Banned Foods..what is normal and what is OTT?

Hi all

I'm new to pregnancy & all this food information is driving me crazy!!

I have just eaten hummus (store bought & opened last night).
I had some last night, refrigerated it straight away and had some just now.
I googled it and apparently it's on the "no" list because of the Tahini.

Does anyone else who's pregnant eat hummus? It feels to me like these rules are a bit OTT.

I want to be careful but I don't want to stop living!!!

I look forward to hearing from others....

Thanks Spitfire.

Yep, I understand the why. I have done the research.

It is more I was wondering whether everyone really does follow ALL the rules. I also find there is a lot of conflicting info.

I completely understand it's a personal choice but I really just wanted to gauge what others did/have done. Now I'm worried that I ate the hummus. I feel like I'll stress myself out with worry when I accidentally eat something on the no list & surely that's just as bad?

You would have been sick by now if there had been something wrong with the hummus too so you will be fine. Food poisoning kicks in pretty quickly. Last pregnancy and this one I crave sushi and soft serve frozen yogurt but I follow the guidelines, just because its only a short amount of time to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.


Edited by animaxnz - 23 November 2013 at 5:39pm

I lived overseas during my pregnancy and the guidelines I were given were quite different. :-). Re hummus, it's easy to make your own with chickpeas (from a can) and lemon juice - just blend it all up in a blender. Heating things to piping hot can make all the difference. I ate soft cheeses on pizzas and in panini's and mum cooked a fresh ham on Xmas Day so I could eat that too. The biggest no-no I was told was raw/undercooked egg and undercooked meats.

Sunshine - I did exactly the same thing with the hummus, thinking I was a having a good, healthy preggy snack! Oops! I do avoid hummus now but I have a good, realistic midwife and I check in with her if I am unsure. For instance, she says ham in a vacuum pack is fine as long as you eat on opening, Camembert and brie are fine if NZ made as they are made with pasteurised milk. Some people eat sushi but ask to have it freshly made while they wait. I think you are right, at the end of the day, it is about using your common sense and being thoughtful about storage of food etc. Congratulations on your pregnancy too! From a first-time 40 year old Mum!

Thanks for the congrats on my pregnancy. It's exciting but scary too.
I agree about food storage etc and have been washing lettuce etc before I refrigerate it too.
I guess the key is to not worry too much, adhere to good food hygiene and avoid the really big no no's like blue cheese and deli foods etc. Thanks everyone.
P.s hopefully by tomorrow I'll have a midwife to help with advice like u do :)

Thanks Pitter patter and sorry for the loss of your second pregnancy and ..... congrats on your current pregnancy.
how far along are you?

I'm honestly not sure how many weeks I am, I think about 5?
I guess when I get midwife they'll be able to help with that.
From what I can gather I'm due around 24th July? I had a very irregular cycle before I got pregnant & I ovulate really late in the cycle (last period started 11/10).

I read about Listeria having no symptoms - that's pretty scary too!

I must say that because a lot of friends have miscarried I am pretty careful but it's always good to talk to others about what they've done.

Probably the worst thing I'm doing is having half a cup of coffee in the morning but I used to be a three cup a day girl. As far as washing veges etc - I'm pretty thorough!

I have a midwife calling me today - cross fingers she's the one!