Safe foods at the food court

So with Christmas shopping surely we've all found ourselves needing to buy lunch at the mall food court. What are people's pregnancy-safe recommendations?
I struggle- the 'bay marie' style stuff freaks me out, the salads could be growing listeria, etc
Usually sushi is my healthy option but that's out too!
Yesterday I ended up with a Turkish gozleme cos I knew they'd reheat it, but it still wasn't very hot :( it was also pretty stale, so disappointing!

Has anyone had any success they could share?

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Ick not really :lol: Umm, maybe a pizza slice? Microwaves VERY hot? Is there a place that makes fresh sandwiches? I try to avoid food courts, but when I do go, I go to the busiest place there, so I know the turnover will be high. Getting something like a miso and noodle soup at an Asian place, that they have to actually go out the back to make would be a good option. It's hard to find the right balance, huh :hug:

There's not a lot, when I booked into the hospital there's a food court, there, and there wasn't much there either. It's all stodgy food..

Hot roast sandwich - beef or pork
Hot quarter BBQ chicken - take the skin off for less fat and the other stuff
Steamed rice
Baked potato

Drinks (not so much to do with listeria but healthy ones)
Plain milk
Water

That's all I can think of. The problem is although listeria is rare, it does happen and it's not killed by refrigeration. I have been warned off Subway and sandwich places.

Subway is ok as long as you don't get the salad. So for example you could have the meatball sub - but just ask them to make the meatballs extra hot.

I avoided food courts when I was pregnant for those reasons..... the food has usually been sitting out too long for my liking!

Subway is alright, I used to work there. Do NOT get the lettuce, it comes in bags and isn't fresh. The tomato and onion is sliced up daily. Get any meat, just make sure it's microwaved hot or toasted :)

I usually get some kind of Asian food that requires them to actually cook it (the stuff they have on the board at the back, you know?), rather than the food in the bain marie Last time was a few months back and I got some tempura chicken and asked the guy if the chicken was cooked from raw or just reheated and he assured me it was cooked fresh on order ... and then he said, "You must be pregnant!" :D So it's good to know that some of them are also really aware of the listeria risks as well.

It's a bit of a bummer if you want anything cold, though.

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Subway is alright, I used to work there. Do NOT get the lettuce, it comes in bags and isn't fresh. The tomato and onion is sliced up daily. Get any meat, just make sure it's microwaved hot or toasted :)

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Depends on who owns it. The one near my parents changed hands and the ingredients looked brown and wilted. We saw the manager pick his nose too. Needless to say one of my friends got really bad food poisoning after eating there. She required a drip to rehydrate

That's disgusting. Hopefully if utd you just wouldn't eat there, I'd rather skip a meal or eat late than eat food like that :sick:

glad I'm not the only one finding it hard!
Thanks for the tip on subway lettuce, hadn't realised that.
Soup is a good idea- boiling water is a win :)
I'll have to hunt out the places that make stuff fresh, Sasha thats so funny that they figured out why you were asking!
The few waitresses I've had to ask about creamy dressings have given me the strangest looks when I ask if its made from raw egg!

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It's a bit of a bummer if you want anything cold, though.

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My friend would crave frozen yoghurt so would keep plastic spoons in her handbag and go grab one from coles or woolies. When I was pregnant I'd grab a teaspoon from home, put it in a ziplock bag and go into a supermarket to buy a tub of yoghurt as a mid shopping feed. It stopped the lightheadedness

Maybe you could take a pre packed lunch? Saves money and you know what your eating..I'm all for a pre packed picnic

And you can eat sushi, you just need to know its fresh, ask them questions about when they have made it etc, google it you will find some information on it..
In the end its up to you what you eat from anywhere, I would often have asian food from food courts, not for any reason but coz i liked it ..And i was very careful of what i consumed ..

I've been eating subway heaps this pg!! Lettuce and all!
Obviously if it looks gross I won't, but I haven't had any probs with it,

Id stick to stuff they have to heat (and ask for it extra hot) or fresh made things...

