All the girls in our family get Healthy Lactation Cookies when they become new mamas. The ingredients in the cookies provide vital nutrients for the new mom, as well as, baby. I just recently became a new grandma so I thought I’d share my recipe with ya’ll.
Do Healthy Lactation Cookies Really Work?
Yes, they do, but they aren’t the end all be all. As part of a healthy lifestyle, a few things can help. Along with the following, these Lactation Cookies will keep the flow of mama’s breast milk going.
- All new moms need to be thinking about what you are eating. Eat real whole foods. These include raw dairy, grass-fed meats, and whole grains like fresh milled flour. Also, consume good fats like olive oil, beef tallow, coconut oil, along with, fruits, and vegetables. Drinking clean water and herbal teas are the best.
- Avoid all the bad seed oils (vegetable, canola, corn, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, cottonseed and rice bran oil). They contain large amounts of unstable fatty acids that can break down into toxins during cooking and inside our bodies. These oils should not be heated. But they are heated during factory refining and many toxins form. These seed oils contain high PUFA content (PUFA=polyunsaturated fatty acids). PUFA are unstable and easily deteriorates into toxic compounds.
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- Make sure you are getting sleep. I know it’s hard with a newborn. Try taking shifts with your husband. You can also have a friend or grandma come over. They can watch the baby while you take a nap. Good sleep is so important. As your new baby grows, try to aim for 7-9 hours of sleep.
- Go on walks outside, either alone or with your baby. The fresh air will do both of you good. You’ll burn some calories too. If you feel up to it, start lifting weights to build some muscle.
- Stay away from processed foods. That includes fast food restaurants. They may taste good but essentially, you’ll be getting waste less calories. Depending on what you eat, it could upset the baby as well. When nursing my own two kids, I often watched my diet closely. I checked whether anything I ate might have caused my baby to get gas. I also wanted to make sure I was eating good food. As my babies nursed, they essentially were eating was I was eating.
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Is Breastfeeding Still the Best Thing to Do?
Breast milk has evolved to give the best nutrition. It offers immune protection and regulates growth, development, and metabolism for the human infant. Breast milk plays a critical role. It compensates for developmental delays in immune function in the neonate. It is also responsible for reducing permeability of the intestine. This prepares it for extrauterine life.
Breast milk includes hormones, neuropeptides, and growth factors. These elements may affect growth and development. They also help in self-regulating food intake. This contributes to the differences observed between breastfed and formula-fed infants.
I was born in the 70’s and breastfeeding wasn’t popular back then. In fact, some new mother’s actually smoked while they were pregnant and breastfeeding. I was bottle fed with soy milk. That explains all the digestive problems I had as a child. I breastfed both of my two kids. I actually loved breastfeeding. It was such a sweet bond between me and my babies. I encourage you to breast feed new mama. There might be some challenges in the beginning but just stick with it. I promise it will be good for you and your baby.
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Key Health Ingredients in Lactation Cookies
These lactation aka breastfeeding cookies are loaded with nutrition. Hence, why I love them so much. As mamas have their babies, they might even become depleted in vital nutrients after the baby arrives.
- Oat Cereal – The oats I use are organic. The oatmeal is freshly-milled in small batches from organic oat groats. There is minimal processing to retain maximum flavor and nutrition. Oats are rich in fiber and micronutrients. They improve gut health, lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels. They are high fiber making you feel full longer. These are positively the tastiest organic oats we’ve ever come across.
- Brewers Yeast – The composition of brewer’s yeast is what makes it stand out as a valuable nutritional supplement. It is rich in B-complex vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, and folic acid. These vitamins play a crucial role in energy production, metabolism, and maintaining overall well-being.
- Cinnamon – Cinnamon is one of the most important spices used daily by people all over the world. Cinnamon is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, and lipid-lowering compound. It also lowers cardiovascular disease risks. Moreover, cinnamon has been reported to have activities against neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
- Flaxseed Meal – Flaxseed contains high amounts of biologically active components such as α-linolenic acid, lignans, and dietary fiber. Flaxseed consumption can be an important factor in the prevention of diseases, particularly related to nutrition. The regular consumption of flaxseed may help to improve lipid profile. It may also lower blood pressure, fasting glucose, and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). Moreover, flaxseed has anticancer properties. It also has antioxidant properties. Flaxseed can significantly reduce the intensity of symptoms associated with menopause, constipation, and mental fatigue. It can improve skin condition and accelerate wound healing.
Other Healthy Ingredients
- Fresh Milled Flour – Contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and healthy fats.
- Moringa Powder – Moringa is an excellent source of essential nutrients. It significantly impacts the improvement of nutritional deficiencies in populations with limited access to food. Moringa oleifera contains essential amino acids, carotenoids, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, phytochemicals, vitamins, and fiber. It’s also a natural galactagogues which stimulates the flow of breast milk.
- Coconut Oil – May help naturally balance hormones because it’s a great source of saturated fat, including lauric acid.
How To Make Healthy Lactation Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350˚.
