If you are breastfeeding or pregnant, you might be thinking about what foods can improve your milk supply.
Adding foods with lactation-promoting properties, along with frequent breastfeeding or pumping, can help boost your supply. Tried and tested by breastfeeding mums, here are three delicious snacks that are packed with lactogenic ingredients:
1. Green lactation smoothie
From The Detoxinista
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup fresh young Thai coconut meat OR half an avocado
- 2 tablespoons hemp protein powder
- 2-3 soft Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavor
- 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- Handful of ice
Directions:
- Combine the almond milk, coconut meat, dates, spinach and vanilla in a blender, and blend until completely liquified.
- Add the frozen strawberries and ice, and blend again until smooth.
- Serve immediately.
2. Lactation-promoting banana chocolate chip muffins
From Yea Yea Pueblo
Serves 24
- 4 ripe bananas
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons Brewers Yeast
- 3 tablespoons Flax Seed meal
- ½ cup oats
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips)
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash ripe bananas. Mix in the softened butter until blended, then add the vanilla and egg. Mix until well incorporated.
- In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, Brewer's Yeast and Flax Seed meal until blended.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into banana mixture. Stir in oats and chocolate chips, then mix well.
- Fill muffin cups with batter until ¾ full. Bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of muffin comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. No-bake lactation bars
From A is for Adelaide
- 2 cup steel cut oats
- 1 cup granola ( the coconut and chia seed blend from BJs is awesome!
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablepoons flax seed meal (in its own mixture of 4T water)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup raw honey
- 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- Combine oats and granola in a large bowl.
- Over medium heat in a sauce pan, heat sugar, cinnamon, salt, honey, peanut butter and vanilla- stir until well blended together.
- Pour over the oats and granola mixture, add flax seed meal/water, and mix just to blend.
- Cool, then add chocolate chips.
- Press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan and slice into bars.
From The Detoxinista
Serves 1
Ingredients:
From Yea Yea Pueblo
Serves 24
From A is for Adelaide
