Poached egg substitute/pregnancy food restrictions

Thanks everyone! I think I'll stick to avocados in my salads and look forward to warm baked eggs next winter!

For the sake of argument, let's say you could guarantee a chicken was perfectly healthy and free of salmonella and other pathogens. (You can't but let's pretend you could.) She wakes up to the sound of the rooster crowing and heads out into the brisk morning air and down to the pasture for a little breakfast of bugs and worms -- all contaminated with salmonella bacteria and spiced with a few botulism spores from the ground.

Seeing the farmer is now up and about, she trots back to the coop knowing there will be a little organic feed waiting. As she joyfully pecks away, a fly lands within reach. Bonus! Unfortunately the fly had just come from a cow pie on the back 40 and brought with it enough e. coli to sicken a school bus full of children.

Since chickens aren't affected by salmonella bacteria, the farmer is none the wiser. Unfortunately the chicken's reproductive tract is a perfect environment for bacteria and a few make their way into the yolk before the shell is formed around it.

Henrietta (all the chickens have names because they're like family) lays a perfect, brown, organic egg and announces her accomplishment with glee. (We'll pretend the sound they make is a happy one but I've watched enough medical shows on TV to know Henrietta is likely saying something entirely different.)

Oliver (the farmer) picks up the egg and Henrietta squawks angrily and bites his hand. Since this is a small family farm, no "industrial" USDA procedures apply -- no washing, no sanitizing, no inspections. Oliver simply places the egg with eleven more just like it in a cardboard carton (recyclable of course, they don't call the farm Green Acres for nothing).

So far, all is well except instead of refrigerating the eggs which would have kept the salmonella within the yolk from doubling in number every 20 minutes, Oliver hands the carton to his wife Lisa who takes it down to Sam Drucker's store. You enter the store and spy the carton of fresh-this-morning, local organic eggs, raised with the utmost care…

How this story ends is up to you. The names have been changed to protect the innocent but the facts are deadly accurate.


http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/salmonella_questions_%26_answers/#7

First, congratulations :) Yes, get wonderful farm eggs that you trust, seek them out, do what you need to do, but find them! I think I might be turning into a bit of an egg maniac around here, but pasture raised foraging chickens have a completely different nutritional profile than generic industrial eggs and you have the benefit of knowing the source (which can help you make a good choice about whether or not you are comfortable with eating runny eggs while preggers). Sourcing your eggs this way will also give you the confidence to enjoy the pleasure of eating raw cookie dough with your newest addition a few years down the line...

As an OB, this is what I tell pregnant women: Eggs: cook them through, unless you have a very reputable source (like your own chickens) that are proven salmonella-negative. Cheeses: only pasteurized cheese, and avoid fresh Mexican cheeses even if pasteurized (listeria is difficult to eradicate even with pasteurization in this group ad there have been outbreaks). Fish: limit yourself to two 6 oz. servings per week, and avoid predator-type fish known to harbor mercury. Sushi is fine if from a reputable source. Caffeine: 1-2 daily is not harmful, as long as you are drinking plenty of water. Alcohol: off-limits. Chocolate: as much as you want! Good luck!

What about soft scrambled eggs? Merrill's recipe was a revelation to me: http://food52.com/recipes/6739_soft_scrambled_eggs

I ate soft boiled eggs almost daily throughout my pregnancy. I also ate pasteurised soft cheeses, but didn't eat cured meats or fish, fish high in mercury, or sushi, and ate organic wherever possible.

I didn't. I ate both soft boiled eggs and soft (but pasturized) cheese throughout pregnancy--so, so much cheese. I did, however, cut out sushi. You have to decide what you feel comfortable with.

Add your answer here

Pasturized eggs?

An excuse to purchase a sous vide machine?