Motherhood Mondays: Breastfeeding + Lactation Recipes

I want to preface this post by saying it is not about trying to convince anyone to breastfeed or bashing those who don’t. Whether you breastfeed or not is a personal choice, and each mom has to do what works for her and her baby. And for the records, I hate seeing moms bash other moms for choosing not to breastfeed. Worry about your boobs and your baby and leave other moms alone.

{breastfeeding at the hospital}

With that said, prior to having my little girl, I was not adament about breastfeeding and quite frankly didn’t think it was for me. The first few months were not easy and filled with painful, tear-filled moments. But once I start something, I don’t like to quit. Little by little it got easier and easier and now nearly 5 months later, I’m still breastfeeding my little one and actually enjoy it. I never thought I’d get emotional about stopping (at the beginning I couldn’t wait until I didn’t have to breastfeed anymore), but now the idea of eventually not doing it makes me sad. I love those little moments, just me and her. The way she looks up and gives me a big milky smile when she’s done or how she coos to get my attention if I’m looking out the window instead of at her. It’s a special moment I try to cherish as much as possible because I know eventually and before I know it, she’ll be a big girl eating food, and I’ll never get those moments back again {officially choking back tears now}.

There were a couple of days early last week that I felt like my little one just wasn’t getting enough milk, and I immediately started doing research on what I could do. Thankfully, milk supply’s never been an issue for me, so this was all new to me.

If you’re planning to breastfeed or struggling with it now, check back in the next couple weeks as I share what helped me(plus some tips on favorite nursing…If In the meantime, here are a couple of recipes I’ve found that worked in giving milk supply a boost.

COOKIES The cookies (recipe here) are good and can be addicting. I made half of the batter with m&ms and the other half with dark chocolate chips. Both were very good – though I liked the ones with m&ms better – and go great with coffee, another mommy must-have! Because the recipe calls for a lot of butter and sugar, I decided on making myself a healthier alternative…the lactation smoothie.

SMOOTHIE The smoothie recipe is based off of different ones I found online. It makes for a great breakfast. It’s quick to whip up (helpful when you’re taking care of your little one), tastes good and keeps me full for quite a while, AND I can feel good about what I’m putting in my body. Below is my personal favorite + a few variations of it to keep things interesting!

• Mix the following ingredients into a blender + enjoy:
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1/3 cup rolled oats (no need to cook them first, just toss them in)
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1 tbsp brewers yeast**
  • 1 tbsp flax meal
  • 1 banana
  • 1 tsp honey
  • a dash or two of cinnamon (I only like a little bit)
  • ice

• A few variations that provide the same benefits but with different flavor(s):
  • add yogurt
  • add strawberries
  • replace banana with your favorite berry(s): strawberry, raspberry, blueberry
  • omit almond butter

**key ingredient for increasing milk supply