Cheesecake, who doesn’t like creamy cheesecakes. During pregnancy, the expectant mother will have some genuine cravings like eating spicy foods, chocolates, sometimes cheesecakes also. These cravings are because of the hormones kicking inside the body. Cheesecakes are usually rich in Vitamins and proteins that are helpful for the development of the baby present inside. The fat content present in the Cheesecake also helps in the weight gain of the baby present inside. This tasty, creamy dessert is both safe and unsafe to eat during pregnancy. It all depends on the cheese, a cake made from unpasteurized cheese is harmful during pregnancy. Also, cakes made with raw eggs are unsafe. Here in this article, we will discuss how safe is eating Cheesecake during pregnancy.
What is Cheesecake?
Cheesecake is a creamy filling dessert concocted using soft cheese and cream cheeses like mascarpone and ricotta. The lovely taste of the Cheesecake gets melted int your mouth. This can be consumed both baked and raw. The hunger pangs and the cravings during pregnancy will surely be taken care of by eating Cheesecake.
Is it Safe to Consume Cheesecake During Pregnancy?
But, the main question revolves in our head is that how safe is eating Cheesecake while pregnant. Many say that it is safe to eat Cheesecake during pregnancy, provided it should be taken in limited quantities. However, eating Cheesecake may also be unsafe if the unpasteurized cheese and raw eggs are used to prepare the Cheesecake. Moreover, unbaked cheesecakes are also unsafe; cakes that have been preserved in refrigerators for days can also be harmful during pregnancy. Hence, it can be said that cakes that are fully baked and fresh are quite safe to eat during pregnancy.
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What Kind of Cheesecakes to Eat During Pregnancy?
Most of the pregnant women have a question in their mind about the kinds of cheesecakes that can be eaten or avoided during pregnancy. Here we have a list of those cheesecakes which can be consumed during pregnancy.
What Cheesecakes to Eat:
- Fully baked cheesecakes made of pasteurized soft cheese
- Fully baked cheesecakes that don’t contain raw eggs
- Baked cheesecakes made of cooked eggs
- Cheesecakes containing mascarpone and ricotta cheese are the safest choices.
Cheese Cakes to Avoid:
- Cakes that are made of unpasteurized dairy products
- Cakes that are made using raw eggs
- Unbaked cheesecakes should be avoided
- Cheesecakes that have been preserved in the refrigerator for days.
Nutritional Benefits Of Eating Cheesecake During Pregnancy:
Cheesecake contains basic ingredients like eggs, sugar, cheese, cream in it. The nutritional value of Cheesecake comes from these ingredients. Some of the health benefits of eating Cheesecake during pregnancy are
1. The Right Amount of Protein:
Cheesecakes contain proteins that are essential for the development of the baby present inside. Protein is vital for the formation of muscle and tissues in the baby. A single slice of Cheesecake will meet 7% of the daily protein requirement.
2. Rich in Vitamins:
Retinol, which is Vitamin A, is present in cheesecakes. One piece of this cake will meet 23% of daily vitamin requirements during pregnancy.
3. Fats:
Cheesecakes contain both saturated and unsaturated fats in them. These are vital for the ideal weight gain of the baby present inside the womb.
4. Sodium and Sugar:
During pregnancy, intake of sodium in prescribed amounts for the overall development of the fetus. Cheesecake contains 350mg of sodium and 18gm of sugar.
Risks of Eating Cheesecake During Pregnancy:
Any food that is consumed in excess harms the body. During pregnancy, you need to be more careful and selective in terms of the cheesecakes you eat. Besides having some benefits, some risks are involved in eating cheesecakes.
- Cheesecakes may contain unpasteurized dairy products in them that are harmful to the pregnant lady and the baby present inside. The unpasteurized products contain listeria, a harmful bacteria that causes listeriosis. Listeriosis, if not treated in time, there are chances of miscarriage and fetal death.
