Pregnant and breastfeeding women: how to enjoy the festive season meals?
Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner and, like everyone else, you're keen to make the most of the festive season - and rightly so! Pregnancy and the post-partum period are no picnic, but there's no reason to miss out on good times with family and friends. As a reminder, especially for l'entourage, being pregnant or breastfeeding is not an illness. You just need to make a few adjustments to avoid digestive discomfort, both for yourself and your baby. Here's an update from Nutrimom, an expert in l'maternity nutrition.
Behind Nutrimom is Anouchka Dehalleux, who realized that all too often, women unknowingly neglect the impact of diet on their health, and more specifically on the development and growth, including in-utero, of their baby. Mothers-to-be are constantly told what they can't eat, but are given little or no advice on what's good for them and their offspring. That's why Anouchka created Nutrimom to guide them and simplify their day-to-day lives (no more mental workload!) by cooking little dishes (sweet and savoury) that are both tasty and packed with essential nutrients. And speaking of mental burdens, we invite you to discover our article on the 10 great gifts to give a young mother.
Discover the formulas she offers and let yourself be tempted by these delights. Nutrimomfood.be
What to eat and drink while pregnant or breastfeeding?
To begin with, there is a difference between being pregnant and breastfeeding. If you are both at the same time ... a cup of tea and go to bed! No, we're joking, but the party won't be as crazy.
When it comes to breastfeeding during the holidays (and everywhere, all the time), there's nothing better than the stylish and ultra-comfortable clothes designed by Milk Away. For the festive season, we recommend that you fall for their iconic little black dress, so chic.
A small aperitif
If you're pregnant, we advise you to abstain from l'alcohol. Especially as more and more non-alcoholic, super-tasty lacto-fermented drinks are available, such as kefir or kombucha, rich in probiotics that are excellent for the body and fetus, and will make you forget that you'll still be sober after midnight. The advantages are numerous: no hangover, no risk at the wheel, but it's true that you'll have no excuse to justify your dancing either. For the sake of digestion, we recommend a maximum of three. LExcess, even of the good stuff, is never good. Yes, we know, life isn't fun. You've already imagined yourself taking a probiotic swab, but no, it's better not to.
credit: Unsplash - Logan Weaver
Nutrimom's kefir aperitif recipe :
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon kefir grains (available in organic shops)
- 1 litre of low mineralized spring water
- 1 tablespoon organic sugar
- 1 organic dried date
- 2-3 organic lemon slices
Equipment:
- 1 glass jar (sterilize in lboiling water)
- 1 clean cloth
- 1 elastic band
- 1 nylon strainer
- 1 glass bottle (to be sterilised)
- 1 funnel
- 1 stainless steel spoon
Instructions:
Put the tablespoon of kefir grains in the jar, add 1 litre of water, the tablespoon of sugar, the date and a slice of lemon, then cover with a square of cloth and fix with a rubber band. You can either do a single fermentation and your drink will be less fizzy or you can do a second fermentation.
In this case, place a funnel and strainer over the bottle and pour in your fruit kefir from the first fermentation.
Then collect the grains for the next fermentation without washing them, close the bottle and leave to ferment again for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature, or at low temperature to increase the fizz of your drink.
You can l'flavour with dried fruit, spices or herbs... Give free rein to your creativity...
Once finished, place your bottle in the refrigerator to slow down fermentation and consume within 3 days of opening.
Have a good experience ... and enjoy your meal!
If you're breast-feeding, l'alcohol is not totally forbidden. A cup or two is permissible. It's important to remember that the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream will be the same as in your milk, but that it will be filtered more quickly through your milk. There are two options s'available to you: either you pump your milk beforehand for the evening and night, and give it to your baby in a bottle, or you consume your alcoholic beverage at the end of or just after the last feed (hence l'the importance of s'providing well-designed nursing clothes!). This way, you can put two or three hours between drinking and the next feed.
Split meals
As regards food, once again, you need to differentiate between being pregnant and breastfeeding. When pregnant, if you have not been immunized against toxoplasmosis, you should avoid all raw or semi-cooked meat (tataki, carpaccio, American-style, foie gras, etc.) and fish (oysters, sushi and sashimi, etc.), and avoid unpasteurized cheeses and raw egg-based desserts. l As for raw vegetables, make sure they've been thoroughly washed. And if you're prone to gestational diabetes, you'll have to go easy on the log. Unfortunately, sugar is hidden in everything, including pasta, bread and so on.
Breastfeeding, no worries with these products, you are free, delivered because the possible bacteria do not pass in the milk!
In general, avoid eating too much at once. Lhe ideal way to survive the holiday marathon without pregnancy-related nausea or digestive problems for you or your baby is to divide up your meals, i.e. eat smaller quantities more often throughout the day, and avoid excess fat and sugar (but this applies to all meals in life in general). One breastfeed is not lthe same as another, but it's obvious that if you're l'used to paying attention to your diet and suddenly you eat products that are too rich, too acidic or too spicy for a few days, not only your body but also your baby (since everything passes into breast milk) won't like it. You run the risk of provoking reflux, of causing your baby to refuse to suck if the taste of the milk is no longer the same, of causing him to cry with discomfort, and of having a very bad night's sleep as a result. Lhe ideal solution is to plan ahead and use milk as a replacement. If your baby has food intolerances, you should be aware that traces of food may be present in the milk for up to a week after lingestion...
The best thing to do is to host a party at home. You are then in charge of the meal and you can easily include galactogenic (i.e. milk-producing) foods such as: fennel, almonds, cashew nuts, cumin, brewer's yeast, etc. We try to include all kinds of vegetables.
Digestive drinks to prepare
To limit digestive discomfort, you can also drink l'water infused with ginger or lemon. There are also digestive herbal teas, often with warm spices such as cinnamon, on the market (choose organic ones). The key is l'hydration. Drinking regularly not only helps the body to function optimally, but also reduces bloating and hunger pangs, since drinking enough water has a satiating effect on l'satiety. So you don't have to rush out for an aperitif ...
A broth for relief
Pregnant or breast-feeding, real chicken broth (by which we mean broth made from a carcass that has been simmering for hours) is a truly effective grandmother's remedy, as it's super-rich in collagen and therefore hydrating and revitalizing. It's ideal for the aftermath of a party or a binge. Pregnant or breast-feeding women are strongly advised not to s'eat even if they're not hungry or have a tummy ache.
The most important thing to remember, and the best advice l'we can give you, is to listen to yourself, your body and your baby, and to trust yourself. And no matter how tempting l'tis, don't neglect your sleep. Sleep is so precious ... #paroledejeunemaman
Have a great holiday, Super WoMUMs!
#milkawayapparel #inmumwetrust #wearewomum #teamwomum #partymum #xmas #newyear #christmasfood
photo credit: Unsplash - Jed Owen
