Lunchtime Suggestions

Hi All,

I need some help! I'm work in an office and am really struggling to come to terms with the diet changes I need to be making to ensure I'm doing the right thing by the baby!

Lunch is a real issue - what is safe to eat in terms of buying something from somewhere in the city? Obviously the traditional ham and cheese toastie is ruled out - but what about a chicken and lettuce roll from a roll shop? A salad from MYO?? Curry from the food hall?

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated, as always. Thanks.

Tanya

i was told to be careful about salad, it can still be comtaminated with listeria even tho its cold - its the way it is stored... but i haev been eatign them, so i say if it looks really fresh and crisp it should be ok.... but i wouldnt touch the chicken.....
other food as fas as i know is ok as long as its piping hot.

but i could be proven wrong...

I was told to stay away from sliced meats and also chicken from takeaway places due to listeria.

For lunch I used to buy a tomato and cheese toasted sandwhich.... yep nearly everyday! I did get very bored of it :lol:

I take my own salad lunches to work - not sure if its the best thing for me, but to be quite honest, got sick of not being able to eat anything else. It's only out of the fridge for an hour, and everything seems fine so far. I just chuck lettuce, cucumber, carrot and cherry tomatoes in a container, and keep a bottle of balsalmic vinegar in the work fridge. Works out tasty, healthy (except for the dressing lol) and if you get different dressings or lettuce types you still get a bit of variation.

I used to have the same problem. I avoided sandwiches and rolls from shops. Even tomato could have been cut hours earlier so is a listeria risk. Curry would probably be ok, especially if it's freshly cooked. Same with pasta or pizza depending on the toppings. If it's not freshly cooked and you're a bit worried, you can always nuke it when you get back to the office until it's steaming. Things like roast veges would be ok, I think I had a roast meat sandwich at times. Also fish and chips, or bacon and egg muffins/sandwiches/burgers. There are things that are ok, but ironically they are usually the things that are not so good for you. But remember that you can have extra cholesterol when pg so I took advantage of that LOL!

i totally relate!!! my work has a caffeteria and i used to buy a chicken lettuce sandwich or a ham and salad sandwich every single day... until i found out i was pregnant! i was told to avoid pre prepared salads such as in sandwich bars (and of course the deli meats are out) but i have started to eat their salads again now because i found out they cut up the ingredients fresh every day... so i feel safer in knowing that but still feel a tiny bit worried... i try really hard to bring my own luch but its a struggle!.ive been getting them to make me toasted cheese and pineapple sandwiches (seems safe)/.

Bluetree - actually that's a good idea. A toasted sandwich will usually be ok.

One of the shops near me will heat up the meat for you and then put in in the sandwich and toast it...
And I do the buy hot food and bring it back to the office and nuke it till steaming and almost burns my mouth...
I am hoping that will be ok.
xo

I worked at a university when I was pregnant so I would get lunch from the refectory if I hadn't had time to make my own.
I usually ended up buying a sandwich - I stayed away from ham and other deli meats, but to be honest, I didn't worry too much about salads etc on sandwiches. They made the sandwiches up fresh after the breakfast trade ended and they were always sold out by about 1pm so they were always fairly fresh. Maybe I should have been more careful, but what else are you going to eat?? It's difficult to buy anything that doesn't fall into the 'listeria risk' category.
Oh - plus I used to CRAVE hot chips soaked in vinegar so I had a fair amount of those!! Yumm! Not very nourishing but OH so good! :)

hey ladies, im preg with #2 and i have been eating ham... from the deli i had no idea that u couldnt eat certain things, i knew about the soft cheese but thats all. is there anything else i should not eat??
cheers

Hi Ladies

Just a quick question sort of on topic.
I went to a wedding on Sunday and they served cheesecake for dessert. I ended up having a piece, it was to die for and was up thre on the list of best ever tasted. I am now worried that i shouldnt have eaten it, is cheesecake really a big no no?

I think that most of the food would probably be alright, but of course no one wants to risk it, and then we all panic about everything we eat (even my DH has taken to asking me what I had for lunch every day).
It is so hard though. Like today I had a spinach and ricotta roll (like a sausage roll), but then as I was walking back to work I remembered that I had read something about ricotta being a no-no (agggh) but then I was pretty sure that it was only if it isn't cooked. oh and the other day we went to a pizza shop and my dad ordered a smoked salmon pizza (no!), and my DH ordered something covered in ham (no!), so I thought, you know what, i'll have a caeser salad, that'll be good and healthy.... only to read a day later that caesar dressing is made with raw eggs, and that it is another no for pregnant people.... so many pitfalls!

I am thinking that from now on I am just going to bring in spaghetti with tomato based vegetable sauces. It's healthy and I know where it has come from and how clean the ingredients are, and also pasta carbs are supposed to be good for m/s. I just hope I don't get too bored!

Just wanted to revive this thread as it's a good one to read. I've been ponding this exact issue myself. I'm on xmas holidays from work but when I return i think i'll struggle food wise.

Normally for breakfast I either have 2 pieces of wholemeal toast with vegemite or some cereal such as Just Right or Weet Bix. So i think i'm covered for Breakfast.

