We are in my kitchen again this week! This time, for the best reason ever!
As promised: Lactation Cookies!
I wanted to share my recipe for lactation cookies with all of you. I scoured the Internet, looking for inspiration, learning about different ingredients that are known to aid in the production of breast milk, in order to bring it all together in this recipe. More than just throwing the recipe out there, I definitely want to break down the main ingredients that increase milk supply and the potential reasons they might do this.
Giving your milk the best chance
Brewer’s Yeast: A highly nutritious dietary supplement that is made from a fungus containing iron, protein, B vitamins, chromium, selenium and other trace minerals. While it is a known galactagogue (increases milk production), it is also believed to combat fatigue and the baby blues after birth.
Flaxseed Meal: contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA is partially converted into the omega-3-fatty acids, the all-mighty and essential, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). While increased ALA in breastmilk has not changed the DHA content of said breastmilk, it does appear to improve the infants DHA status. In other words, the body of an infant is able to take ALA to help increase their own DHA levels. DHA is an especially important fatty acid for brain and eye development. Flaxseed meal is amazing for the overall content of your breastmilk, and it is also thought to increase milk supply.
Oats: a good source of iron. Anemia or low iron levels in a mother are known to decrease milk production; therefore something high in iron is great to increase milk. Oats also lower cholesterol levels, there has been many studies that link lowering cholesterol to increased milk production (other herbs used for increased milk production also decrease cholesterol, like fenugreek and alfalfa).
Cookies are a comfort food! Increased relaxation in a mother can encourage the let-down reflex and therefore positively affect milk output.
Okay nursing mommies, let’s get down to the fun stuff, baking those lactation cookies!
Some delicious cookies!
1 ½ cups of old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup of raisins (or chocolate chips)
¾ cup of salted butter
2 tablespoons of water
1-2 tablespoons of Brewers Yeast
1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon of vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
Bringing it all together:
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.
~ Mix together flaxseed meal and water and set aside for five minutes.
~ Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
~ Stir flaxseed mixture and vanilla into the butter mixture. Beat until blended well.
~ Combine all dry ingredients, except oats and raisins.
~ Combine dry ingredients and butter mixture. Then stir in the oats and raisins.
Lightly grease a baking sheet, I like to rub butter onto the baking sheet. Scoop the batter onto the sheet leaving some space between the cookies for some expansion. Try not to make the cookies too large, you want then to cook all the way through without burning on the bottom and sides.
I saw a great increase in my milk supply when I ate one or two per day.
Because we all need some cute in our lives
Either way, they are delicious, enjoy your lactation cookies while your sweet baby enjoys nursing!
Be sure to join us in our social media accounts to be up to date with the progress of our project!
And… Don’t forget to share your brelfies using our HT #BreastfeedingWorld
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Born and raised in NY, I studied speech and language pathology at NYU. I am a stay at home mom to two beautiful children, Richard and Charlotte and wife to my wonderful husband, Rich. I have always had a deep love for learning, which has grown further since becoming a mother, I am always looking for new ways to enrich our lives. Becoming a mother changed my life, I learned compassion, caring and most importantly, true love. I hope to share the experiences of my breastfeeding, cloth diapering, babywearing, crocheting, full of love, life.
Disappointed to see this article!
Lactation cookies are not health food.
They will not help you lose the pregnancy weight.
They will not help you stop the daycare from overfeeding your baby.
They won’t stop from your baby from being at fussy at night.
They won’t fix your baby’s tongue tie.
They won’t address health conditions that affect affect milk supply, like thyroid conditions, PCOS, and insulin resistance. Moms with some of these conditions produce more milk on cookie-free low-carb-diets.
Please don’t caught up in the trap of thinking that milk supply is mostly driven by your diet, and that if you’re drowning yourself in water and eating lactation cookies, you’re doing everything to boost milk supply.
It’s simply not true!
If you’re worried about milk supply, what should you do?
Don’t start by changing your diet — start by nursing/pumping more often and getting breastfeeding help. Here’s a great article to help you figure out if your supply is really low: http://www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/twitter-and-blog/low-milk-supply-101
If you do have reason to believe your baby is not getting enough milk: don’t spend the first your first hour you know that making lactation cookies! Spend that time researching lactation consultants and finding out who’s best in your area, and calling them. That’s going so much better of a use of your time, because a lactation consultant can give you a plan specifically tailored to your unique situation. Here’s where to find a lactation consultant: www.ilca.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3432