With Noémie Abitbol, dietitian nutritionist based in Levallois-Perret (92)
Pregnancy: can I eat traditional chocolate mousse when pregnant?
The National Public Health Agency (ANSES) publishes numerous recommendations on diet during pregnancy. When you are expecting a baby, you must be particularly vigilant to avoid contracting a toxi-infection caused by bacteria. The most common are:
- Lhas salmonella (contained in raw eggs for example), causing salmonellosis
- Listeria monocytogenes (contained in raw milk) causing listeriosis
- The parasite Toxoplasma gondii (contained in undercooked meat, raw fruits and vegetables) causing toxoplasmosis
These diseases can have serious consequences for the mother-to-be and her baby, including miscarriage, neonatal infection or premature delivery.
Pregnant women must therefore be extra careful when it comes to their diet. We don’t forget that everything we eat, our baby eats too!
We are particularly wary of foods of animal origin, meat in the first place, which must always be well cooked. Vigilance also on the side of the fish, which must be of an irreproachable freshness. During these nine months, we forget seafood and shellfish!
Concerning precisely this chocolate dessert,it is unfortunately not consumable for a pregnant woman, at least in its traditional version. In question, not dark chocolate, which presents no risk, but raw egg whites, to be avoided for food safety. “Traditional chocolate mousse is made with uncooked egg whites, so it should be avoided during pregnancy,” explains Noémie Abitbol, dietitian nutritionist based in Levallois-Perret (92).
Pregnant woman: what are the homemade alternatives to chocolate mousse? Can we eat an industrial chocolate mousse?
It is possible to consumeindustrial chocolate mousses, because most of them do not contain eggs or milk. When there are, they have previously been cooked at high temperature (between 72°C and 85°C). However, these desserts are very rich in additives and preservatives. Therefore, it is preferable for pregnant women to make their own homemade chocolate mousse.
Recipe: how to make a vegetable chocolate mousse?
“We can make a vegan chocolate mousse with the liquid of chickpea juice which is called aquafaba”, details the dietitian.
A recipe based on dark or milk chocolate, heated in a bain-marie and mixed with chickpea juice beaten stiff with an electric mixer.
There is no need to add refined sugar, chocolate is already sweet and you must limit your consumption of fast sugars and fats during pregnancy, in order to avoid causing gestational diabetes (or gestational diabetes), and control weight gain.
Dark or milk chocolate is enough to make this dessert ultra-gourmet. Moreover, thanks to its high content of flavonoids, it allows the pregnant woman to have better blood circulation at the placental, uterine and fetal level. Rich in magnesium and potassium, it can also have a soothing effect for the mother and the future baby.
In addition, the pregnant woman must be careful not to break the cold chain, by not delaying putting fresh products in the refrigerator after purchase or consumption, especially when they contain milk and eggs.