This is one of the puzzles of pregnancy: knowing what to eat and what not to eat when you are pregnant. And during the holiday season, foie gras lovers inevitably wonder if they can crack. Follow our advice on how to safely feast on foie gras during your pregnancy.
While many of us particularly appreciate the end-of-year celebrations – and the gargantuan meals that accompany them – they can be a source of many questions for pregnant women, especially when it comes to knowing what to expect. they have the right to eat or not. And at the top of these questions about food is often goose or duck foie gras, which is eaten more particularly during this festive period.
What is foie gras?
But by the way, do you know exactly what foie gras is? Because we can eat it year after year, we do not always know how it is made or that there are different types of foie gras. To obtain foie gras, it will first be necessary to force-feed a goose or a duck during the dozen days preceding slaughter.
We thus obtain raw foie gras, which does not keep very long, and which can then be cooked.
We can also find Foie Gras Semi-Preserved, cooked at less than 100 ° C, most often sold in a terrine or a jar, and which can be kept for several months in the fridge.
Finally, the cooked foie gras, the most popular, undergoes cooking at over 100 ° C before being canned, and it can be stored for several years.
What are the risks of eating fatty liver during pregnancy?
When you are pregnant, we often hear about the risk of listeriosis, and it is because of this infectious disease caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes that we must take special care that we eat during pregnancy, and in particular not not eat raw meat or fish, or even raw milk cheeses. Because listeriosis, which can go unnoticed in healthy people, can however have serious consequences in people with fragile health or even pregnant women. Listeriosis could therefore potentially cause a miscarriage in early pregnancy, or premature delivery and sequelae in the baby after delivery. Enough to be motivated to pay attention to the recipes we put on our plate!
What are the precautions to take to eat foie gras while pregnant?
You will have understood that in order to be able to enjoy your little toast of foie gras at Christmas, you will have to choose exclusively cooked, canned duck or goose foie gras, cooking at over 100 ° C will have destroyed the bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes. However, you should drastically limit its consumption. Why ? Because foie gras does not hide it, it is, as the name suggests, fatty and therefore very high in calories, and should therefore be enjoyed sparingly, especially if you are monitoring your weight gain during pregnancy. It is also very rich in vitamin A, which if too high can be harmful to your unborn baby. Rest assured, there will be no danger of overdosing on vitamin A for a few toast on New Years Eve, but keep it in mind even when consuming cooked liver. On the good side, fatty liver is rich in iron and essential fatty acids, always good to take when you are pregnant!
And of course, we forget the fresh foie gras or the semi-cooked foie gras prepared with care by its butcher or homemade, just like the pâté made from foie gras, galantine, foie gras mousse … All these products from deli meats that may potentially contain the famous bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.
If you are invited to a Christmas dinner with your family or friends, and you cannot be 100% sure of the provenance of the foie gras served at the table, we obviously advise you to skip your turn, and '' wait until you are home to buy canned cooked foie gras, or wait until next year. Your hosts certainly won't hold it against you once you explain the potential risk to your baby – and may even anticipate the problem by offering you an alternative to an aperitif or a starter.
What other foods to avoid during the holidays when you're pregnant?
And yes, pregnancy is a special time for many reasons, and the food choices you make during pregnancy are very important in maintaining your health and that of your unborn baby. You have to follow some pretty strict rules but tell yourself that it is for a good reason and that it is only temporary: soon you will not have to worry about what you can eat and will be able to focus all your attention. on your beautiful baby.
But, let's face it, the holiday season is perhaps the most difficult eating situation for mom-to-be, with many dishes she unfortunately won't be able to taste. Here are our tips on what you can and cannot eat at Christmas – and of course that will also apply for the rest of your pregnancy:
- To avoid contracting listeriosis, caused, as we have seen above, by Listeria monocytogenes, avoid cooked or raw cold meats, jellied products, raw seafood, such as seafood. , oysters, fish roe, tarama, raw salmon or smoked salmon. No problem however if you choose pasteurized smoked salmon.
Likewise, avoid dairy products made from raw milk, soft cheeses and cheeses with a washed and bloomy rind. On the cheese board, look for those made with pasteurized milk.
We will also avoid consuming raw eggs which can be found in many desserts such as the log, chocolate mousse or tiramisu for example: do not hesitate to ask your hosts or the server of a restaurant for the exact composition of the different recipes that you covet. Also ask your pastry chef before buying the traditional yule log, if raw eggs were used in the recipe.
As for the consumption of eggs in a salted version, we prefer fresh eggs that are always well cooked, to avoid listeriosis or even salmonella, another bacterium, responsible for its part of salmonellosis, which can be dangerous for your unborn baby.
If listeriosis remains quite rare in France with only 300 to 400 cases per year, it can, you will understand, have very serious consequences on the fetus. - In order not to contract toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection, a pregnant woman will need to be careful that all the foods she consumes are well cooked, especially meat, such as turkey which is eaten anyway cooked, and fish. . For fruits and vegetables eaten raw, it will then be necessary to ensure that they are cleaned perfectly to remove all traces of soil. You can also potentially get toxoplasmosis from cat litter, so if you enjoy a hairball at home, let your better half take care of this task! Other possible sources of contamination: soil or river water contaminated with faeces.
- And of course, during pregnancy we go without alcohol, even during the holiday season. No bubbles for you this year, but you can soon catch up (in moderation of course) when baby is born or after breastfeeding. The consumption of alcohol by pregnant women is unfortunately the leading cause of mental disability of non-genetic origin in children in France. So prefer Champomy or sparkling water at Christmas!
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