Pregnancy food safety · 1 entries
Ready meals during pregnancy
Ready meals are fine, and on the days when cooking is beyond you they are a great deal better than not eating. Heat them all the way through: 165°F (74°C), or steaming hot right to the middle rather than only at the edges. That is the temperature that kills listeria, which is the one bacterium that grows in a cold fridge, so it matters most for food that was cooked before you bought it. Stir halfway through microwaving and give it the standing time on the packet. The ones to leave are the chilled items you would not heat — deli salads, pâté, cold sliced meats. Check the dates, and do not eat anything that has been open in the fridge for days.
Every ready meals entry, with a verdict
Sorted with the ones worth knowing about first. Avoid means skip it entirely; take care means it depends on how it was prepared.
All types of pre-cooked meals that you need to cook before eating
SafeIt's okay to eat pre-cooked meals. Make sure to cook them well (unless they are steamed) by following the directions on the package. You're better off choosing fresh-cooked food during pregnancy though.
Other categories
Still not sure about a specific dish?
Photograph it. Hello Belly reads the meal, tells you whether anything in it needs care at your week, and logs the nutrition — protein, iron, folate, calcium, DHA — without you typing a gram.
See how food tracking works