Unfortunately, despite eating very well and drinking more water than you can imagine (seriously, this was proven in the 24-hour urination test when I had pre-eclampsia!) I am not as blessed as most of my lactating friends in that I'm lucky if I get an extra 3-5 ounces a day to stash away. SO, and I can't remember where, but I was introduced to the LACTATION COOKIE. Yes my friends, there is a cookie you can make that ACTUALLY works. In two parts:
1) It gives you extra nutrition and calories you need to actually produce milk.
2) Its full of lactogenic or galactagogues which help your body make milk.
I tried two versions, then made two of my own off each version.
First version: Paleo Lactation Cookies. They are good and have a strong Anise (black licorice) taste. I believe these are the "healthiest" of the two recipes.
Miriam's Paleo Inspired Lactation Cookies:
- 1/2 C coconut oil, liquified
- 1/2 C maple syrup
- 1/2 C Blackstrap Mollasses (for iron and Calcium)
- 4 eggs
- 1&1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp anise seed (I did not grind them)
- 2 C almond flour
- 2 C Oats
- 1/2 C flax meal (we used a coffee grinder on flax seeds)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 C macadamia nuts, chopped
- 1/2 C walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 C dates, chopped
- 1 C dark chocolate chips or chunks
- 4 Tbsp Brewer's Yeast
- 2 Tbsp Fenugreek Powder
Mix everything together and bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. I baked them on wax paper on metal pans.
Miriam's General Inspired Lactation Cookies:
1 C Butter (melted)
1 C Brown Sugar (packed)
1/2 C Blackstrap Molasses
2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
4 Tbsp Brewer's Yeast
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp Vanilla
2 C Flour
3 C Oats
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I ran out so I used white cc)
1 cup nuts (I used macadamia)
Mix everything together and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. I baked them on wax paper on metal pans.
I liked the taste of the second version best, BUT, the first version worked the best for me, AND the second version is more of a "desert" lactation cookie since it has sugar and white chocolate chips in it. I did replace some of the sugar in the second recipe with molasses, since there's a lot more nutrition in molasses. I also eat 2-3 right after a workout (I burn aprx. 500-750 calories on average with my daily cardio/strength training/daily walk.)
Sorry I did not get pictures of them... for me, they turned out pretty dark and chunky from the nuts and mollasses if you like a visual!
I did cool them completely and stuck them in the freezer for when I go back to work.
Enjoy!