Help. My doctor has prohibited me from eating any deli meats and soft cheeses. I lost 37lbs on a diet largely dependent on ham and turkey. They're low fat and low calorie and I don't know how to replace them. I can't have tofu and I'm struggling to come up with lunch. I cook in the evenings but don't know what to do about lunch.

I make extras of my dinner, every night, to use for lunch the next day. If you have access to a microwave, just make enough dinner portions that you have a portion for the next day, box it up before you eat your meal, and you're ready to go.

It's a huge timesaver (no having to plan a separate lunch) and ensures my calories are spread throughout the day. And so long as your dinner is on plan, your lunch will be also.

I don't eat a lot of sandwiches, but I imagine you are looking for something that is good cold?

One of my favorite sandwiches is made with hummus, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts. Hummus is easy to make although there are many versions on the market, some have higher fat content than others.

Other than that, if you can't have deli meat, can you have the meats themselves? Like cooked turkey/chicken type sandwich?

I do what Amanda does and really just eat leftovers for lunch but I have access to a microwave.

I agree with the others. Most of the time my lunch is packed leftovers- I find myself making more than normal now just to make sure I can take something for lunch the next day! Take today for instance, my lunch is some leftover chicken fajitas with peppers and onions, and I made a large salad last night to go with it

I work in a building where I have access to my car and a grocery store nearby. Also, I have space under my desk for my "food box" and access to a refrigerator. I go on Mondays during my lunch break and buy my lunches for the week and keep at work. My food plan is the WW Momentum Core program. I keep Kashi crackers, low-sodium soups, tea and non-refrigerated fruit at my desk. I put hummus, refrigerated fruits and veggies (pears, oranges, cut melon and carrot sticks) in the fridge. Sometimes I "cheat" and eat prepared frozen Kashi meals. As long as I eat every 3 to 4 hours and eat what I bring I am fine. At home I buy family size chicken breasts and cook them on Sunday night. Then, I have some to keep at home for salads or other dishes and I could bring them in for sandwhiches at lunch. (I'm not a big sandwhich eater because of the bread, though.) I do the same thing with eggs, hard boil a potful on Sunday and have them available all week for breakfast, salads and snacks.

Did you ask what it is about the deli meats that you should avoid - the fats, the salt, the nitrates/nitrites and/or other preservatives?

Deli meats vary tremendously in fat, sodium, and number/kind of preservatives. There are low fat and low sodium varieties, that your doctor might consider ok (he may not know they exist).

If meat is ok, you can also make your own sandwhich meats. Roast a turkey breast, a lean pork roast, or lean beef roast and cook it in the crockpot or oven (until tender, but not falling apart), and slice as thick as you'd like it.

You can even freeze the slices in ziploc sandwhich bags (just enough for one sandwhich in each bag). You can take out a bag the night before making a sandwich - or you can make the sandwhich with the meat frozen (it will thaw within a couple hours, so if you make it in the moring, it should be thawed by lunchtime). If you make a sandwhich with frozen meat it helps to put a barrier between the meat and the slices of bread so that the bread doesn't get soggy - a thin layer of some type of spread (such as mustard, or light mayo) - or you can leave the meat in it's bag and assemble your sandwhich right before you eat it.

It's the diet my doctor recommended for wanting to conceive. We want to reduce the risk of anything going wrong and so no coffee, no deli meats, no soft cheeses, no sushi and other undercooked proteins, and no leftover meats/poultry unless they are warmed up to 160degrees. I can't tell you how difficult it is to cut out any one of these things, and cutting them all has triggered my ED. Yesterday I walked around the grocery store for an hour and only ended up with 2-3 things in my cart. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things I CAN eat, but none of the things I WANT to eat.

In addition to cutting out coffee and foods I love I'm also quitting smoking. Between the hunger, the caffeine withdrawl headaches, and the nicotine withdrawl I'm a righteous mess.

I sssooo know how you feel and MAJOR s to you. We had a surprise pregnancy. At the time I was a smoker and ate terrible foods. I quit smoking when we discovered I was pregnant (at that point I was only 3 weeks along, 1 week post conception), and within the same week I swore off lunch meats (per the doc) and was limited to 1 caffeine drink a day. At 17 weeks I had heart-related complications and had to give up caffeine entirely. At that point I only drank a medium sweet tea from McDs every other day-ish, so it wasn't a huge deal. Plus I was placed on bed rest from 17 weeks on so I didn't have access to it anyway. Having to drastically stop doing/eating things I "loved" was very difficult. For me, I think it was a touch easier because I was pregnant... so everytime I wanted to do something I'd say "Think of the baby... he/she deserves better" and that mentality worked and help me through it. I think when it feels tough and you want to give in, just think down the road to having a wonderful baby (or babies!). Also I was told that as long as the deli meat was cooked to 160 (like you said with the leftovers), it was fine.