Lunch is generally a bit of a change each day. One day i might have a microwave meal (probably going to have to cut that out I assume???), a can of soup (such as beef stew with vegetables - pipping hot of course) and some toast, another day maybe left overs, and maybe another day salad with salmon. I know I have to cut out the 'smoked salmon' but i'm assuming I can still have canned normal salmon (like in springwater) or the tuna pouches you can get with different flavours. I've also really taken a liking to tortilla wraps with phili cream cheese, salmon or tuna, then salad and an awesome sweet chili sauce I found.. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me that will be ok to eat???

Also throw in some fruit salads which i make fresh each morning and i'm hoping I won't have to stress too much..

I also heard today that it's no good to have honey!!! Is that true??

Does anyone know of any good cookbooks especially for PG people which might have easy lunch options??

I find it annoying, cause as soon as you tell people you're pg, they give you list of what you can and can't do.. :D

My doctor said no soft cheeses and no salami... so that's what I'm sticking to.. Everything else I will eat in moderation.. and of course, if something from a lunch bar looks suss, don't eat it... apparently bain marie foods aren't good either..

Before the Christmas break, I was still eating Subway and stuff.. usually just with salads in them now.. or if it has any meats in it, I always make sure it's toasted!

My father in law tried to tell me not to eat ice cream... pfft!! haha

If you're not sure, just check with your doctor at your next appointment, I'm sure that they will be able to set you straight on a few things :)

Best site I have found is the NSW food health site..give a good run down on what we can and cant eat. Home | NSW Food Authority: safer food, clearer choices

Normal ice cream is fine BUT soft serve ice cream can be high in listeria.

My problem isnt what isnt safe to eat it's trying to find anything my body will let me eat..........I am so bored white bread and basic carbs. I cant keep down any fruit or vedgies or meat and I am only 6 weeks. With my first pregnancy this went on until 18 weeks!!!

Happy eating ;)

Tarsh

Hi everyone. i hope you don't mind me joining. i have bought a book called " What to expect when you're expecting and What to eat when you're expecting" by Eisenburg, Murkoff and Hathaway (approx. $40). It has a section on nutrition and it talks about the foods we should be eating daily. My doctor also told me to stay away from the soft cheeses and to be careful with Deli products. He said that salads are ok as long as i prepare them. It is important that they are washed well to avoid Listeria.

Still, i think i've eaten a few things i'm not supposed to but.... oops! I know what you mean though Tarsh, if you can't keep it down, what's the point! It is best to eat something even if it is plain old boring toast.

My GP gave me a leaflet that had all the stuff you should and shouldnt eat in it. But it ruled out just about everything unless you prepared it fresh yourself.
Its called "Listeria and food" and is published by Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Their website is Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Hope it helps

My SIL told me how she used to get a smoothie every day when she was pregnant. But she used to ask about for soft serve ice-cream rather than yoghurt in it. she had completely forgotten about the soft-serve being a risk food until one day the girl behind the counter questioned her about it. She immediately panicked and felt so guilty. She spoke to her ob (a very well known and respected one) about it and he said, that Australia has one of the lowest risks of Listeria in the world. It is mainly Europe that has the problems. And if you think about it, Europe does store their food and prepare their food in a very different way to us, especially deli meats. He told her not to go just start eating all the high-risk foods, but not to worry if she does find herself unable to avoid it. She now has a very healthy baby boy.

So if you do find yourself eating the wrong thing, I think the thing to remember is to not beat ourselves up about it. Oh, and my doctor told me deli meat is fine as long as it is hot. So pizza is still on the good list as long as it is hot!!!! Same goes for toasted sandwiches!

It's a very interesting subject. We all seem to get told different things. I've seen 5 different doctors during my pregnancy and the list I now have between all of them is: no deli meat (I do eat ham on pizza if it's really hot, but nothing else), no cold chicken unless it's been cooked at home and eaten within 24 hours, no prepared salads (you don't know if they've been washed), no creamy salad dressings, no sauces that may contain raw egg, no soft cheeses, no soft eggs, no soft serve so that also means no thickshakes or milk shakes unless I know they use real ice cream. I think that's about it.

I stick to it pretty religiously because even though the risk is quite low, the risk is not worth taking as far as I'm concerned. A few months without certain foods is not going to kill me, but listeria could kill my baby or cause a premature birth. The thing that came as a shock to me is that it can hit you up to 70 days after contamination. I got that info from the brochure the midwife gave me. I always thought it would be a bit like getting food poisoning, you'd know soon afterwards, but apparently not.

wow satya i didnt realise it could take that long to hit ... i am like you, friends and family think i am being over cautious but this is bub #1 for us and i dont want to take any chances .... so i have not touched anything on the not to eat list for fear that murphy;s law will hit me should i eat it ....

The first day of the working week, at lunch time I used to go to the supermarket and get stocked up on bread and sandwich ingredients for the week, such as tomatoe, tuna, cucumber, carrot etc. If I felt like buying & needed a change, I'd get a fruit salad & drizzle it with my own purchased tub yoghurts. Some salad bars also have pasta salads with beans, rice, vegies (i.e. with no lettuce if you're concerned about that).

I've found that the weight watchers meals and the lean cuisine meals in the frozen section at the supermarket have been very good.. especially for those nights when im too exhausted to cook so i just have one of them while dp makes himself something that i seriously couldnt even think about eating LOL and the weight watchers/lean cuisine meals are really yummy to. quick and easy when your pregnant thats my motto :)