# Is it safe to eat leftovers in pregnancy?



## JFTB1177 (Sep 9, 2008)

I made (meatless) spagetti about 3-4 days ago and heated some up in the microwave earlier to eat. Then I read something on the net that said to avoid leftovers or eat them within one day, and heat to steaming.

Well I did heat to steaming but you know, using the microwave there were some pockets that weren't steaming. Plus the fact that it was 3-4 days old!









Feeling worried... can someone talk me down?


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## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

I would worry more about using a microwave than eating 3 day old food.


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## JFTB1177 (Sep 9, 2008)

lol I know, the microwave isn't the healthiest. But I am super paranoid about listeria and getting food poisoning, etc.


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## MaerynPearl (Jun 21, 2008)

if eating leftovers was a problem there would be a HUGE amount of info out there about it, considering its much more common than any of the other things that they claim are problems...

as long as you stored the food then you know that it was stored correctly, you know how long it has been stored and you don't eat anything that you know has gone bad, you are probably in the clear!


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## Ammaarah (May 21, 2005)

I wouldn't stress about it. And I'm totally pro-microwave.


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## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

I've been eating leftovers that have been in the fridge for over a week







. I wouldn't worry at all.


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## closedaccount15 (Dec 25, 2007)

i'd be so sick by now if leftovers were bad







I have not been good about cooking this pregnancy!

If it was refrigerated constantly, I am sure it's okay. I'd put my limit on anything longer than 6-7 days, but that is general rule I have.


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## mamabear0314 (May 13, 2008)

We eat leftovers a lot, I've never heard anything and I've never had an issue. I will eat it if it's been in the fridge less than a week.
I don't like microwaves either, but less because I think they're dangerous and more because I don't like how they make food taste/feel. The texture gets icky.


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## m0xxie (May 18, 2010)

If it's not growing hair or slime, I'll eat it!  Well, maybe not quite... but I rely on my super smelling power of pregnancy... if it doesn't smell right, I won't touch it. And if microwaving leftovers was unhealthy, I'd have died of some dread disease 20 years ago!

In this case, common sense reigns, I think.


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## ~Demeter~ (Jul 22, 2006)

Quit reading things on the net!! No really!







You'll feel much better because of it.

I don't have a microwave and hardly ever eat to steaming my leftovers. Recently, I ate COLD leftover spaghetti straight from the fridge. It was delicious.







Oh.. and I ate it on day 1 and day 3 and 4. You're fine.


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ammaarah* 
I wouldn't stress about it. And I'm totally pro-microwave.

















:


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## Ellen Griswold (Feb 27, 2008)

If I weren't able to eat leftovers, I think I'd have starved by now. Seriously, I cook big meals and then we eat on them till they're gone.


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## FarrenSquare (Jun 4, 2010)

Leftovers are like god's gift to pregnant ladies. Don't let anyone take that away from you! If you are being paranoid about lysteria, avoid anything unpasteurized and stay away from the deli.


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## blizzard_babe (Feb 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FarrenSquare* 
Leftovers are like god's gift to pregnant ladies.

No kidding! <--says the pregnant lady as she munches on leftover dinner at... holy crap, it's MIDNIGHT?!


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## 2xy (Nov 30, 2008)

Good grief...I am so glad I'm not pregnant in present day. I ate whatever I wanted and nobody told me to do otherwise. They said to take it easy on caffeine and avoid alcohol, and consume enough folic acid. I ate TONS of leftovers, deli meat, soft cheese, etc. I also was as big as a house, but that's another story.

I also took care of the litter box through both of my pregnancies.









I don't think leftovers are going to hurt you as long as they were properly cooked, properly stored, and properly reheated.


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## EllisH (May 29, 2010)

2xy, so nice to hear from someone who experienced being pregnant before women got inundated with prescriptions!


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## aikigypsy (Jun 17, 2007)

I have given myself food poisoning from leftover pizza, but that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, and it only happened once in nearly 40 years of eating leftovers.

I like to move things into the garbage before they get really scary, but after a few days to a week, properly refrigerated, most stuff would be fine. I am more cautious about meat- and dairy- based meals than vegetables, too.

My Irish roommates used to keep dinner leftovers in the microwave for a day, then throw them out if no one had eaten them for lunch, which I thought was gross. Their argument was that we had a small fridge. I could always find room in it, though!