A friend who works as a nurse warned me about subway...the thing is with listeria it can show no symptoms or symptoms 3 weeks or so after.

There's a lot of food at the supermarket, that comes in packets like cheese and crackers, yoghurt, you could get to get you through until you get home.

I think the main thing is simply commonsense. If it's a place you go to regularly, that is clean and does a high turnover, you will be fine. Listeria is very rare. Stay away from lettuce when out if possible, but if you can't, you'll be okay. Don't eat at places that look filthy, or out of bay maries. Heat food well. But most importantly, weigh up your own choices and make decisions on a case to case basis. Making wise food choices isn't just for us preggy ladies :)

Listeria scare sparks chicken products' recall
Listeria scare sparks chicken products' recall

Listeria and Food: Commonly asked questions
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/scie...lyaske3115.cfm

Most shopping centres have a supermarket - I would just go down there, get a pack of rice crackers and a tub of hommus, and because I'm a freak, I keep a plastic knife in my handbag, and there's lunch. There is absolutely nothing in a food court that I trust.

I never ate at food courts unless I knew they were cooking right there and then - like some of the asian places. Or McDonalds, sadly. Actually, I don't think I ate at a food court the whole time.

I avoided all sandwich bars, salad bars, sushi, bain marie food etc. Often the food in the bain marie is cooked and left from 10:30am and when you're having lunch at 1pm, it's been sitting slowly stewing bacteria for a couple of hours. Yuk.

Carry a small container of nuts with you. It's good to keep up the protein intake as well as taking care of the hunger.

Alot of the time when i go out i take my lunch with me. Usually a sandwich with lettuce and cheese, then take along a small tin of tuna and put it on when i get there. Otherwise.. not the most healthiest option but hot chips with vinegar always go down nicely :lol:

I take my lunch with me...twice I was caught out lol, but I admit it's a tad lame. Usually a home made stir fry that I ask someone to microwave :lol: What, I'm a better cook than anything made at a food court :rofl:

Actually something else ive had is those little soups in a bowl you get from coles. Most parents rooms have a microwave and i just heat it up in there.. usually buy a bread roll from coles at the same time.. cheap but tasty lunch!

Snap Shooting star! I was just going to take that parents room have Mics :)

Hey Ladies!

Am Loving all the different Ideas! I've been at the Shops heaps lately and sadly the foodcourt near my work (on days when I havent brought my lunch) offers Nothing that I can really eat!

I steer clear of the "Bain Marie" stuff too and most sandwiches places, simply because I dont know if its from yesterday or today. Sadly DH and I agree that the best option for me at Food Courts is either Macca's or just Hot Chips :shakehead: because its a higher turnover and its cooked more fresh then anything else.

But I LOVE the idea of going into the supermarket and getting something from there! Never even thought of it before!

Can I ask is anyone eating Thai or Chinese from a restaurant?

Yep I eat from Asian restaurants. But they are very reputable, often not cheap ones haha.

I didn't get any foods from food courts ... when I was out at the shops, I'd either grab something from a supermarket, or a banana smoothie from boost (they're pretty filling :) ) or something freshly baked from the bakery (not pies, but a roll etc).

ETA: checking they're not putting any raw egg or soft serve into the smoothie!

HTH

I would avoid milkshakes and smoothies, they put soft serve in them! Make it at home.

Toasted sandwich - i have avocado, tomato and cheese... could take a cuppa soup with you and ask for a mug of hot water.
Pie from a high turnover bakery.. hot chips

i eat thai food quite a bit but they are a good resturant and i would have to say that most things are made fresh... my fav at the moment is Tom Kha soup with jasmine rice, Mix the rice with the soup and you have an awesome and filling dinner.

I would second giving the smoothies/milkshake a miss... unless they make it with hard icecream or fresh yoghurt... the machines are a bacteria breading ground.

I'd be pretty ****ed if they put soft serve into a milkshake seeing as it's not a thickshake. I get milkshakes in lots of places and have not had soft serve in them yet (most cafes etc don't have soft serve machines as far as I know). Soft serve machiebes are gross, I avoided them even pre preg. Boost is awesome yum!

