There are 3 key ingredients that make these lactation- friendly: ground flax, brewers yeast & oats.
While these 3 ingredients have been shown to increase supply, what really ensures your milk continues to flow are calories and FAT! Lots of healthy fats from nuts and seeds, coconut and avocado should be incorporated into all of your meals.
Lactation cookies were a real life-savor during my first year with my babe. I kept a stash in the freezer because all current mama's know when you need food you need it fast, and these tasted amazing frozen or thawed. I also knew they were filling me with healthy fats and whole grains and satisfied my raging hunger / sweet tooth.
A note on that raging sweet tooth... I'm confident we crave all-the-sugar and all-the-bad-things when nursing because our body is screaming for calories and we're exhausted - a perfect storm for making bad eating choices. I purposely focused on sugar type and amount in these because I wanted something that did satisfy that sweet craving but also made me feel good about what I was putting in my (and inevitably my babes) body.
Low Sugar Lactation Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 2 c oat flour, spelt flour or whole wheat flour
- 4 Tbs ground flax combined w 1/4 c water
- 1/3 c coconut oil, liquid & room temperature
- 1/2 c coconut sugar* (or sugar of your choice)
- 3 Tbs Brewers Yeast
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 c rolled oats
- optional stir-ins equaling 1 1/2 cups: semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins or chopped dates, unsweetened coconut flakes
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- In a large bowl combine flax & water mixture, coconut oil, sugar, brewer's yeast, vanilla, baking soda, and salt, and stir again until well combined.
- Gradually stir in the oat flour until a dough is formed, then fold in the rolled oats and other optional add-ins
- Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the lined baking sheet. You can leave them like this or flatten them (they will not flatten when baked)
- Bake for ~10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet initially and then transfer to a wire rack
These will stay very soft at room temperature (may crumble) or store in refrigerator or freezer for a firmer cookie.
*i like coconut sugar because it is unrefined and low glycemic.