No no foods

jennas312 · December 2016

Are there certain foods you are staying away from?
The only thing I have really not had is cold lunchmeat. I've had grilled ham and cheese and a pannini.
I don't like sushi, so I haven't had that.
I just ate a frozen corndog, and I know some people ban hotdogs.
Just curious. I'm obviously not too strict with it.

n0soup4u · December 2016

I'm terrible at this and eat everything I shouldn't. Flame me hard.

jesselayne8 · December 2016

Nothing banned for me except alcohol which I will probably drink a little in the 3rd trimester.

michaela0704 · December 2016

Ugh... I was so careful with my first pregnancy...

So I know I shouldn't have alcohol, caffeine, raw or uncooked meats/eggs, unpastuerized anything (esp. cheese), anything prone to listeria (i.e., deli meat)...

But if I'm being honest... I totally had a real caesar salad with the dressing made table-side with raw egg yolk as well as a medium rare steak for our anniversary dinner at a nice steakhouse. Also, I ate some non-baked brie and other artisanal cheeses at my company's holiday party... and I gave into my craving for an Italian sub that wouldn't go away after 2.5 weeks. In general though, I've been really good but I know I deserve to be flamed to a certain extent as I did know better in all of those instances.

Also, I do have a smidgen of caffeine occasionally but nothing like before...

meg2704 · December 2016

I ate a sushi roll in my car on the way home from shopping yesterday. My husband has been so worried about me having anything from the list I had to hide it from him! It wasn't even a raw roll, it was a California roll with cooked sushi on top. It was amazing and I don't regret it.

bornmommy · December 2016

When I met Ina May (although she isn't a physician, she knows her ish and midwives are better trained in nutrition than OBs) this question was asked and I loved her answer. She said (paraphrasing) [ Exercise is important. Being in nature is important. I don't like telling Moms what to eat but do suggest you eat actual food.]

That actual food thing - I try to stick to that. Given that - I definitely just ate a whole bag of Ruffles...

I stay away from mercury rich foods, which I also do not pregnant because who has swordfish hanging around all the time. AmIright? I'll have a glass of wine if I want now that I'm in second tri - limit myself to one a week, if any. I also eat sushi which I know is a "no no food." I guess I'm on team I'll eat what I want with @itsfine. I'll run with you through the flames girl.

LMMama · December 2016

I've stayed away from lunch meat. For some reason the threat of listeria really scares me. I've had some cooked sushi. I've had Caesar salads of which I'm not sure what the dressing contained. But I've really been craving them. Now that I'm in the 2nd tri I'll allow a glass of wine a month or so.

Oh and coffee. I drink one a day.

jennas312 · December 2016

I dont do alcohol now (cant wait for wine in a year or so lol). If I could finish a coffee I would be drinking it as I never survived without it before. After the corndog I ate some potato chips lol

silliegirlie143 · December 2016

OK... so it seems I'm another who will burn with all of you! hahaha

My OB during my pregnancy with DD was young, fresh out of med school and I trusted him more than I would have with an older doctor who took one semester on nutrition. Here were his recommendations:

Sushi: Go for it at your regular fave spot, so long as you haven't gotten sick from there before... and stay away from it on Mondays and Tuesdays (not fresh shipment days).

Wine: Wait til 2nd or 3rd tri... limit to once or twice a week at most and maybe stick to drinking at home because people don't understand and he didn't want me getting upset with stupid people making comments on how I live my life. (Not stupid to be concerned, just stupid to not MYOB)

Lunch Meats: stay away from cold meats at deli counters because you don't know how clean the "kids" who tend to work there are. Just nuke the meats for 15 seconds. Put it back in the fridge after if you want it cold.

Cheese: TRY to stick to the pasteurized cheeses. But if you don't, don't freak out. "The French and Italians have survived for centuries and you're not going to tell me they stopped drinking wine and eating cheese..."

Basically his recommendations were right in line with how I live my life: don't freak out if you can help it... just try to think logically and make wise choices

bornmommy · December 2016

@LMMama - listera scares me too but mainly because its everywhere! There was a recall recently of organic frozen veggies that were contaminated and when I was pregnant with DS1, it was all in cantaloupe.

silliegirlie143 · December 2016

@ turbotastic YES! It was cantaloupe and honeydew when I was expecting DD. Made me SO sad! I was NOT about to heat melons... blech!!

c1tym0m22 · December 2016

To me, it's all a personal choice based on your own risk tolerance. I stay away from all of the "banned" foods since none of them are staples in my usual life and I'm a risk-avoiding kind of gal. But there is no way I'd flame anyone for making different choices where food / alcohol are involved. (And as for cheese, so many of them are available pasteurized - early on, I was eating all of the brie I could find!)

