To Eat or Not To Eat....

When I was reading through my pregnancy books I came across the deadly foods I should avoid chapter. It was chalk full of stuff that I can not eat anymore! I also thought it was a bunch of bullocks and I have realized that these pregnancy books are really for worry warts. I mean what do these women do who take it so seriously? Do they just sit around and constantly worry they are going to catch a food born illness while pregnant? I'm not going to say push the limits and consume gross amounts of duck pate every night for dinner, but damn let's get some perspective!

The first thing I read was caffeine should be avoided. This was a definite 'oh fuck' moment. I drink coffee everyday! I love iced tea and its my drink of choice! What am I going to do? I then did some research. As long as I consume about 200-300 milligrams of caffeine or less a day its actually been shown in some studies to help the baby. Hallelujah!

I did however get the judgmental look/talk at a Starbucks the other morning, when I did order a caffe latte. A mom came up to me and said, "You look soooo young so I don't know if you know this, but its really bad for the baby if you have caffeine, so you shouldn't be drinking it." Well this busy body didn't know who she was messing with. I then replied, "Well, then I guess my baby will be born with fetal caffeine syndrome and maybe you should drink more coffee because you need to lighten up." I then proceeded to see her about 2-3 year old pulling some Starbucks coffee mugs off a shelf, smiled and said, "Have a nice day."

Now see, if I was a busy body I would of told her to get some manners and maybe she should teach her kid the keep your hands to your self rule, but I was being nice that day so I didn't.

Me enjoying my morning cup of joe. Take that Starbucks bitch!
(Yes I'm also wearing no make up!) I'm brave :)

I also read that I can't eat soft cheeses like feta, blue, and queso blanco. Well, the reasoning for this is that they might be, and I quote directly from my book, 'unpasteurized and full of listeria ridden bacteria.' Sounds scary, but in reality it is illegal to sell unpasteurized cheeses in America. So, unless I'm ordering my cheese from the internet and importing it from foreign countries or buying the local bathtub cheese, I think I'll be ok. Bring on the feta!

Cold cuts and cold processed meats is another one that my book says to directly avoid. I actually have been sticking to this, but not because I might get listeria. Its because of all the nitrates that are in them. I know they are not good for me, so they can't be good for my baby. I still eat pepperoni on pizza though. :) It has been hard to avoid turkey sandwiches but I found nitrate free turkey meat, so bring on the turkey too!

Fish is another thing to avoid according to my book. I have been avoiding high mercury level fish like tuna. I hate fish anyways, so this one has not been hard. I still have been ordering sushi and I stick to the chicken, imitation crab, and salmon filled ones. I know they say pregnant women shouldn't eat raw fish, but honestly pregnant women in Japan eat sushi everyday and they are not having babies with high birth defects. I think I'm good on this one.

The biggest one of all... Alcohol. I have really stuck to this, and I only have a sip of Nate's wine at dinners where we are eating out, just so I can taste the new wine he is trying. I don't see the point of it and why take the risk with it? I mean if I drink too much it effects me, which means it has to be hurting my baby.

Overall, I think its a huge exaggeration of things that pregnant women should be allowed to eat and not to eat. I think Cheetos should be outlawed for pregnant women with all the crap they put in them! Wonderful natural real food like soft cheeses, low mercury content fish, coffee, and no nitrate turkey should be allowed. I have a higher chance of getting food poisoning from the taco truck that Nate and I frequent, then the packaged pasteurized cheese that they sell at the grocery store.