Pregnant Dinner Guest

[Daniel]

We are making Sunday dinner for a group of people.. One being pregnant, what type of foods should we stay away from serving.. No raw meats or fish? No Shellfish (really) like shrimp or lobster. How about Sea Urchin?.. Unpastuerized cheeses? Anything else that we should include? How about runny eggs or poached eggs? Is organ meats ok?

I was thinking like a chicken liver pasta she might like? Any ladies out there care to help me? I was also thinking of doing a bunch of desserts.. Perhaps three different milkshake shots.. Like homemade strawberry shake, a butter pecan flavor, and still brain storming for something like pickles an ice cream.. Maybe do deep fried pickle chips and ice cream.. Or pickled flavored ice cream.. Can anyone think of a cute way to get the pickles and ice cream theme in?

[Marcia]

Hi Daniel,

Maybe you'll find what's safe and what's not during pregnancy in this website:

http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/ps...0,,4rr6,00.html

If she's been taking prenatal vitamins the excess of Vitamin A from the liver can be something to be concerned about. But it depends on how far she is in her pregnancy.

Hope that helps.

Marcia

Edited November 8, 2006 by Marcia (log)

[Catriona]

Chicken Liver, I'd stay away from...

The really conservative version is nothing runny or rare. No shellfish. no lamb. No unpasteurised cheeses (although we've found a mature pasteurised Gouda that's surprisingly good and that's safe for pregnant guests). No foie gras. I'd think sea urchin is a no.

It depends on her pregnancy how happy she'll be with the idea of food. My sister in law is having a really "sick" pregnancy and has a hard time eating much of anything.

The easiest thing might be to ask her. Ruins the surprise, but at least nobody will be worried about anything!

[johnder]

Someone I knew that was pregnant wouldn't eat any fish unless the mercury levels were ok. She used this chart every time she had to eat fish to determine if it was ok.

Mercury in Fish

[markemorse]

As for pickles and ice cream, let's see....we know pickles and mayo go together. Has anyone done a mayo ice cream before? Of course they have.. Pickle and mayo ice cream? Or brownbread ice cream with pickles? Served in a caramel-prosciutto cone? With bacon bit sprinkles?

Edited November 8, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[Kim Shook]

It really depends on how she's feeling. I couldn't eat anything heavy at all during my pregnancy, but had girlfriends who ate entire pizzas at one sitting.

Let us know what you come up with. Lucky girl - having a baby and a meal made by you!! Kim

[pigeonpie]

no lamb. 

The easiest thing might be to ask her.  Ruins the surprise, but at least nobody will be worried about anything!

←

I'd definitely second simply asking.

But what I really want to know is why no lamb?

[christine007]

Yes, lucky girl, indeed.

Daniel, I think you'll be safe if you cook what you want, but maybe have some bland things too... I'm thinking a nice soup, some bread and butter, fresh fruit.

that way, if something's too rich for her, she has options. and yes, it does depend on how pregnant she is, in the begining I was really sick, in the middle I felt good, and towards the end, I couldn't eat large amounts of anything.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and for the pickles, cheese, crackers and a pickle assortment would make a nice pre diner nibble.

[ludja]

My sister was also told to avoid meats preserved with nitrates--bacon, sausages, coldcuts, etc.

[Jenny McClure]

I'm pregnant. I didn't know about the shellfish thing...oops!! Basically, at least for me, you can't eat any of the good stuff. It seems every week they come up with a new thing that you are not supposed to eat. It can be very frustrating. Some women are stricter than others on all these no no's, so maybe it would be good to talk to your friend and see how strongly she feels about what she shouldn't be eating. Also keep in mind that many pregnant women have unexplained aversions to certain foods. So her favourites may not be so any more.

[Catriona]

The lamb wasn't something I knew about either (don't worry, have never been pregnant) but was told it over dinner a couple of weeks ago with a new mum and my sister in law who's pregnant with her second.

Apparently it's something to do with toxoplasmosis... but if you get tested for toxoplasmosis and you're ok, then you can eat rare meat and lamb. All I knew re tox was that you should avoid cat faeces... (which usually isn't that much of a sacrifice)

Uninformative, I know, but it was at the end of a very long dinner...

[lesfen]

Another preggo here. I would ask for suggestions. You can be vague... ask if there's anything that she's having aversions to or if there's something that she's been lusting for. You can only imagine how satisfying it is for a pregnant woman to finally sate a craving!

There are really not that many absolute no-no's, and they've been listed. Raw fish, unpasteurized cheese, tuna, etc.... altho' I've never been told not to eat shellfish or lamb before. (They did tell me to watch the nitrates, but I pretended not to hear.)

[lcdm]

It depends how strict the person is. My girlfriend would not eat chocolate because it had caffeine in it.

Let's see I ate just about everything (no raw meat/fish and tried to cut down on caffeine). I craved chicken salad and spicy foods. Even though I love spinach I could not eat it during my pregnancy (don't know why but it really grossed me out).

