Lunch?

[LavenderInTheField]

I usually bring in leftovers for work lunch but sometimes I forget or don't have any leftovers. On those days I am at a complete loss what to buy outside as so much seems to contain stuff that has warnings in pregnancy.

My favourite purchased lunches before pregnancy were sushi, salads and things with cold meats, all stuff to avoid...

What do you buy for lunch or how do you get around the million warnings?

Sushi is fine- prepacked will be cooked and not raw. Cured meat if not cooked shouldn't be eaten but I don't think you'd find that in a pre packed salad or sandwich. Salad is fine if it's been washed - tbh the only thing I didn't eat when I was pregnant was liver.

Cold cut meats that have been packaged are fine - it is the ones left out on deli counters at the supermarket that you need to avoid. It's mainly a food poisoning risk that you're avoiding by avoiding certain foods x

Deli meat I just put in the freezer for 5 days.

What's wrong with salads? And ham is fine, it's cooked, same with other meats like cooked chicken. Most sandwiches would be fine apart from smoked salmon. Honestly the warnings are very over-cautious. The book 'Expecting Better' has really made me realise that.

I've ate smoke salmon in pregnancy.

Should of added then I eat it* kills off the nasties.

Have you looked at the NHS list of what you should avoid in pregnancy? Because all of those things are fine to eat.

I ate sushi the whole way through both pregnancies. All prepackaged is fine and most restaurants serving fresh sushi use salmon that has previously been frozen, meaning it's OK for pregnant women to eat. Salad just needs to be washed - again unlikely to find unwashed salad being sold many places. And meats are fine unless it's cured and hasn't been cooked first (salami/chorizo etc).

I've been eating chorizo. Just stuck it in the freezer for 5 days and then eat it.

I've been living off meal deals .... Sandwiches, salads, sushi and all.

There's nothing on the NHS about avoiding salad and cold meat

Stick to the nhs list to avoid. Cold meats and salads are absolutely fine to eat, it’s only cured meats that haven’t been cooked. There really isn’t that much that you need to avoid during pregnancy

So glad I can eat ham in packs! The other day I just had a basic cheese sandwich!

The salad is because apparently sometimes they aren't washed thoroughly so there is a risk of illness from those. Apparently better if you wash it through yourself, rather than just eat it from the pack...This was from a mumfluencer on insta rather than NHS.

On the sushi/smoked salmon NHS says the below - so if I get it from Wasabi or Itsu do they cook the salmon, as it looks smoked/raw to me?:

You should avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish because it could be contaminated with listeria bacteria. These bacteria can cause an infection called listeriosis, which can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth, or make your newborn baby seriously ill. Cooking smoked or cured fish until it's steaming hot will kill any bacteria that may be present.

And this is why you should only pay attention to NHS advice. Not “mumfluencers” 😂

This is from Itsu's website...

Is your fish safe for pregnant women?

Our tuna and salmon are considered safe to eat raw. Our salmon is EU farmed, pellet fed and individually inoculated, which means it’s exempt from the requirement to be frozen prior to being eaten raw or lightly cooked.

Honestly it's going to be a long pregnancy if you worry about every single salad leaf!

And from Wasabi's website...

Can you eat sushi while pregnant?

The salmon we currently use is high quality farmed Atlantic Scottish salmon and Norwegian salmon, from parasite-free water sources. It is fine to eat raw and all of our processes comply with the relevant food safety regulations. Bearing this in mind, it’s your call whether to eat sushi during pregnancy. If you have any concerns it’s best to seek specialist medical and nutritional advice.