Lactation cookies are a delicious way to boost your breastfeeding milk supply. Whether or not they actually work is up for debate, and results do vary across different recipes. However, the cost of ready-made ones is definitely something to consider.
With the average price of a store-bought or commercial lactation cookie in Australia hovering between $2 to $3 per piece, it’s no wonder breastfeeding mums (particularly those who are exclusively breastfeeding) would consider making their own homemade lactation cookies!
Contrary to popular belief, there are no exotic, magic ingredients in lactation cookies. The key ingredients are all readily available in supermarkets and the recipes on this list are so easy that even the most inexperienced baker can churn them out in under half an hour.
If you’re unsure whether lactation cookies will help in boosting your milk supply, DIY ones are a cheap and easy way to test out the results before you decide whether to purchase ready-made ones.
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Breastfeeding Calorie Calculator
On average, breastfeeding mums require an additional 500 calories per day, which is roughly an extra 2-3 servings of snacks. As long as you’re eating a healthy and balanced range of food, your body will be able to produce sufficient nutrients in your breastmilk for the baby.
However, if you’re looking for healthy ways to lose weight while breastfeeding without affecting your milk supply, you can use this BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) Breastfeeding Calorie Calculator from The Healthy Mummy to calculate how much calories you need in a day to sustain your breastfeeding supply.
Breastfeeding Foods To Avoid
Alcohol
It is generally recommended to avoid alcohol for the first 4-6 weeks postpartum, after which you may have alcohol in moderation. Remember that it takes your body up to two hours to fully get rid of alcohol from your blood and breastmilk, so time your intake with baby’s feed carefully.
Coffee and any form of caffeine
This is safe for breastfeeding mums within the recommended guidelines of 200mg per day, which is roughly two cups of coffee. Excessive intake of caffeine may result in your baby becoming restless or experiencing difficulty sleeping.
Allergy foods
If you are breastfeeding a windy, colicky, or eczema baby, you may want to take into consideration the baby’s trigger foods. Common allergens may include (but are not limited to) dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and soy. All these ingredients can pass through your breastmilk and is best to be avoided if you suspect your baby is insensitive to any of them.
Best Foods For Breastfeeding
If you’re looking to increase milk supply, there are common foods that are known as lactogenic in nature, which means they promote or aid in the production of breastmilk.
- Oats
- Carrots and spinach
- Legumes like chickpeas and lentils
- Brown rice
- Apricots
- Salmon
- Brewers yeast – this is readily available at Woolworths
- Ground linseed or LSA mix – Also available at Woolworths
- Fenugreek tea or tablets
You’ll find that the below recipes, as well as a lot of ready-made ones available for purchase, contain more than one of the above ingredients.
Best DIY Lactation Cookie Recipes
1. Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’re lactose intolerant, or you have a colicky or eczema baby who might be allergic to dairy, this is a great dairy-free lactation cookie for both mum and bub.
At just 37 calories per serve and taking less than 20 minutes to make from start-to-finish, I reckon these milk boosting lactation cookies kill THREE birds with one stone – lose weight while breastfeeding, save time, and save money!
2. Organic Lactation Cookies
Jessica from Home Sweet Eats shared her recipe for these lactation cookies with organic ingredients that look absolutely divine! She noted that all ingredients can easily be replaced with non-organic ones and will still taste exactly the same.
If you’re a fan of thick and slightly crunchy cookies, you’ll want to give these ones a try!
3. BellyBelly Lactation Cookies
This promising recipe from BellyBelly is allegedly voted by 90% of their fans to say that it actually DOES work in increasing their milk supply. The list of ingredients is significantly longer than the other recipes here, but that may be where the magic lies.
4. No-Bake Dark Chocolate Muesli Bars
While technically not a cookie, this delicious no-bake recipe from The Healthy Mummy contains three of the most important ingredients for boosting milk supply in breastfeeding mums: oats, flaxseed and brewer’s yeast.
Because muesli bars can be quite dense, adding a glass of water to your intake can help with efficient digestion and further support milk production.
5. Best Freeze-Safe Lactation Cookies
New Zealand mum, Stacey, shared this recipe on her blog My Kids Lick The Bowl and hailed it the best ever lactation cookies for three simple reasons:
- They are high in nutrients and energy
- The ingredients are easy to source
- They taste delicious
I’ll let you be the judge of whether it’s the best, but based on the 4/5 stars reviews left by her readers, I have very little doubt that it’ll at least make a very yummy snack!
