Dairy Queen

Among all the "here's how not to kill your new baby" packets and pamphlets I was given in the hospital was a recipe for "lactation cookies."

What.

The.

Heck.

The tagline underneath the title stated "these are made to help nursing mothers' milk supply.  They taste great and really work.  Eat 4 or more per day."

Eat cookies to produce more milk?  Uhhh, if I *have* to.  Though, being a dietitian, I had to tweak the recipe a bit.  I can't in good faith put a whole cup of butter and 2 cups of sugar into a recipe and claim it to be healthy.

Lactation Cookies
1/2 cup coconut oil (solid form)
4 oz unsweetened applesuce
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar (or you could just do one type of sugar)
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or reg whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups dry oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons Brewer's yeast (I got this online, though a natural food store would probably carry it)
3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flaxseed and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes.
3. Beat coconut oil until smooth.  Add applesauce.
4. Add in eggs and beat.
5. Stir flaxseed mix into oil mix and add vanilla. Beat until well blended.
6. Sift dry ingredients, except oats, coconut, and chocolate chips. Add oil mix to dry mix.
7. Stir in the oats, coconut, and chocolate chips.
8. Drop onto parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and bake 8-12 minutes, or until slightly browned.  These cookies will be soft and chewy.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.  Per cookie: 110 calories, 18 g carbs, 3 g fat, 2.6 grams protein, 8.3 grams sugar, 2 grams fiber.

I kept telling my husband to eat a dozen and see what happens.  Brewer's yeast is the ingredient that supposedly promotes lactation, though I couldn't find any scientific research to back that up.

Still, if you're a nursing or pumping mama, it doesn't hurt to try something like these.  Next I'll have to experiment and try adding peanut butter instead of the coconut and chocolate.

 Yes, I kept the baby in the kitchen while I made these.  Don't worry though- I kept him at least 6 inches away from the blazing hot oven, and had him organize the knife drawer after his nap.

Mmm...lactation.