I'm craving pate. So shoot me.

[LadyOfTheCuntryManor]

Uh-oh.

So far limited it to three one small baguette SCRAPED with pate.

Not too sure what else I can do but eat the bloody stuff.

Any ideas?

I really miss pate. The risk isn't just to do with food poisoning though, high levels of vitamin A (found in liver) have been linked to brain damage. The risk is probably only minuscule but for me it isn't worth it.

My midwife said that the sort you get in supermarkets that is sealed in airtight plastic is unikely to cause problems listeria wise as long as you eat it soon after opening, it's the sort that has been sitting on a deli counter for days that might be dodgy. Obviously you want to avoid liver pate too cos of the vit A levels.

Would fish or chicken paste satisfy the craving instead?

I thought that pate and blue cheeses were the two things you didn't mess with in pregnancy. Anything else is down to you to decide the risk but I was told those two were pretty non negotiable. I'd love some too. I've only just started liking it :(

Ok, I should emphasise the word CRAVE. I don't desire it apart from the fact I NEED to eat it and I can't explain why. It's not as though I don't wish to stop eating it.

I presume every single French woman gives up pate when pregnant?

No, not paste I tried that.

It's the sealed Brussels pate. I bought it today and had some, probably all in all the amount I've consumed is about 2 teaspoons worth.

I craved melon with my first so I didn't have this predicament...!

Won't need to shoot you; you'll die of poisoning. (probably not )

Oh god i wanted pate so bad when iwas pg. It was the only thing i was good about really cos i still had the odd drink, ate prawns, soft cheese and lots of tuna.

After i had ds2 dh made me toast and pate almost every day for lunch until i was sick of it. Dont think ive eaten it in over a year now

Just found a chunk of an old article;

"...The risk of birth defects caused by vitamin A overdose is also a concern for many women, who are terrified that eating even the smallest bit of liver will cause defects, including spina bifida, in their baby. However, studies reported in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest there is no conclusive proof of a link between retinol (the form of vitamin A found in animal foods such as liver) and birth defects. If there is a link, it may start when pregnant women regularly eat more than 3,000mg of vitamin A every day. ?And,? says Ford, ?the risk seems to be confined to the first three months of pregnancy.?

I ate that yeast veggie pate you get in tubes with butter on toast and it was a good replacement. Tartex I think it is called. Just the plain one was the best.

I'm not fussed for cheese, I don't drink or smoke, not bothered with caffeine...hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow and it would have passed. Failing that looks like I might be running the risk in a blind, deaf, brain damaged (delete as appropriate) child.

Oh Angry, great. Available in supermarkets?

Oh lady, I'd just go for it in absolute moderation as it sounds like you have already done. I think your body is likely to crave what it needs, and if you're having a once a week treat I honestly can't believe you're going to do any harm at all. What a pain though to be craving something "forbidden" though!

I'd get less stick necking a few glasses of wine!

Had my fix, it was Digestives and Marmite last week so who knows?! Fingers crossed it'll pass! If it was my first pregnancy I'd probably be super neurotic!

this is no 6 for me & i always crabe naughty foods when preg , goats cheese & pate, runny eggs ! it wont kill u to have 2 slices of toast with pate !!! as long as all fresh or from sealed container, i would worry more about the german cucumber @ the mo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would eat it in moderation. Honestly, if your concern is Vit A rather than food poisoning, you would have to eat a TON of pate to have any ill effects.

I had some pate last week and it was devine! I figured at one day off EDD it was worth the risk.

A few smears of reliably sourced pate is far less likely to damage to your baby than drinking energy drinks (which can and do cause birth defects in large amounts) etc.

As for the daft German cucumber remark. It was found to have nothing to do with cucumbers, but actually organic bean sprouts from one farm in Germany. People need to get their facts straight and stop scare mongering as people already struggle to eat sensible and healthy diets as it is.

chill chill - the cucumber was a joke !!!!!

Would home-made salmon/haddock pate take the edge off?

Whizz up your fish (cooked, so ok) in a blender with a decent splodge of philly (also ok) and loads of salt & pepper. Spread thickly and enjoy. Any leftovers should be ok in the fridge a few days (I usually take the BBE date of the fish as a guide)

As far as I know French women do give up pate, lots of complaints on French forums about not being able to eat foie gras...

Doesn't help you though!

I've had foie gras once since being pregnant, I figured that one lot of "too much" vitamin A wouldn't hurt. Haven't researched it though because I don't want to beat myself up for something I did once and ages ago...

I don't want salmon/haddock pate. I want the good stuff if I'm honest.

Didn't have any today, found a new best friend in grapes (until they cause e-coli in which case I'll lose the will to live).

Seeing midwife tomorrow, perhaps she'll be reasonable and let me eat what I want and say one piece is ok.