When I first committed to breastfeeding, I didn’t quite know how hard some days could seem. There was the engorged early days of the milk coming in, learning to latch, and worrying about supply while you’re nursing for hours on end.

Luckily, I had great support and was able to push through those first few tough weeks! Friends and family sent books and made lactation-friendly recipes. Professionals helped me learn to latch and how to deal with various issues related to breastfeeding. It is so important to take care of yourself postpartum Making sure to eat enough can be hard. Therefore, I have rounded up a few of my favorite recipes which support lactation and are easy to grab, even while nursing!

P.S. Even if you aren’t currently nursing, these make great snacks!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookie Recipe

These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are adapted from Steel Cut Oats and have been made multiple times here. They make a large batch, so be prepared to share (or eat as many as you want).  Note: If you can’t find Brewer’s yeast, check in the health food section of HyVee.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons flax seed
• 1 Tablespoon chia seed
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (The recipe calls for vanilla, but you can do either,)
• ½  teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons brewer’s yeast
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups oats (I do 1 cup steel cut, 2 cups old fashioned.)
• 1 bag chocolate chips (I love dark chocolate!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, blend well.
4. Mix dry ingredients, excluding the oats and chocolate chips.
5. Slowly add dry mixture to butter, sugar and egg mixture.
6. Stir in the oats and then the chocolate chips, distributing evenly.
7. Spoon onto a prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake 11-13 minutes.

Make-Your-Own Trail Mix

Trail Mix is one snack that does not take much planning or time and is easy to customize. Below is one of my favorite mixtures, but I have included a couple ideas for variation. To make the trail mix, put all ingredients in a large bowl, mix, and store in an airtight container.

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup cashews
• ½ cup walnuts
• ½ cup peanuts
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips
• ¾ cup Oat and Honey Granola Clusters made with Chia and Flax seed (You can buy it at Fareway or HyVee or even make it yourself!)
• ¼ cup toasted coconut flakes
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1+ teaspoon brewers yeast

Some other ingredients to experiment with are:

• Dried fruits: cherries, banana chips, raspberries, blueberries, raisins, pineapple
• Seeds: sunflower, extra flax seed, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts
• Other: Cheerios, pretzels, M&M’s, different spices such as pumpkin, paprika, or chili

Lactation Smoothies

Smoothies are easy!  As long as you include the lactation boosting supplements (*), you can vary the flavor as much as you want! Chocolate, peanut butter, and banana is my favorite, but you could also try strawberry-almond or even make a pumpkin spice smoothie! There are many great smoothie recipes out there.

• 1 cup chocolate almond milk
• 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed meal*
• 2 Tablespoons peanut butter or almond butter
• 1 medium banana
• 1/3  cup old fashioned rolled oats*
• 1 tablespoon brewers yeast*
• 1/2 to 1 cup spinach (I always add spinach! This might make the color a little off, but doesn’t effect taste.)

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into blender and blend well
2. If smoothie is too thick, blend a little longer or add a little more milk/water; if smoothie is too thin, blend in some ice. 

Tip: You can also pre-portion smoothies into Ziploc bags and freeze them.  The smoothies will be thicker without the addition of ice and are much easier to make when your hands are full!

Let me know if you have a favorite lactation-boosting recipe that I should try!