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## teeg1973 (Oct 15, 2008)

To original poster - Please take my advice as gently as possible as I mean only the best intentions (and after all, I too am only an online poster!)

I have read many of your posts and it appears that you have a lot of underlying anxiety about many pregnancy related things. IMO, one of the best things you could do for your babe is to try to find someone who can help you with gaining some control over your anxiety and fears.

Wishing you the best.

Tracy


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## 2xy (Nov 30, 2008)

See, that's the thing....it's often not about how old the food is (within reason, of course), but how it was prepared and taken care of prior to being stored. If you have a roast chicken and let it sit on the counter all night before putting it away, I'd be leery of it. I also remember being amazed and horrified at some friends of mine who don't refrigerate leftover pizza at all, claiming there isn't anything on it that can spoil.


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## EllisH (May 29, 2010)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *teeg1973* 
To original poster - Please take my advice as gently as possible as I mean only the best intentions (and after all, I too am only an online poster!)

I have read many of your posts and it appears that you have a lot of underlying anxiety about many pregnancy related things. IMO, one of the best things you could do for your babe is to try to find someone who can help you with gaining some control over your anxiety and fears.

Wishing you the best.

Tracy

May I second that advice as someone who's herself ridden with anxiety like the original poster. I have had several panic attacks over food that wasn't hot enough, foods I should have eaten, or shouldn't have eaten and so on. Instead, and really at the instigation of people close to me, I am now (very hard!) trying to focus on getting over these kinds of anxieties rather than giving in to it, precisely because I do believe that's the best I can do for myself and my baby.

So Tracy, thank you for making this point! Too easily a message board like this can get us to discuss precisely these niggling worries rather than the big pictures (although the responses here to OP have been very nice!).


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## rhiOrion (Feb 17, 2009)

I didn't eat many leftovers while pregnant. But that was because they made me gag. Had nothing to do with safety. I think the fridge is there for a reason.


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## TnMsMama (Jul 12, 2010)

Women have been having babies since long before refrigeration and microwaves! I really think they gear "pregnancy advice" to the um... (let me put this in a politically correct way...) least informed women on the planet.

NEVER drink alcohol, NEVER eat deli meat, NEVER do this...
when, in moderation, pretty much everything goes.

At least, that's my take on pregnancy.

Remember - you're not building a nuclear bomb, you'd just doing something that TRILLIONS of women have done ZILLIONS of times before. It's what you were meant to do!


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## KempsMama (Dec 1, 2008)

Seeing how many times you've posted about what you've been eating and being scared, I'm more worried about how your stress and anxiety is effecting the babe than what your eating. I think it's time to take a look at why your so stressed and deal with that.


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## spatulagirl (Feb 21, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *~Demeter~* 
Quit reading things on the net!! No really!







You'll feel much better because of it.










This. I could fine information agains breathing if I searched hard enough!


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## sunwillshine (Feb 18, 2009)

Another "worry" that falls into the "OMG, there are other more exciting/important things to occupy your mind during pregnancy... don't add this to the list!"

You'll be fine.


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## texmati (Oct 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ammaarah* 
I wouldn't stress about it. And I'm totally pro-microwave.









here here! especially since it's either leftover or fast food these days.


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## rparker (Jul 15, 2008)

I'm pretty neurotic (when not pregnant) about leftovers and food poisoning, but I totally wouldn't worry about reheated, 4 day old, vegetarian food. To be honest, I'd have eaten the spaghetti COLD. (I HAVE eaten cold spaghetti many times while pregnant.) It gets more questionable when animal products are involved. The only veg food I really worry about reheating adequately is rice because I read something freaky about reheated rice and food poisoning once.


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## WifeofAnt (May 2, 2010)

I think its easier to understand what not to eat when you learn why not to eat it. I don't see anything wrong with eating leftovers unless they were stored improperly, stored too long, or if it was something I wasn't supposed to be eating anyway. A great phrase IMO is 'why not?'. If you can't find a valid reason not to eat something then most likely its fine.


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## MissMorgan (Feb 12, 2010)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KempsMama* 
Seeing how many times you've posted about what you've been eating and being scared, I'm more worried about how your stress and anxiety is effecting the babe than what your eating. I think it's time to take a look at why your so stressed and deal with that.









