whilst waiting for the official Boost Juice website to load!).

Another PG forum person asked the same question and the general answers (from other people on the forum, so not GP's) said that as long as you don't get the supplements (Ie, Vitamin A, Caffeine or Guarana, etc would be a NO-NO), then you should be fine. Someone else said it's OK without the supplements as it's frozen yoghurt and not soft serve ice cream.

Checking Boost site now...

OK, here goes: The website doesn't specify they are actually SAFE for PG women but on the "Menu" part of their site there are several categories. They don't mention anything until you get to the "Boosters" section that has the added stuff (Additional vitamins, proteins, etc). At the bottom of this section it says "Please note: Boosters are not suitable for children under 15 years of age or pregnant women".

I would also steer clear of the low fat ones as by memory, I think we should only drink full cream (not sure but I think it's something like that).

I hope this helps you somewhat. If in doubt. just ask as you're ordering exactly what they are about to put into the drink you're ordering. Avoid any additional supplements and make sure it's frozen yoghurt and not skim milk. Good luck!

[k8y]

Well I looked on their website too, but my poor wee brain obviously didn't look hard enough :laughing:

Thanks for that info NoosaMumToBe. I can assume their safe as long as I don't have the 'boosters' :D

Are we suppose to be drinking full cream stuff? I've always been a low fat milk/low fat yoghurt etc person and thought they had the same amount of calcium ie the only difference was the level of fat content :confused: Hope I'm not doing the wrong thing.

[mumofsamuel]

k8y - Don't stress. I just tried to Google it and found nothing wrong with it. I just remember hearing something but couldn't remember what. Maybe I was mistaken. I have no idea where I got it from. Maybe someone else has an idea as to what it is about either skim milk or low fat milk or something.

I don't think it's anything to worry about though. If it were that important I hope it would be enough for me to remember! Maybe I can blame this one on my placenta brain!

[jazzah]

Hi june mums, after having 9 kids an expecting my 10th in july , I tend not to worry so much about suspect food, the only things that I avoid are, the foreign cheeses, anything that has been cooked and then gone cold, one tip is, always heat everything up till it is really,really hot that way you know that it will be alright, and dont worry about pizza or chinese I eat these things all the time, and i drink more coke than anyone,probably tooooo much.:dizzy: