Recipe from Detoxinista blogger Megan Gilmore, a certified nutritionist consultant.

 Ingredients like flaxseeds, brewer’s yeast, and oats are known as galactagogues. These may help to increase milk supply by boosting prolactin, the hormone responsible for breast milk production.

For breastfeeding mothers hoping to boost their milk supply, the answer may be as simple as grabbing a cookie. Lactation cookies are packed with ingredients that are believed to increase breast milk production - not to mention the fact that munching on a cookie may help reduce stress, a potential killer of breast milk supply. A win-win.

Lactation cookies are quite similar to a traditional oat flour cookie, only you’ll replace some of the flour with ground flax seeds and brewer’s yeast. The coconut oil provides medium-chain fatty acids, including lactic acid and capric acid, which may help to boost both mum and baby’s immune systems. 

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil,
• ¾ cup coconut sugar,
• 1 large egg,
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract,
• 1 cup oat flour, 
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed,
• ¼ cup debittered brewer's yeast,
• ½ teaspoon baking soda,
• ½ teaspoon sea salt,
• ½ cup old-fashioned oats,
• ½ cup chocolate chips.

1. Mix the wet ingredients 

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the coconut oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix well. This is sort of like “creaming” together the butter and sugar like you would in a traditional recipe, only the coconut oil here is melted for easier measuring. 

2. Add in the dry ingredients

• Add in the oat flour, ground flax seeds, brewer's yeast, baking soda and salt, and stir again until a thick batter is formed. It may take a few minutes of stirring to incorporate the dry ingredients evenly. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips. (Do not taste-test the batter at this point.)

3. Bake

• Use a small 1-ounce cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop the dough and drop it onto the lined pan, about 2 inches apart to allow for the cookies to spread. You should get 18-20 cookies from this recipe, so you'll need to use 2 pans, or bake in 2 separate batches. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies have spread and are lightly golden around the edges.

4. Serve

• When the cookies are done baking, let them cool on the pan for at least 15 minutes before serving. Once they have totally cooled to room temperature, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Additionally, these can be frozen for up to 3 months.

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