- Combine the butter, coconut oil, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl. Cream together with a mixer.
- Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl (except the flour and oats). Mix on the low setting at first and gradually increase to medium speed.
- Now, slowly add the flour and oats. Mix those ingredients on low speed until everything is combined. Bump the speed up, if needed.
- Fold in the chocolate chips at the end.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop the cookies on the prepared pan, spacing approx. 2 inches between each cookie.
- Take a fork and press the cookies down gently.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
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Are Lactation Cookies ok to Freeze?
Yes, I’ve been baking 2 dozen and freezing 2 dozen every time I make this recipe. It’s a lot of work to drag everything out, so save some yourself some time. When my daughter-in-law came home from the hospital, I was bringing batches every other day so I needed something quick.
Just scoop out the cookie dough onto the parchment paper and stick them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once they are pretty solid, place them in a food safe storage container. I love being able to just pull out however many I want. They will last in the freezer for 1-2 months. When you are ready to bake, just pull the cookies out of the freezer. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Easy peasy.
Sure, it’s a 1:1 ratio for white sugar. Although, the coconut sugar is healthier.
That’s ok. Just scoop the cookie dough using a large table spoon and drop the cookies onto the parchment paper.
Yes, just back it down by 1/4 cup. Fresh milled is so much healthier though. If you don’t want to mill your own but still would love the nutrition, order fresh milled flour using the Unifine process. It still retains all the nutrients. See below for where I buy mine from.
Tools I Used
Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper
Fresh Milled Flour – Guardian Grains (Enter code:lhsimpleliving for 15% off) SunriseMill Flour (Receive 20% off, no code needed)
Healthy Lactation Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Sticks of Butter (I use grass-fed)
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil (unrefined)
- 1 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar
- 1 Egg (large)
- 1-2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 3 1/2 tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal
- 4 1/2 tbsp Brewer’s Yeast
- 1 tbsp Moringa Powder (optional)
- 1 3/4 cup Fresh Milled Flour (I use soft white wheat)
- 2 1/2 cups Oats
- 2 cups Chocolate Chips (unrefined sugar free)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚.
- Combine the butter, coconut oil, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl. Cream together with a mixer.
- Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl (except the flour and oats). Mix on the low setting at first and gradually increase to medium speed.
- Now, slowly add the flour and oats. Mix those ingredients on low speed.
- Fold in the chocolate chips at the end.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop the cookies on the prepared pan, spacing approx. 2 inches between each cookie.
- Take a fork and press the cookies down gently.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
Notes
- Can I substitute the coconut sugar for another sweetener? Sure, it’s a 1:1 ratio for white sugar. Although, the coconut sugar is healthier.
- What if I don’t have a cookie scoop? That’s ok. Just scoop the cookies in the dough using a large table spoon and drop the cookies onto the parchment paper.
- Can I use all-purpose flour? Sure, just back it down by 1/4 cup. Fresh milled is so much healthier though. If you don’t want to mill your own but still would love the nutrition, order fresh milled flour using the Unifine process. It still retains all the nutrients.
Sources:
Dieterich CM, Felice JP, O’Sullivan E, Rasmussen KM. Breastfeeding and health outcomes for the mother-infant dyad. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2013 Feb;60(1):31-48. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2012.09.010. Epub 2012 Nov 3. PMID: 23178059; PMCID: PMC3508512.
Foong SC, Tan ML, Foong WC, Marasco LA, Ho JJ, Ong JH. Oral galactagogues (natural therapies or drugs) for increasing breast milk production in mothers of non-hospitalised term infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 18;5(5):CD011505. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011505.pub2. PMID: 32421208; PMCID: PMC7388198.
Chen X, Kim DI, Moon HG, Chu M, Lee K. Coconut Oil Alleviates the Oxidative Stress-Mediated Inflammatory Response via Regulating the MAPK Pathway in Particulate Matter-Stimulated Alveolar Macrophages. Molecules. 2022 May 2;27(9):2898. doi: 10.3390/molecules27092898. PMID: 35566249; PMCID: PMC9105152.
Foong SC, Tan ML, Foong WC, Marasco LA, Ho JJ, Ong JH. Oral galactagogues (natural therapies or drugs) for increasing breast milk production in mothers of non-hospitalised term infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 18;5(5):CD011505. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011505.pub2. PMID: 32421208; PMCID: PMC7388198.
Arora S, Arora S. Nutritional significance and therapeutic potential of Moringa oleifera: The wonder plant. J Food Biochem. 2021 Oct;45(10):e13933. doi: 10.1111/jfbc.13933. Epub 2021 Sep 17. PMID: 34533234.
Medical Disclaimer:
The content on our website is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice. It is also not intended to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Wendy Walker, NTP (Little House Simple Living) and the publisher of this content do not take responsibility. This applies to any health consequences that might occur. It applies to any person reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content should consult their physicians. This is especially true for those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications. They should do this before beginning any nutrition, supplement or lifestyle program.
Wendy Lea Walker, CHC, NTP
Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
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