Christmas Food Guide: Dos and Don’ts Whilst Pregnant

The holiday season is rapidly approaching and that means there's an abundant amount of roast dinners, buffets and canapes heading your way. However when you're pregnant suddenly what you can and cant eat gets a little confusing. Our Christmas Food Guide lays down the dos and don'ts whilst pregnant to help you get things straight and keep you and baby healthy!

Food Do’s

• Eat well! Eating healthier during your pregnancy ensures that your baby gets all the nutrients they need. Although you need to resist the urge to over indulge at the buffet make sure to snack frequently on nutrient rich foods. Graze on nuts and raisins for a calcium, magnesium and zinc boost.
• Nibble on dried fruits- cranberries are packed with Vitamin C to help both your own immune system and your baby’s and are rich in anti-microbes to fight infections. Dried apricots should be your number-one snack, as they’re rich in iron for healthy cognition transport of oxygen to both your own and and your baby’s cells.
• Cranberry sauce is the perfect partner to your Christmas Turkey! As we've said, cranberries are packed with Vitamin C to help boost both your and baby's immune system.
• Embrace the sprouts! They probably don't make a regular appearance on your dinner table but sprouts are chocked full of folate which is super important for fetal development. They're also bursting with magnesium which repairs body tissue, as well as containing high amounts of fibre to reduce indigestion. If sprouts aren't a super food we don't know what is! Just 10 of them will give you over 140% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin  so pile up your plate!
• Tuck into some turkey! Turkey meat is lean and full of protein so is perfect to eat whilst pregnant. Just make sure its piping hot and fully cooked, if the juices run clear when its cut then you're good to go. If there's even the slightest tinge of pink pop it back in the oven.
• Indulge in some desserts! Mince pies, Christmas cake and fruit cakes (the alcohol evaporates in the oven) are all ideal for you to tuck into! Make sure to avoid the brandy butter though and keep an eye out for raw eggs in mousses and custard.
• You won't need to miss out on your smoked salmon and eggs for Christmas Day breakfast. Smoked fish, including salmon and trout, is actually considered safe to eat during pregnancy as the smoking process kills any potential parasites.

Food Don’ts

• Don’t eat leftovers unless you know how and where they’ve been stored. Make sure all food has been refrigerated and covered properly to avoid potential food poisoning, something mamas to-be are more prone to.
• Don't eat to excess! We all know the buffet table is pretty much irresistible but it's actually only in the last trimester that you need to up the intake and that's only be 200 calories. That's the equivalent of one mince pie! In case you do end up overindulging mamas have told us they love to rub our Tummy Rub Oil in large clockwise circles to help aid digestion and ease unsettled stomachs.
• Don't gorge on Gorgonzola! Cheeses like Cheddar or Emmental are fine but be sure to steer clear of mould-ripened soft cheeses like Camembert and Brie as well as soft blue-veined cheeses such a Gorgonzola or Roquefort. Along with raw fish, cured meat like Parma ham and pate these foods could carry listeria, a bacteria which can cause miscarriage or premature delivery.
• Don't miss out on the champagne toast! Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you should ever feel left out. Take a look at our mocktail recipes for drink recipes that will leave fellow party guests jealous.