Can I eat bagged salad while pregnant?
C'mon! In one breath you tell me to eat better now that I'm pregnant but then you tell me not to eat pre-washed salad. I suppose I should just stick to the leafy greens growing in my organic hippy commune. Pfft.
Not unlike raw meat and raw eggs this one is because of salmonella and E. coli.
So the lettuce grows in the ground with all the dirt and manure and the manure might be contaminated. The lettuce is picked, washed and bagged and sold to you. If it's not washed so well, you eat the contaminated lettuce and get sick. I couldn't find out how this affects a fetus. All I could find that threatens an unborn baby is that you stay up all night puking, you get dehydrated, then you could miscarry. Wouldn't the same thing happen if you bought a head of lettuce from the store, ran it under that tap for 2 seconds (or just check it for dirt then eat it like I do. Bad, bad, I know.) and got yourself some food poisoning too? I dunno, it all seems like a bit of a stretch for me but, then again, I hate washing lettuce and I really like salad. Use this excuse when you want to eat french fries instead.
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4 Comments
Reader Comments (4)
Don't most pre-washed lettuces get a bleach bath??? I avoid the bagged lettuces because they are a bit wilty in the best conditions and the bleach is something I avoid anyways....
If it wasn't for prewashed lettuce, and it being the staple for where I add all my other veggies (carrots, cukes, tomatoes)...my veggie consumption this pregnancy would be.......well I think 1 night in 2nd tri I had some green beans.
Haha Kristin, i like your comment. Me too. I normally love cooked or steamed veggies but not while preggo. Salad, I love always. I use bagged lettuce all the time to make a huge bowl of salad weekly that i graze from all week. Adding your ingredients plus crumbled feta chz, sliced red grapes or cubed apples and grilled chicken and you've got a killer healthy lunch. i also make a really good homemade dressing with honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Super yummy.
That being said, i typically buy the organic, triple rinsed kind. Its not that much more expensive and for something I'm eating so often its worth it.
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