I would be inclined to suggest some frozen dinners. Smart Ones, etc. As ong as the sodium isn't too much for you.

s You can do it! I know exactly how you feel, and while it's tough it is SO worth it!

I could never give up deli meat or soft cheese, like you said they are low in calories. If you lost weight eating those things then you should not cut them out.

Oh I just now read that your trying to conceive, I heard there is harmful bacteria in those foods that can cause a miscarriage. Definitely listen to your doctor

When I read it I knew it was about pregnancy. That was the first thing my dr told me to eliminate when I got pregnant. What you can do is cook a roasting chicken on Sunday, (slices like a turkey) and then prepare your lunches for the week. Like kaplods said you can use other low fat meats as well. You may have to sacrifice the ham for the baby though. It's worth it.

Wow...well that makes it super hard. I understand about reducing the sodium/etc by restricting the lunch meats, but not being able to eat "leftover" meats that aren't heated. I cook a big package of chicken breast every Sunday night and cut it up to have it ready to go for lunch & dinners. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have my chicken & spinach salad at lunch.
Good luck. Sorry I wasn't any help!

Since the issue is bacteria, and there's no way to account for that - it's not like delis could (or would) display their products' bacteria counts, you are left kind of stuck.

You might have more luck with shopping, if you made decisions at home rather than trying to find something suitable in the store "on the fly."

I just realized there are probably books out there on the subject. I went to amazon.com and searched, and sure enough I found a bunch (just copied a few).

Your library probably has a few of these (and/or others). Like other "diet books" there are bound to be recipes and ideas in the book (keep your doctor's recommendations in mind, though - becaue each book may have different ideas about what should and shouldn't be avoided).



Fertility Foods: Optimize Ovulation and Conception Through Food Choices by Jeremy Groll and Lorie Groll

The Fertility Diet: Groundbreaking Research Reveals Natural Ways to Boost Ovulation and Improve Your Chances of Getting Pregnant by Jorge Chavarro, Walter Willett, and Patrick Skerrett

The Infertility Diet: Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriage by Martin Keltz (Paperback - May 31, 1999)

Healing Gourmet Eat to Boost Fertility by Healing Gourmet

Cooking to Conceive: Fertility-Boosting Foods & Recipes to Help You Get Pregnant ~ Editors of Conceive Magazine


Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition by Marilyn M. Shannon

Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet,... by Nina Planck

Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy... by Elizabeth Somer

I have to be honest, I'm almost 19 weeks pregnant and I haven't cut deli meats, soft cheese (H is French, bleu cheese is on the menu!), coffee, even the occasional sushi, French and Japanese babies seem just fine to me Your doctor sounds very strict. I know many doctors who do not adhere to those guidelines.

BUT if you choose to cut those things,

You can purchase a whole chicken(s) and bake in the oven, cutting the meat off them. If you want, a cheap food scale can be used to measure out portions.

We've been trying to conceive for two years and there is no way I could have cut out everything this entire time! In fact, we are starting our first IUI (insemination) cycle this month and I'm only cutting out caffeine and alcohol. I'll worry about the rest once I'm pregnant.

I agree that your doctor seems very strict for you to have to follow these rules pre-conception. My sister's doctor told her she could eat whatever she wanted while pregnant (within reason.) She (the doctor) said that your sense of smell is heightened during pregnancy and if it smelled okay to go ahead and eat it. She (my sister) had sushi a few times, she drank a cup of half-caf coffee daily and the baby is healthy and at one is terrorizing his parents and sister.

I think that roasting a turkey breast (or ham) and slicing yourself is a good option. If you freeze single portions and take them out and thaw in the fridge, you'll minimize the possibility of bacteria forming.

I's also suggest weaning yourself off of coffee slowly to avoid headaches, if you drink coffee regularly.

Wow you have one strict doctor! If what he is worried about is listeria the chances of you getting it are slim to none! When I was pregnant the only thing my doctor told me was that I had to heat all my deli meat and stay away from un-pasteurized cheese. Did you possibly misunderstand his directions? I was also allowed to have caffeine in moderation. Are you having trouble getting pregnant? I dont understand why your doctor is being so strict on you before you get pregnant!

I feel your pain totally though... I quit smoking, stopped drinking so much caffeine and didnt have a cold deli sandwich for 8months! Its hard but its so worth it in the end

If you are going to cut it all out I second what has been mentioned above just roasting your own meat to make sandwiches might get you through! Other choices are:
Leftovers
Rice dishes with lots of veggies made from steam in bag rice
Soups
the old peanut butter and jelly
Grilled cheese with slices of veggies tucked in with sides of fruit
salads