I would not stockpile, but here’s what would be on my essentials list for a Coronavirus lockdown or any other period of quarantine.

Lockdown shopping list

Olive oil – the starting point of about 80% of my cooking

Tinned tomatoes – I’m half Italian, tomatoes feature quite heavily in my cooking

Pasta – (see above)

Soup – As a working-from-home freelancer I always have a stock for lunch; might grab a couple (I mean a couple) of extra cans/cartons .

Calpol – Suddenly realised yesterday that we’d run out. Went to get our usual bottle and discovered, surprise, surprise, it had run out at Boots and Asda. Managed to get a 24 packet of the fastmelts, which we’ve never had before   

Flour (plus yeast) – We make quite a lot of bread; 350g of flour will make a loaf and it costs about 30p

Paracetamol – Matt suffers with headaches, so we always need some in the house. Also, required if we get a temperature. We were extremely low, so I bagged two very cheap packets at Lidl. Which? has a great article about the cheapest places to buy popular medicines

Cannellini beans, kidney beans, chickpeas – these are staples of so many favourite family meals. They are always on my shopping list.   

Lentils – We had Lincolnshire sausage & lentil simmer for the first time the other week. Amazingly the kids loved the Puy lentils; healthy, filling and pretty cheap, I’m going to buy more and look for other recipes. Suggestions welcome  

Tinned tuna – We’re all fans of fresh fish, but store cupboard tuna pasta bake is one of Maria’s favourites. It requires two tins of the fishy stuff, so I’ll make sure I get some in

Wine – No explanation required

Berries, bananas and any other fruit that freezes well – Not just about fruit, this is a good guide on stocking your freezer

Frozen vegetables – I’m a big fan of frozen veg anyway: it works out cheaper, means I include it more regularly in the kids’ meals and it cuts down significantly on waste

Milk – We get ours delivered from milk&more; no trips to the supermarket and it comes in environmentally-friendly glass bottles. They also deliver our eggs, butter, orange juice and a number of other groceries

Rice – Another staple in our household from accompanying winter warming chilli con carne to a quick egg-fried rice at lunch

Replenish first aid kit – embarrassingly, until a couple of years ago I didn’t have one. Make sure you do (for any event). The Millie’s Trust one is great.   

Pack of A4 paper – pencil and paper are the best boredom busters ever

Bleach – my dad has always been obsessed with it and uses copious amounts when cleaning floors and bathrooms (he does a lot of my cleaning!)

Chocolate and biscuits  – Long shelf-life and good for energy and morale!

Here the Independent provides a list of the supermarket rules for lockdown shoppers.

The post Lockdown Shopping List (and no, toilet rolls aren’t included) appeared first on The Parent Social.

I had a well balanced diet so had no worries about my nutrition and took Pregnacare pre-conception and throughout pregnancy (and whilst breast-feeding), so was happy with my vitamin intake and getting that all-important folic acid. However, the things to avoid seemed like an absolute minefield.

Initially it felt like I had to give up pretty much everything I enjoyed and I seemed to be forever Googling to see if something was on the banned list.

Cooked shellfish is fine

Foods to avoid

Following some research I reassured myself that not everything was a threat to an unborn baby. I differentiated between what could make me ill (it’s easier to get food poisoning when pregnant and the effects are exaggerated) and what could potentially harm an unborn baby. What follows are foods that are in the latter category.

Listeriosis

Anything that can contain listeria bacteria can cause listeriosis. This infection in pregnant women can cause severe illness in a newborn and can even lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.

To avoid this bacteria don’t eat mould-ripened soft cheeses or soft blue-veined cheeses. This includes: Brie, Camembert, Chèvre, Danish blue, Gorgonzola and Roquefort. All types of pate are off the menu for the same reason.

That said, you could have any of the cheeses above if they are thoroughly cooked through (ie piping hot). For example if they form a pasta filling or come as a hot sauce; you can even indulge in a baked Camembert.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis, caused by a parasite, is fairly common and you may have already had it without even knowing it. However, if contracted when pregnant it can cause problems such as blindness and brain damage. The parasite can be found in undercooked or raw meat, so make sure meat is well cooked and, in the case of red meat, there is no pink showing. It can also be found in cured meat such as salami and Parma ham; and in unpasteurised goats’ milk.

Mercury

High levels of mercury can harm a developing baby’s nervous system. Therefore don’t eat shark, swordfish and marlin. Tuna consumption should be limited. However, anything up to four medium-size cans in a week is fine (or two steaks).  For the same reason you shouldn’t have more than two portions of oily fish a week (fresh tuna, mackerel, sardines and trout).

Vitamin A

Too much vitamin A can damage the development of cells in foetuses and lead to conditions such as Spina Bifida. Aside from not having any supplements containing vitamin A (Pregnacare doesn’t), you should avoid eating things like liver.

Peanuts – back on the menu

When I was pregnant with my first daughter I experienced an energy slump on my way back from work and devoured a Snickers bar in five seconds. I then realised with horror that peanuts were iffy at best and a no-no if there was a family history of allergies such as hay fever, asthma or eczema. No damage was done and now the advice to avoid them has been revised.

You might be interested in:

10 Useful facts I gleaned from weaning 

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