- Some unbaked cheesecakes are made of raw eggs that are not safe to eat during pregnancy. Raw eggs contain salmonella, a harmful bacteria that cause salmonella poisoning. This may affect your health.
- Cheesecakes are rich in calories. Eating cheesecakes in large amounts leads to unwanted weight gain during pregnancy.
- The unpasteurized cheese may contain E.coli bacteria, which leads to diarrhea. If this condition is not treated in time during pregnancy, it may lead to anemia.
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Cheese Cake Recipes During Pregnancy:
Cheesecakes, a yummy dessert has different varieties like chocolate cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, etc. Here we will look into the different recopies of cheesecakes.
1. Homemade Cheesecake:
This is a basic cheesecake that can be prepared at home with ease.
Ingredients:
- 24 ounces of pasteurized cream cheese
- Three eggs
- Four tablespoons of lemon juice
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- One teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of Graham cracker crumbs
- Eight tablespoons of unsalted butter
How to Prepare:
- Take a large bowl and put graham crumbs in it.
- Pour the melted butter in the bowl and mix slowly.
- Mix the contents properly. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie pan and place it in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Take another bowl and add lemon juice, cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Blend the mixture well to make the cheesecake batter.
- Split the egg white from the yellow yolk carefully. Whisk the egg whites to obtain a fluffy mixture.
- Add the yellow egg yolks to the batter and mix thoroughly.
- Add the quarter proportion of the egg white fluffy mixture into the batter and blend it well. Slowly add the remaining egg whites to the mix and fold it well.
- Pour the mixture into the pie pan and place it in the oven (1500 Celsius) for about 50 minutes.
- While baking, the cheesecake mixture rises and develops a fluffy texture.
- After 50 minutes of baking, let it stand for 20 minutes before you take it out from the microwave oven.
- Now, put the Cheesecake in the refrigerator and serve cold.
2. Chocolate Cheese Cake:
Cheesecake with chocolate is one of the best cakes that is widely eaten. The chocolate craving can be best-taken care of with this Cheesecake during pregnancy.
Ingredients:
- 150 gms of dark chocolate
- 45 gms of butter
- 100 mg of whipping cream
- 200 gms of pasteurized cream cheese
- 150 gms of digestive biscuits
- Two tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 110 gms of sugar
How to Prepare:
- Make a fine powder from digestive biscuits by crushing.
- Add melted butter and sugar to the powder. Mix the content well to attain a smooth batter.
- Now, put the dough in a cake tin and place it in the refrigerator.
- Add chocolate (melted and cooled) and cocoa powder along with the whipped cream to the mixture. Blend the mix carefully.
- Take a bowl and beat the cream cheese and sugar to form a mixture. Fold the chocolate mixture and mix it with the cheese mixture.
- Gently spread the mixture on top of the layer of the crushed biscuits and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
- The yummy chocolate cheesecake is ready to serve.
3. Lemon Cheesecake:
Cheesecake can be made with different flavors. One such flavored Cheesecake is made of lemon. Let us see the recipe of lemon cheesecake.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of cream cheese
- ¼ cup of sugar
- ½ cup skim milk
- Unflavored gelatine
- Two tablespoons of lemon juice
- Two eggs
- Lemon Zest
- One teaspoon of vanilla
How to Prepare:
- Mix water, lemon juice, and gelatin in a bowl blend the mixture in a blender for 2 minutes.
- Add skims milk to this mixture until the gelatin gets dissolved completely.
- Add lemon juice, sugar, egg whites, cream cheese, and vanilla extract and blend the mixture until it gets smooth.
- Now, pour this mixture into the pie plate and put it in a refrigerator for about 3 hours.
- Garnish it with some lemon zest to enhance the flavor and fragrance before serving.
4. Plain Eggless Cheesecake:
Cheesecakes can also be prepared without using eggs. These can be an advantage for pregnant women who crave for Cheesecake and are vegetarians.