LMMama · December 2016

@Turbotastic ugh I know. I remember the cantaloupe and that's made me stay away from that just in case.

DewyK · December 2016

Same as @jesselayne8

I usually enjoy a glass of wine or a beer a handful of times throughout third trimester.

jennas312 · December 2016

There's never been listeria outbreak on potato chips....

michaela0704 · December 2016

I've never heard of anyone having listeria from deli meats but I know someone who got sick last month from the Sabra hummus, and it was in cakes and produce (e.g., spinach) when I was pregnant last time. So as much as I limit the deli meat, I'm annoyed by the 'rule' and feel like I'm supposed to follow it... but if I ever do get listeria, I'd put money it would be from something random and NOT deli meat.

Assiram42 · December 2016

I'm not much of a deli meat eater or a sushi fan, but today is day 2 of gas station hot dogs for me.

I'm not too strict with it.

Wino0920 · December 2016

I'm not strict at all. I'm confused about the cheese thing though. Unpasteurized cheese is banned in the US so I don't know why people keep saying only pasteurized? That's the only kind available, unless traveling outside of the US.

bornmommy · December 2016

Wino0920 said:

I'm not strict at all. I'm confused about the cheese thing though. Unpasteurized cheese is banned in the US so I don't know why people keep saying only pasteurized? That's the only kind available, unless traveling outside of the US.

I feel like I've definitely seen unpasterized cheese. (I could be wrong and possibly messing this up with the unpasterized OJ at the check out lines of Wegmans.) And (clearly this isn't the case here since we are all using technology) but there are definite cultures within the US who don't pasteurize their stuff like the Amish. Now I'm curious as to what they do! LOL

BelhurstBride · December 2016

The only rule I follow is deli meat. 1) I don't usually eat much of it anyway. 2) there is no positive to it.

Most of the "no no" rules are misunderstood, outdated and/or the risk doesn't outweigh the benefit of said item.

anitamargarita_82 · December 2016

I have 1 cup of coffee a day. As far as lunch meat is concerned I eat prosciutto wrapped in mozzarella pretty much daily. It's so satisfying. Other than that I don't do much lunch meat. I won't do alcohol though... 1 glass will make me want 3-4 more and it's just not fair to have to stop at 1 :-)

bornmommy · December 2016

@Wearmi1 - "because the more drink, the more I driiiink!"

anitamargarita_82 · December 2016

@Turbotastic not even gonna lie!! I do love me some cheap barefoot pink moscato!!! Give me all the cheap wine!!!!!

CurlyMommy416 · December 2016

I love this thread. I love sushi and I have not given it up. I love that you all unabashedly eat potato chips.

JessyKV · December 2016

michaela0704 said:

I've never heard of anyone having listeria from deli meats but I know someone who got sick last month from the Sabra hummus, and it was in cakes and produce (e.g., spinach) when I was pregnant last time. So as much as I limit the deli meat, I'm annoyed by the 'rule' and feel like I'm supposed to follow it... but if I ever do get listeria, I'd put money it would be from something random and NOT deli meat.

This is my thought this time around too! I didn't any any deli meat the first time around. A few times with my second and this time I'm being super laid back about ordering me some jimmy johns lol. I seem to hear more listeria problems in bagged veggies, fruit, hummus etc and no doctor is telling you not to eat those!

I also drink coffee and diet coke this time around.

Poor 3rd kiddo lol.

michaela0704 · December 2016

The US does have imported unpasteurized cheeses...

https://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/30/some-like-it-raw-the-state-of-unpasteurized-cheese-in-the-u-s/

mrt · December 2016

Also, local cheeses can be unpasteurized, and I see those a lot.

Wino0920 · December 2016

So the ban says if they are "unpasteurized" they have to be aged for at least 60 days which kills the bad bacteria and stuff they are afraid of. The US regulates unpasteurized.

i tried looking for a an article I once read that said only select places sell unpasteurized cheese, most like specialty stores. If you are out at a restaurant,
its pasteurized, unless they specifically tell you on the menu.

lovesclimbing · December 2016

Everything in moderation is my rule except alcohol. I'm not drinking at all during the pregnancy (except for one tiny sip just to taste a locally made mulled cider.)

I've drank raw milk, eaten raw cookie dough (just did that two minutes ago!), smoked fish, cold deli meat, alfalfa sprouts, etc.

For those of you concerned about listeria, have you looked up the stats on it? According to the CDC and FDA, about 1,600 people get sick each year in the U.S. from listeria and only 14 percent of those are pregnant women. The odds of you being one of those 224 pregnant women is pretty small. There were roughly 4 million births in the U.S. last year which equals a 0.0056 percent chance. Pretty good odds in my book. Personally, I think the benefits of some of those foods (the nutrients in raw milk and alfalfa sprouts) outweigh the tiny, tiny chance of listeria.