I used to have chocolate milkshakes andif it was somewhere with a softserve machine Id make sure to ask for no soft serve in it. I also mostly ate muffins, toasted sandwiches and chips from foodcourts.

Boost isn't really that healthy either, they don't really put fresh fruit in it , they are high in sugar

Thought the thread was more for 'safe' foods, not healthy ones. I'd rather 'snack' on a boost juice than maccas, more filling too :)

Having said that, I haven't has a boost in years :lol:

The local Brumby's has a high turnover and put fresh stuff out at 11:30am which is when DD and I usually pop in. We always get a pie and share it. She looooves the pastry. I know the lady in the store well and she makes sure she always puts them out fresh and never too much at once. She'll usually put say 4 of each type out at a time and keep some in the pie warmer.

I have a soft spot for a crunchie shake from Wnedy's made with scoop ice-cream. :redface: Sometimes they charge extra for scoop instead of soft serve but oh so worth it.

If i'm desperate, chips or Mcdonalds, i know it's fresh and hot, i avoid the salad though. :D I often had steamed dimsims from a little shop that were hot and sensational.

Gees, i'm not so healthy when i'm out and about. :p Maybe i was just making up for lost time, now, i am 2 plane flights away from a food court and the only take away food option is 2 and half hours and gave me food poisoning a few months ago. No more takeaway for this little fat duck. I'd kill for a food court. :lol:

Yes this is what the thread is for, i just thought i would mention it as iv done my research on boost.. I don't really see the need for mentioing the thread topic , i wasn't that off topic.. :)

I always get the freshly squeezed juice from Boost. Maybe a little risky, if it's been cut up and sitting there a while, but Orange lemon and ginger is soooooo good. Or i ask for one of their other drinks with freshly squeezed juice. :)

Sorry shell, didn't mean to cone across as harsh at all. I just feel with food choices and preg, some people are going to be stressing so much about every little thing you know? And that stress can't be good. Sone people will take to heart everything and I'd hate someone to not enjoy their preg because they're constantly worrying about what is 'bad'. Does that make sense? :hug: for being a bit of a grumpy pumpy last night, wasn't meant to be at all :)

We're lucky at our shopping centre - we have Nandos. Mmmm, flame grilled chicken with peri peri. And grilled corn.

But the tip about getting the asian food freshly cooked is a good one and how I avoid getting sick even though I'm not currently pregnant. Just make sure it's not one of those noodle places like Wok in a Box where everything is pre-prepared and then very quickly stir fried - not sure it'd be cooked long enough to kill all the bacteria.

Otherwise grabbing a selection of fresh fruit, hard cheese, crackers and so on from the Coles/Woollies is a good option as well.

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Sorry shell, didn't mean to cone across as harsh at all. I just feel with food choices and preg, some people are going to be stressing so much about every little thing you know? And that stress can't be good. Sone people will take to heart everything and I'd hate someone to not enjoy their preg because they're constantly worrying about what is 'bad'. Does that make sense? :hug: for being a bit of a grumpy pumpy last night, wasn't meant to be at all :)

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All good Love! Understand about stressing with food, i know it did, except in the end i got over it and just ate what i could keep down:( As i was sick everyday for months.. I ate hash browns and toast for a long time lol ..
I just think in the end you need to eat what you are comfortable with , some ppl choose to eat some foods that others wont touch, you need to work that out for yourself , it doesnt mean you are an awful mother if you eat something someone else wouldn't .
I was vry careful when i was pregnant ,no seafood, no soft serve etc..But like Limeslice said you can give yourself listeria at home if you are not careful ..

Going off topic lol ,I was so stressed about eatig healthy food ,but i couldn't coz i was so sick so i ate what i could keep down ,so i just let the stress of food be banished hehehe and u know what i have a healthy beautiful little girl :) Who is attaching my notebook as we speak lol

Oh so off topic hehehehe :)

Totally agree with you 100%. And LOL salvage the notebook!!