Ingredients:
- 250 ml of skimmed milk
- ¾ cup of pasteurized cream cheese
- One lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 6 Multigrain cookies
- Sugar
How to Prepare:
- Crush the Multigrain cookies. Spread the crushed cookies into a baking tin.
- Whip the cream cheese and milk quark using a blender until you attain a creamy mixture.
- Mix vanilla extract, milk in a separate container, and boil the mixture.
- After cooling down the mixture, add the cheese mixture in a bowl and blend again. Add sugar according to the taste.
- Finally, add some lemon juice and mix the contents properly.
- Pour this mixture over the layer of crushed cookies and place it in the oven. Bake the content in the oven at 1750 celsius for 15 minutes.
- After the mixture cools down, refrigerate it for an hour.
- The tasty eggless Cheesecake is ready to serve.
5. Blueberry Cheesecake:
This is another flavored cheesecake that can be tried at home. The recipe is shown below.
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup of blueberry crush
- Four tablespoons of butter
- 100 gms of digestive biscuits
- 200 mg of fresh cream
- 200 gms of curd
- Two tablespoons of gelatin
How to Prepare:
- Crush the 100gm digestive biscuits to a fine powder.
- Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter properly and place the mixture in a cake tin.
- Put the cake tin in a refrigerator until the mixture gets hardened and well-built.
- Mix the cream, curd, and blueberry crush and blend it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Melt the gelatin and pour this into the creamy mixture of cheese and curd.
- Whip the mixture properly and pour the content into the cake tin filled with the biscuit-butter layer.
- Put the cake tin in a refrigerator and let the content set correctly.
- Decorate this cake with your choice of chocolate chips before you serve.
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Precautions to Take Before Eating Cheesecake During pregnancy:
Certain precautions need to be followed before eating a cheesecake during pregnancy
- Always check on the dairy products that are being used to prepare the Cheesecake. Unpasteurized dairy products can harm the body.
- Make sure that you don’t eat cheesecakes that contain raw eggs in them.
- Unbaked cheesecakes should also be avoided.
- If you intend to buy the Cheesecake, check out the label carefully for the expiry date.
- You might feel hungry and crave more for the cheesecakes, but limit the intake of Cheesecake.
The yummy cheesecakes are the ones that surely will satisfy your hunger pangs and cravings during pregnancy. One has to remember that eating cheesecakes not only benefits the pregnant lady, but it can also harm the expectant mother and the baby present inside if the ingredients used are unpasteurized and not appropriately baked. Also, excess eating of cheesecakes can put on unwanted weight that may lead to some other complications. Apart from all these, eating Cheesecake is perfectly safe, provided you follow the tips mentioned above. Always consult your doctor before planning any changes to your diet during pregnancy.
Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed in this article are just suggestions, and the website is no way responsible for the side effects it may cause. It is better to consult a doctor before you eat anything, especially when you are pregnant.
Frequently Asked Questions And Answers:
Q1. Is it safe to eat Cheesecake during breastfeeding?
Ans: It is absolutely safe to eat Cheesecake during breastfeeding. But, make sure that you eat it in limited quantities and check for the ingredients used in the preparation of Cheesecake. Do avoid unbaked cake, a cake made of unpasteurized dairy products.
Q2. Will eating cheesecake lead to miscarriage?
Ans: Eating Cheesecake in limited quantities is quite safe. Eating Cheesecake made of unpasteurized dairy products may lead to complications. Unpasteurized dairy products contain a bacteria called listeria that causes listeriosis if not treated on time can lead to miscarriage.
Q3. Is eating Cheesecake healthy during pregnancy?
Ans: One cannot ultimately say that eating Cheesecake during pregnancy is healthy. The nutrients present in Cheesecake are available in all other daily foods that we consume. Cheesecake is mainly consumed to satisfy the hunger pangs and cravings. Hence, it can be said that eating Cheesecake during pregnancy can be healthy, mentally, and psychologically.