.... it may be worth it for you to speak with a doctor about dealing with what seems to be severe anxiety. I know that previous losses make it hard to remember that you can have a healthy pregnancy without being terrified about everything.


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## JFTB1177 (Sep 9, 2008)

Thanks everyone so much for all of your replies, they have helped a LOT!!!









Tracy, yep I have a lot of anxiety for sure lol. Always have, but it did get a lot worse after I started having m/c's... like MissMorgan mentioned- I think I am terrified of causing myself to lose this baby, you know?









I'll see a PG woman at a buffet salad bar and just be sooo jealous that she isn't worried about anything and can just eat out of a buffet salad bar when I wouldn't touch it with a 15-ft pole while PG.


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## teeg1973 (Oct 15, 2008)

JFTB - Sorry for your loss(es) (((hugs))). Unfortunately, once you have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, future pregnancies seem to loose their innocence, at least that has been the case for me. I have had 4 missed miscarriages myself (one living DD), so I can relate to some amounts of anxiety. I am 16 weeks pregnant and I am just now starting to believe we might have another babe in early January!

If it makes you feel any better - I change my cats litter (did with my DD's pregnancy), I eat just about any and all lunch meat, most of the time without steaming, and I am a fan of leftovers! So, while I do have my own anxieties, I try not to sweat the small stuff.

Again, wishing you the best....and here is to a stress and anxiety free remaining pregnancy for you!
Tracy


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## JFTB1177 (Sep 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *teeg1973* 
JFTB - Sorry for your loss(es) (((hugs))). Unfortunately, once you have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, future pregnancies seem to loose their innocence, at least that has been the case for me. I have had 4 missed miscarriages myself (one living DD), so I can relate to some amounts of anxiety. I am 16 weeks pregnant and I am just now starting to believe we might have another babe in early January!

If it makes you feel any better - I change my cats litter (did with my DD's pregnancy), I eat just about any and all lunch meat, most of the time without steaming, and I am a fan of leftovers! So, while I do have my own anxieties, I try not to sweat the small stuff.

Again, wishing you the best....and here is to a stress and anxiety free remaining pregnancy for you!
Tracy

Thanks, Tracy.









I am so sorry about your losses (((HUGS))). I've had 4 losses too- two were early and two were missed m/c's later in the 1st tri. Congrats on your pregnancy (and making it to the 2nd tri!!) and I am sending you tons of sticky dust!!! It makes me feel so much better knowing you don't follow everything to a "T".


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## MammaB21 (Oct 30, 2007)

I'm more paranoid about food safety than most (I get it from my mom who got it from her mom who has severe OCD). The things I go by, though are usually what's _in_ the food. Meats and dairy I only eat for 2 days (3 if I'm feeling really good about the quality and that it was stored correctly but that is my absolute top). Fish gets eaten the next day or it gets tossed. Veggies and fruit get assessed individually. Fruit tends to ferment quicker once it's been cut into, so it usually gets eaten right away. Everything else is probably good for up to a week if it smells okay and looks okay. Your spaghetti would fall into the 'everything else' category. No meat, no dairy = good for a week.







I'd even eat that cold, but sounds like you heated it which is even better.

For the record, these are just general food rules that I would follow even when not pregnant. Realistically, there isn't a ton of concern about food poisoning in pregnancy. Usually it ends the same way it does when not pregnant, just you being miserable for a day or two. I've never heard anything about not eating left overs in pregnancy. I don't think there is any need to worry.


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## Qbear'smama (Jul 15, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TnMsMama* 
Women have been having babies since long before refrigeration and microwaves! I really think they gear "pregnancy advice" to the um... (let me put this in a politically correct way...) least informed women on the planet.

NEVER drink alcohol, NEVER eat deli meat, NEVER do this...
when, in moderation, pretty much everything goes.

At least, that's my take on pregnancy.

Remember - you're not building a nuclear bomb, you'd just doing something that TRILLIONS of women have done ZILLIONS of times before. It's what you were meant to do!











Quote:


Originally Posted by *rparker* 
It gets more questionable when animal products are involved.

And this.


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## graciegal (Jun 2, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *blessedwithboys* 
I would worry more about using a microwave than eating 3 day old food.









what she said!


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## kittywitty (Jul 5, 2005)

Really? I eat leftovers almost every day and have for all of my pregnancies. Never heard that one. I've only ever had food poisoning twice and both were from restaurants, so I'm not worried.


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