cold cuts

[Evelynmia'smom]

is there any safe way to eat cold cuts? i really want an italian sub! can i microwave the cold cuts and then cool them?

[Ellen Griswold]

This is what my ob recommends if you really want them and just to have them in moderation.

[NorthernPixie]

I believe the concern is about Listeria, which is killed if the offending item is heated to steaming - microwaving or cooking does that. However, if you ordered a sub from a restaurant, any listeria that was potentially on the meat could transfer to the rest of the sandwich, so just pulling off the meat and heating it won't accomplish much. If you made it yourself, though, that should work. And of course lunch meat has nitrates/nitrites in it usually, so that in moderation is always good. Happy eating!

p.s. the same is true for soft cheese. You can eat goat's cheese or brie if you bake it to bubbling. Yum. Now I want some.

[FloridaBorn]

I have eaten all kinds of Cubans and deli sandwiches during my pregnancy.

*shrug*

[nameisrio]

Confession: I even had a few hotdogs when I was pg and we were both fine!

[~Demeter~]

I have had more than one Italian type sub in each of my pregnancies. This is #5, I do not think microwaved salami sounds all that spectacular to be honest. (I also don't own a microwave) I think it's ok to eat lunch meat in moderation, just like everything else.

[Mama2Kayla]

During pregnancy, I always crave subs, and I frequently indulge

I also drink raw milk and eat soft cooked eggs...FWIW, both of my children are fine.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Evelynmia'smom]

Thanks all!

[NorthernPixie]

It's not that all of those things WILL give you listeria, it's that they have a higher chance of containing it, and IF they do, a pregnant woman is more susceptible to it than other people. I think it's particularly bad for the placenta. There was a really big listeria scare here in Canada a year or two ago and a lot of people got sick from a variety of lunch meat.

The whole list of things you eat in pregnancy is all about risk assessment...it might not matter. But the argument that well I did it and I/my kids are fine is the same type of argument as my kids all had formula and they were fine. Or we never used car seats when my kids were little and they turned out fine. Like all things in life, you need to decide what risks are worth taking for you and your family and be fine with that.

[WingonWing]

The listeria thing doesn't really bother me--I mean, listeria is nasty, but I could also get e.coli from spinach so....

I'm trying to stay away from lunch meat because it's a crappy food, not because of the listeria.

But, before anyone thinks I've hopped on a food pedestal, my m/s has been so bad that there are very few things I can choke down and Taco Bell nachos and pizza are about all I can manage.

[miami mommy]

At one of my prenatal appointments, my ob was going off on all of the bad information out there in pregnancy books. So I asked her about deli meats because I had been dying for a turkey sandwich, but abstaining since I was worried about listeria. She said it's really not that big of a concern and to go ahead and eat deli meats. So I left that appointment and went straight to get myself a turkey sandwich. Yum! I think that was the best turkey sandwich of my life because I'd been craving them so much.

And I gave birth in November and all was well with the pregnancy. I ate a lot of deli turkey!

[redvlagrl]

IMO, it's all about confort zone. As the PPs have said it's a listeria risk, but small. BUT if you do get listeria it's pretty bad for the baby, unlike other types of food poisoning as I understand it.

Personally the only things I avoid while pregnant are alcohol and raw shellfish. I still eat raw fish, soft cheese (most are pasturized anyway), etc in moderation.

I think you need to ask yourself the question - if I did get sick and the baby got hurt could I forgive myself? For me I can live with it with the foods that I do eat. The ones I avoid are the ones I personally think are riskier. DH has a cousin the fetal alcohol syndrome so he won't even let me have a sip of wine. DH's aunt was put on an alcohol drip to stop prem labour. It stopped the labour, but left her DS with FAS.

[cloudgazer]

I thought the fear about listeria was overblown until I read how harmful it can be to the baby - even stillbirth. And, even though its rare, something like a third of people who get it are pregnant women. I thought it would be like food poisoning...thinking, well, maybe since I'm pretty healthy overall, baby and me would be fine. But, the scary thing about listeria (from what I've read- sorry don't have source now), is that you can be infected - or baby can be infected without symptoms...or it can take days or weeks to show signs.

Of course, the risk is SUPER small for the average person, its just higher for us preggos.

(not to say that anyone who has had cold cuts is irresponsible, just wanted to share how it changed my thinking). And, I think microwaving them is a great idea! (never thought of that)

[Evelynmia'smom]

thanks for all the feedback....I didn't worry about the risks at the end of my first pregnancy...lived on turkey sandwiches. i think i'm going to err on the side of caution at least until the first tri is over. anyway, i feel too sick the past two days to consider eating cold cuts now, so the point is moot I guess.

[MacKinnon]

My very mainstream OB said they no longer recommend pregnant women avoid lunchmeats. I was very surprised! I admit that I do still eat lunch meat, pretty regularly, We get Boar's Head, with no nitrate, nitrite, fillers, etc. sliced at our local store where they are very good about food safety and sanitization as far as I can observe anyway (and it's all open, I'm ServSafe certified, so I'm pretty up on what they should be doing). I'm OK with it, but yes, the risk is listeria, and just heating and returning to the same bread wouldn't be enough to really prevent it as the bread/lettuce/etc is all potentially contaminated.

[sunshinejanie]

I am obsessed with Subway. I don't like my sub toasted either.

[moxygirl]

The nurse at my obgyn asked me about my consumption of lunch meat. I said I never eat it because listeria is a risk I feel is easily avoided. She proceeded to tell me that if I had a craving for a sub, go for it, just have it toasted. Toasting it kills the listeria and also renders the nitrites harmless. I had never ever heard this before but, hey, I really doubt my obgyn would be passing out this information if it risked a lawsuit, so I'm going with it.

[OrchideZ]

I get all my sliced meats from Whole Foods b/c they don't have any nitrates in their meats, then I heat up the ham or turkey in a pan before adding it to a sandwich. It satisfies me and then there is not the risk factor to worry about.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

Originally Posted by Evelynmia'smom

is there any safe way to eat cold cuts? i really want an italian sub! can i microwave the cold cuts and then cool them?

I ate these loads when pregnant
never had them toasted had italian bmt with lettuce, onion, peppers, chillis and mayonnaise
still love it now although i've started having southwest sauce