[snowangel]

I would ask for suggestions.  You can be vague... ask if there's anything that she's having aversions to or if there's something that she's been lusting for.  You can only imagine how satisfying it is for a pregnant woman to finally sate a craving!

←

Daniel, do the woman a favor, and follow lesfen's advice and ask. Depending on how the pregnancy is going, it might be less a matter of what she can and can't eat than what she can or can't stand the smell of.

When I was pregnant with one of my kids, the smell of bacon (which I swear must be my favorite food) was a quick trip to the bathroom and no food for days because I smelled it forever. But, your guest may be different. I didn't adhere to the cheese/shellfish rule. Perhaps because all I wanted was poached eggs on toast.

[Daniel]

Thanks everyone for the advice.. I am going to ask her.. Thats the best thing.. Besides cooking for her, I know I want to send her home with a couple of pints of ice cream and things..So its better to know then go through the process to have her not enjoy it..

Thanks again.

[Pan]

I have nothing to add, except to say that you're such a considerate person, to cook for her and tailor what you make to what she wants and can eat. It's the right thing to do, but it's also a really sweet thing to do.

[Daniel]

Hey thanks Pan.. Yeh, she is a good friend that I have known forever.. I would love to be able to do something nice for her like this.. I feel honored to be able to cook a meal for her and her baby.. I am sure carrying a child has its moments of being very uncomfortable, so if I can do anything to make her feel better, I will..

Edited November 8, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Jenny McClure]

We are making Sunday dinner for a group of people.. One being pregnant, what type of foods should we stay away from serving.. No raw meats or fish?  No Shellfish (really) like shrimp or lobster. How about Sea Urchin?.. Unpastuerized cheeses? Anything else that we should include? How about runny eggs or poached eggs? Is organ meats ok?

I was thinking like a chicken liver pasta she might like? Any ladies out there care to help me?  I was also thinking of doing a bunch of desserts.. Perhaps three different milkshake shots.. Like homemade strawberry shake, a butter pecan flavor, and still brain storming for something like pickles an ice cream.. Maybe do deep fried pickle chips and ice cream.. Or pickled flavored ice cream.. Can anyone think of a cute way to get the pickles and ice cream theme in?

←

The pickles & ice-cream cravings remind me of an ad we used to have on TV for the Yellow Pages. It showed a heavily pregnant women & hubby preparing the babies room. When it comes to dinner time he asks his wife what she would like, to which she replies, pizza... a large pizza with tuna fish & bananas. Hence, pan to husband sighing and grabbing the yellow pages, in attempt to find a pizza place that will do this. This ad was so popular, that many pizzerias jumped on the bandwagon and included a "Pizza Yellow Pages " with these ingredients on their menu. It was actually was a very popular pizza at the time. Not sure if it is still around. I will have to investigate when I go back home for Christmas. Damn, now I want one.

Sorry for the tangent, been suffering a case of preggo brain for the last couple of weeks.

[Cleo]

Just had a baby 7 weeks ago (plus I have a 2 year old). I'd stay away from the chicken liver thing. During my first pregnancy, chicken completely turned me off. During my second pregnancy, I had no food aversions, but I don't think I'd have wanted something with liver in it. One other thing that I normally eat on a regular basis and stayed away from completely during pregnancy was raw tuna.

[ruthcooks]

I think the pickles and ice cream thing is just a metaphor for weird food cravings. Never knew anyone who wanted those two things together. Also, weird food cravings does not mean she wants weird food! Think comfort, not creative.

My only craving was for green olives, probably because I couldn't keep anything down and got dehydraated, thereby depleting my sodium.

Asking is always good.

[rooftop1000]

Gee I dont think my doctor loved me...never told me not to eat any of this stuff. They just kept trying to convince me not to get my calcium via grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches

tracey

[Tepee]

Whatever you cook, try to finish cooking and clearing off cooking smells before she arrives. I think that normally do a lot of pregnant women in...including me, every time.

[Soupcon]

Daniel

(From someone who has been pregnant a few times)..... D'on't ask. She will eat and drink what she wants from what you have prepared. Pregnancy is not an illness and needs no special diet.

[gingerpeach]

You might also want to watch out for foods that could cause heartburn.... pregnant women past a certain stage have enough trouble sleeping as it is. Else have a stack of Tums next to the after-dinner mints.

[Cadbury]

Okay, here's my take on things - it's difficult to cater for food aversions as they can be very much a day to day thing. Although I certainly agree with Tepee about the food cooking smells.

Others have mentioned foods to stay away from - liver/products, soft cheeses, shellfish, undercooked meat (I expect that's why lamb has been mentioned). Also included in the no-no list are deli meats, salamis etc (it's not just the nitrates, but because of listeria fears). Salad vegetables also need to be really well washed.

As for heartburn - if there's something delicious on offer, I'll risk the heartburn anytime.