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Expectant and Postpartum Moms
Let's talk about restaurants
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Anonymous
| Since we have certain food limitations (from the OB doctor) during our pregnancies, and many of us don't like to cook on weekends, I would like to hear your experiences and restaurant recommendations in VA, DC and MD. |
Anonymous
| What food limitations are you thinking of? My eating habits didn't really change when I got pregnant. About halfway through I found that Mexican food no longer sat well, but other than that I went to the same restaurants as I had before. |
Anonymous
| Agree with PP - I am 7 months with my second, and have a much harder time grabbing a quick lunch (no deli meat) or god forbid, something to eat at a baseball game (no hot dogs) than going to an actual sit-down restaurant. We've even done Japanese a bunch of times, just at Matuba which has lots of alternatives to sushi. Something that's nice to look for is a place with half-bottles of wine, though, so your partner can have more than just one glass without getting a whole bottle or paying the exorbitant by-the-glass price. |
Anonymous
| OP answering here. Thanks for your response and I agree with you regarding the mexican food, for me it's too spicy. I'm talking about seafood and certain dishes that contains mushrooms. My husband and I used to go to a good restaurant in Old Town and enjoyed raw oysters. Now, cooked salmon is the only safe dish I have. In my opinion, preventing is better than a cure. |
Anonymous
| OP again. I mean, Old Town Alexandria, VA. |
Anonymous
|
14:49 PP here - Obviously raw food is a no-no, and I know certain types of fish (some tuna, sowrdfish, etc.) are off limits due to mercury concerns. But I continued to eat most fish (catfish, cod, salmon, snapper) and cooked shellfish throughout.
Mushrooms are an issue? |
jennrgolden
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|
I was told to stay away from Mushrooms too (as well as peanuts, deli meats, un-pasteurized cheeses...I'm sure you all got these same lists). To the original poster, I'm not a big seafood eater so I can't help you specifically with the seafood. I was, however a HUGE cheese and meats fan, that was like telling me I had to quit eating. When I was pregnant with my first it became a fun challenge to try new things, and really when you look at it... you can eat a whole lot of different foods. It's easy to get fixated on what you can't have. You can have Italian food, French, Indian, Mexican (all depending on your aversions of course). I just finally settled in and had fun with it.
The problem I had was lunch time at work. I was accustomed to running out of the office, grabbing a sandwich and running back to eat it at my desk. I finally had to accept that change as well and actually TAKE a lunch so I could get a cooked meal. Good luck, I'm sure you'll work it out. |
Anonymous
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The waitstaff at any good seafood restaurant should be able to steer you towards safe choices. Or it's not too difficult to find a list of low mercury and low-PCB choices online.
And wild caught salmon is better than farmed salmon. |
Anonymous
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Can someone explain the mushroom prohibition? I have NEVER heard that one!
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Anonymous
| My general understanding of the list of things to avoid was that some had toxic issues and some were just preventative (as in preventing an allergy for your child after birth, such as with peanuts). so I didn't investigate everything on the list. I just did a quick Google search and found some sites that said some mushrooms prove to be toxic, still I found another website that says mushrooms are high in zinc and are actually really good for you to eat during pregnancy; that same website however warned that some mushrooms can be poisonous to the baby and to make sure you know the type you are eating... I'd err on the side of caution and avoid them. It's like everything else...you'll conflicting reports and opionins. |
Anonymous
I was told to stay away from the mercury-laden fish, raw fish, unpasteurized cheese, and alcohol, but nothing else. I ate peanuts, peanut butter, mushrooms (?), deli meats, and drank caffeine. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn't eat any mushrooms I found out in the woods, but I think it would be common knowledge if everyday cooking mushrooms were an issue. . . |
Anonymous
| Where does one even find unpasteurized cheese these days? |
Anonymous
|
I found only the deli meat lunch thing to be really an issue.
Anyway, here a few thoughts: - Fish: look up the list of low mercury fish (you can google it, Whole Foods has info in the store) - there's plenty you can eat - Cheese: standard American cheeses as in the lunch places etc are pasteurized. At restaurants, if they are cooked, I def didn't worry about it. If uncooked and I wasn't sure, I asked them to check the label. Import cheese (like a number at Whole Foods) are not pasteurized, but all their cheeses are labeled. - Deli Sandwiches: I replaced deli meats a lot with avocados. I'm sure you can find stuff you like. - Raw Eggs: stayed away from them (such as deserts). Had eggs benedict only if a restaurant confirmed they are pasteurized eggs. Otherwise I was not advised to stay away from eggs. - Meat: asked for it well cooked - Sushi: had cooked fish (shrimp, eel) - Caffeine: I limited it, decaf worked fine for any cravings for me - Alcohol: didn't crave it, hence haven't had it. (If anything, I thought the non-alcoholic beverage options have been rather disappointing) - Spicy food, I def went down a spice level but that's not complicated at restaurants. I stayed away from peanuts too, but my pediatrician just told me that the whole allergy thing and passing it down isn't an issue. Never heard of mushroom problems before, you can find nitrates (or nitrite? not sure...) in soil, maybe that's the problem? I think as long as everything is in moderation, you'll be fine, there's plenty of stuff we can't control and have to trust the labels or just not think about cross-contamination in restaurant kitchens. But it's your own comfort level. I'm 35 weeks now and have always managed to find good options at any restaurant. |
Anonymous
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OP, I think the PP has a very comprehensive list there that's good for you to use!
I also found the deli meat thing to be an issue. If I order red meat I ask for it medium well (which I hate, therefore I rarely order it anymore) Definitely stay away from hollandaise or caesar salad dressing for the raw egg issue. Sushi ... only cooked. I'm bad about caffeine  but I do keep it under 100mgs/day (no coffee for me, just soda which only has 36mgs in it) I only avoid soft cheese like brie, blue cheese, etc. Fish i stick to salmon and tilapia, primarily.
The mushroom thing I have never heard of but I will tell you I have an incredible mushroom recipe and I've made it a couple of times and everything is fine with the baby. |