Healthy Lactation Cookies – Dairy Free Option
Loaded with nutrition, these healthy lactation cookies are so good, they may just become your new favorite cookie even when you’re not breastfeeding!
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After I had my baby, a sweet friend brought these healthy lactation cookies to me in the hospital. They were so good that I asked her for the recipe so I could make them myself. In the crazy newborn days, these cookies counted for a lot of the nourishment I got between our struggles with breastfeeding, pumping, back and forth to therapy, and plain old exhaustion. I’m so thankful that I had something quick, easy and tasty to grab in those days!
A Rewarding Challenge
If you’re a new mama who’s struggling with breastfeeding, you’re most definitely not alone! Filling your baby with nourishment from your own body can be an extremely sweet and fulfilling thing, but it can also be full of challenges. Among the many challenges that breast feeding can bring, low milk supply can be one of the hardest to face.
Is Low Milk Supply Even Possible?
If you research very long, or talk to very many people, you’ll invariably have someone tell you that low milk supply just isn’t a real thing. That making milk is all about supply and demand and that if you let your baby nurse on demand then your body will make the milk it needs. Unfortunately, that just isn’t true. In a perfect world where all things work as they’re supposed to, yes, it’s a simple issue of supply and demand. But in this imperfect world that we live in, there are circumstances that can and will cause a mother to have a hard time or even be unable to produce enough milk to exclusively breast feed her baby. I have a whole post dedication to low milk supply and what you can do about it. Check it out here.
What Causes Low Milk Supply?
While milk production is predominantly based on simple supply and demand, there are factors that can influence a mother’s ability to lactate and breastfeed her baby:
- baby has tongue and/or lip tie – you can read all about tongue and lip ties here
- baby has poor latch {probably related to a tie}
- not nursing frequently enough
- mother’s health/hormones
- medication side effects – antihistamines and pseudoephedrine are meant to dry you up. And they dry up everything!
>>Go to my post on Low Milk Supply and what you can do to increase production<<
Do Lactation Cookies Really Work and Why?
Depending on the reason for your low milk production, lactation cookies can be a real help because they contain galactagogues. A galactagogue is a substance that increases milk supply. Foods considered to be galactagogues may not help everyone, but there are tons of testimonials from women who have seen an increase in supply after eating them! For something as simple {and tasty!} as eating a healthy lactation cookie, I think it’s worth a try!
*since the video, I’ve converted my recipe to all sucanat and only 1 cup. 1 cup is plenty sweet enough for me but if you like them sweeter, you can use 1 1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar.
Are Lactation Cookies Safe For Everyone?
Yes, anyone can eat these cookies. All of the healthy ingredients mean they’re packed with nutrition. The oatmeal provides complex, slow burning carbs and can help lower cholesterol. Oatmeal also provides iron which can help combat anemia and low iron levels that can be a potential contributor to low milk supply. The coconut oil, flax seed meal, and nuts provide healthy fats. Using sprouted flour or oat flour is a healthier alternative to plain white flour. In other words, while still a treat and containing some sugar, these healthy lactation cookies can be a tasty, healthier alternative to conventional cookies that anyone can enjoy, breastfeeding or not. But, if you have voracious little cookie monsters around, I give you full permission to call them milk maker cookies and keep them off limits. I won’t tell.
They’re also really easy to make dairy free by using coconut oil and dairy free chocolate chips. I found good dairy free chocolate chips at Trader Joe’s and they also have some here on Amazon.
Healthy Lactation Cookies Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted or butter, softened
- 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flax seed meal
- 4 tablespoons water
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups sprouted or oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups oats
- 4 tablespoons brewers yeast
- 1 cup pecans or any nut of choice, chopped
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 2 cup chocolate chips – 1 cup if you’re not a chocoholic like me
Healthy Lactation Cookies Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix together coconut oil and sucanat
- Combine flax seed meal and water and then mix well with coconut oil and sucanat
- Mix in eggs and vanilla
- Stir in oats, brewers yeast, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt
- Combine flour mixture with wet ingredients and mix in well
- Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet and flatten, if desired
- Bake for 9-11 minutes to desired crispiness
- Enjoy!
Print The Healthy Lactation Cookie Recipe
Healthy Lactation Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted or butter, softened
- 1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flax seed meal
- 4 tablespoons water
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups sprouted or oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups oats
- 4 tablespoons brewers yeast
- 1 cup pecans or any nut of choice, chopped coarsely
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix together coconut oil and sucanat
- Combine flax seed meal and water and then mix well with coconut oil and sucanat
- Mix in eggs and vanilla
- Stir in oats, brewers yeast, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt
- Combine flour mixture with wet ingredients and mix in well
- Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet and flatten, if desired
- Bake for 9-11 minutes to desired crispiness
- Enjoy!
Make Ahead For Added Convenience
One thing I love about this recipe is that it makes a lot of cookies! It’s not exactly an easy recipe simply because of the amount of ingredients, but the batch size makes up for that.
I like to do a double recipe and then either freeze some for later or leave some dough in the fridge and cook some fresh cookies every few days until the dough is all used up.
To freeze for later: scoop out dough balls onto a cookie sheet and flash freeze. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to cook, place on a cookie sheet and let thaw at room temperature for a few minutes before baking as usual.
Ingredients I Use For Healthy Lactation Cookies:
Coconut Oil – I buy this coconut oil in bulk from healthytraditions.com since we use so much. It doesn’t have a coconut flavor like virgin coconut oil does so it’s great for cooking. My husband hates coconut and doesn’t know the difference.
Sprouted Flour – I get my sprouted flour from Azure, a food co-op.
Sucanat – I also get my sucanat from Azure. They have organic, healthy versions of just about anything you’d need.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
How To Write A Natural Birth Plan {And Why You Need One} + A Free Template!
How To Use A Moby | Baby Wearing And It’s Benefits
Newborn and Baby Essentials for a First Time Mom
Tongue and Lip Ties | What Are They {And How Can They Affect Breastfeeding}
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