If you look hard enough, you can find reasons not to eat just about everything. In a pamphlet from my insurance company they sent me when I became pregnant written by a DOCTOR no less, the recommendation was no fish. Zero, zip, zilch. Stay away from high mercury, sure, but this recommended none, not even salmon, which has pretty much always been considered a safe fish. I eyerolled so hard.

Praying41 · December 2016

Never knew potato chips were banned.

I was super careful at the beginning of my first pregnancy but then once I was out of the constantly scared of everything phase I started occasionally having some of the banned foods.

This time around the only thing I don't/won't have is alcohol. I feel like moderation is the key so that's what i stick with. And I dont know what moderation is with alcohol so I just don't even want to try. Lol.
Also if I do eat sushi or deli meat I only eat it where I know the food is high quality and I've eaten many times with no issues. So no subway or other chain places. Even if not pregnant.

Knottie42089123 · December 2016

I avoid the no-nos but otherwise my diet has the nutritional value of a box of Lucky Charms :-/

brooklynmama718 · December 2016

No cold cuts, sushi or unpasteurized foods... Yes to coffee!! About 16oz a day

ladylolly89 · December 2016

I eat nearly anything and everything (in moderation)...sushi, lunchmeat, salad dressing, cookie dough, prosciutto, small glass of wine or good beer here and there, cheeses, French silk pie, you name it. I just make sure the food is fresh. I do limit fish with a high mercury content though.

I did the same when I was pregnant with my son.

jennas312 · December 2016

@ladylolly89 salad dressing? Do you mean just Caesar? I've finally started eating salads again and I put some Caesar (kens reserve bottle) on it.

mechanicwife · December 2016

Turbotastic said:

Wino0920 said:

I'm not strict at all. I'm confused about the cheese thing though. Unpasteurized cheese is banned in the US so I don't know why people keep saying only pasteurized? That's the only kind available, unless traveling outside of the US.

I feel like I've definitely seen unpasterized cheese. (I could be wrong and possibly messing this up with the unpasterized OJ at the check out lines of Wegmans.) And (clearly this isn't the case here since we are all using technology) but there are definite cultures within the US who don't pasteurize their stuff like the Amish. Now I'm curious as to what they do! LOL

I know where it came from when I make it my own cheese, yogurt, etc. So if I made it in my own kitchen, I know I can trust it! (That being said, I've actually never made cheese, but I have made yogurt.)

My guess is this is what the Amish are thinking too.

halfthetree · December 2016

I just love this thread and the realness of the responses. This makes me so happy.

Absolutely a glass of wine once in a while, but heartburn usually wine-blocks me. Other than that... I'll eat what I want. The only meat I eat is chicken and the occasional cravings driven steak, and I don't do dairy, so I just try to eat the rainbow and whatever else I find in my way.

I also drink about 2 cups of coffee per day. Which is low for me.

HopefulNoob · December 2016

Turbotastic said:

@LMMama - listera scares me too but mainly because its everywhere! There was a recall recently of organic frozen veggies that were contaminated and when I was pregnant with DS1, it was all in cantaloupe.

Exactly! Makes these rules very arbitrary when all the recalls are from processed foods or fresh veggies. Way more likely than getting it from the sources they ban. You're also more likely to get food poisoning from fast food and food service worker hygiene habits than all of this crap.

bar italia · December 2016

i've tried to limit things, but...eh...stuff happens. i probably have 2-3 cokes a week, i had rare tuna last night...for some reason i've eaten more mcdonald's in this pregnancy than the like...previous 5 years combined. the heart wants what the heart wants! haha. i have a lot of food aversions while pregnant, so if there's something i actually want...i go for it. most of the time its for super tart foods like pineapple, oranges or lemonade but sometimes its fountain coke and french fries. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what can you do?

mombod · December 2016

While pregnant I do not eat/drink raw eggs (cookie dough), raw fish, unheated deli meats, unpasteurized cheeses, alcohol, or prepackaged hummus (homemade is better anyway), or swordfish. I do have in moderation caffeine. This is based on how much I like these already, researching the potential risks and a personal comfort level (listeria scares me!).
As a mentioned in other posts my midwife recommends a pretty strict "clean" diet which I use as a guideline but not a rule book.

Wino0920 · December 2016

jennas312 said:

@ladylolly89 salad dressing? Do you mean just Caesar? I've finally started eating salads again and I put some Caesar (kens reserve bottle) on it.

Caesar dressing has raw eggs and anchovies in it.This applies to homemade Caesar dressing. Kens and other brands are totally fine.

kdanjou · December 2016

You ladies are awesome. You make me feel better about my "brave" choice to drink an occasional 8oz coke and eat chocolate.

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